This past weekend I installed epoxy shower grout in between our 2 x 2 inch shower floor tiles.

With a little help from the tecnhical support line of the company that makes the grout I was able to do this project in less than 2 hours (that includes prep, install, and cleanup).

And I was a little under the gun since it was 7 pm when I started, primarily because I put my daughers to bed at night :)

If you want grout that never needs sealed and does the best job at resisting stains & mold this is the way to go. Since I'm in the rental home business this was a test run to

1. see if it was hard to install

2. examine the durability of the product

Well I'm here to tell you that you can put your fear aside when it comes to installing this brand of epoxy grout (the brand is CEG LIte). It was easy.

What makes it so durable is the fact that it's practically impermeable to water. Sanded and un-sanded grout have pockets within their physical structure that can allow mildew and mold to grow. This isn't the case with epoxy.

The working time is 40 minutes and I think this is what freaks people out, especically if you have a large floor. Our shower floor was only 32 by 58 inches. I set a timer for 30 minutes so that I'd have a 10 minute warning and be able to stay within the epoxy's setting timeframe.

If you're installing new floor or wall tile I highly recommend looking into epoxy grout. In case you'd like more info, pics, and a video (yes I grew my NHL playoff beard early, GO PENS) visit my blog post at http://www.homerepairtutor.com/shower-grout-...

This past weekend I removed the silicone between our kitchen counters and tile backsplash.

The surprising twist is that I used my wife's hair dryer to make this project move faster than Danica Patrick!!

Yes, I asked for my wife's permission (I've learned my lesson).

If you want to easily remove old silicone caulk without a chemical caulk remover use a hair dryer and straight razor blade.

Any residue that remains can either be scraped off further with the razor and then cleaned with rubbing alcohol.

If you have an acrylic tub or plastic surround in your bathroom just be careful with high heat. I tested the output of the hair dryer with a thermometer and it showed the temperature only got up to 200F, just enough to soften the silicone caulk and not damage the countertops.

For additional tips and a very short movie (not long enough to eat a sleeve of Girl Scout thin mints) visit my blog post at http://www.homerepairtutor.com/easily-remove...

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P.S. If you like weekend projects please don't forget to follow me on Hometalk by clicking on my picture :)

Rust in the bathroom is usually the result of two related situations. Either iron-containing metals in your bathroom fixtures have begun to rust OR your mineral-rich water supply contains iron particles and has begun to stain areas where water runs. This happens even with a porcelain tub as two of our employees found out.

Bleach and Tilex made the rust stains worse and they sparked another chemical reaction, creating more rust stains on the non-skid surface on the tub floor. Other products that either made things worse or didn't work at all: Lysol, toilet bowl cleansers, Soft Scrub, Goof Off, Awesome, Comet, Simple Green, Mean Green, Magic Eraser and CLR,

However, we found 2 things that really worked: Clorox2 and Hydrogen Peroxide. The Clorox2 worked best and required less scrubbing. Just pour either product on the stain and let it sit. Then scour gently with a damp sponge and rinse. If the stains are really bad you may have to repeat the process twice.

Do not use anything else (mayonnaise, plant shine products, etc). They do more harm than good.