Sealing Ceramic Tile Shower Walls – How to Seal Tile Shower Walls and Floors

In addition, minerals in the water can also etch the surface of some glazed tiles. 

Sealing tile showers protects them from absorbing water, and thus prevents mold and mildew growth, as well as protects against tile pitting.

1. Make sure the tile grout has cured for 2 to 3 days before sealing tile shower walls and floor.
2. Ensure plenty of ventilation when sealing tile shower walls and floor.
3. Use a tile sealer applicator bottle to apply tile sealer.
4. Turn the applicator bottle upside down so the roller-wheel faces downward.
5. Roll the wheel down the center of the grout line slowly making sure the tile sealer gets absorbed into the entire width of the grout line. But make sure to work in small sections when doing so.
6. Use paper towels or rags to remove any excess tile sealer from the adjacent tiles.
7. Allow the tile sealer to sit for about 10 minutes before removing any excess tile sealer from the grout lines.
8. Move to another section of the tile shower area and repeat the process until all of the tile shower grout lines are sealed.
9. Allow the tile sealer to cure for the manufacture’s prescribed time before using the shower.

More about How to Seal Tile Shower Walls and Floors In general, glazed ceramic tile does not need to be sealed. In addition, some types of unglazed ceramic tile do not need to be sealed. However all grout lines should be. See how to grout shower tile properly in this short video.

To determine if your unglazed ceramic tile needs to be sealed, apply a little water to the surface of one of the tiles and see if the tile turns darker. If it does, then the tile is porous and should be sealed.

Sealing ceramic tile showers is easy to do and there are a number of tile shower penetrating sealers on the market to choose from. There is latex or acrylic based tile sealers, as well as mineral based sealers. The mineral based tile sealers have a strong smell, whereas the latex or acrylic based ones do not. I recommend using the latex based tile sealers. Each offers various lengths of time between reapplication, however I find it is wise to seal a ceramic tile shower every couple of years. How to Seal Ceramic Tile Shower Walls When it comes to actually sealing ceramic tile showers, it is important to make sure that they are thoroughly dry first.

Learn how to tile a shower with this eBook.

Keep in mind that it can take up to a week for shower wall tiles to completely dry, and even longer on tiled shower floors.

Before applying a penetrating tile and grout sealer, make sure to read the instructions on the packaging first. In general, sealing ceramic tile showers is performed by applying tile sealer to the tile and grout lines using a rag or sponge. After it has soaked in for a couple of minutes, the excess material is wiped off the ceramic tile and grout using a clean damp rag or paper towels. Note that you do not want to allow the tile sealer to sit very long on the ceramic tile, as it is can become nearly impossible to remove it once it has dried.

Apply a second coat to seal the tile shower for additional protection after you have allowed time for the first application to fully dry.