My neighbour has white tile in his kitchen and bathroom and I think that they are easy to look after (I prepare the place for his guests) but next time. I must look at the grout - I’ve never noticed!
White tiles (but BIG ones) plus grey gout is a possibility … white grout is an invention of the devil.
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I just popped into my neighbour’s and looked. It’s grout-coloured grout. Greyish beige-ish. Greige. It looks fine but this is a vacation rental and cooking doesn’t happen much in the kitchen.
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@jaquo I think that the environment you are entering from makes a big difference. If you are in a 5th floor apartment in a reasonably clean neighbourhood the grout will probably stay looking ok. We are in a dry climate with a lot of dust and pine needles (I may have mentioned this before!) you enter the apartment from the street or garden and we don’t live in a shoes-off culture. Basically our tiles don’t stand a chance …
After the Attack of the Termites, we had to rip up our lovely engineered wood floor in the apartment bedroom and we laid inexpensive white wood-effect laminate. It has been brilliant, easy to clean, LOOKS clean and termite-resistant. I am going to have it laid where the mud-coloured tiles are, but it will have to wait till the end of the season since there are no free days until end-September.
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I suspect I might Love those tiles. Would enjoy seeing a photo !
I absolutely detest those little boxes of what guests found.
It detracts from the true uniqueness and amenities of a place.
It homogenizes every offering…which of course is what they want.
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Grout pen? That’s what I used on white tile/grout in house formerly owned by 80 year old smoker who had been doing a pack a day for who knows how long. Maybe go gray for the grout.
I always like to explain to guests that 4 is a very bad rating- equal to a D. Anything under a 5 really is flunking in the eyes of AirBnB and future guests. Some simply didn’t realize that
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Is this the same as the clorox bleach pen/marker or is it something different? I’ve used the clorox pen, but still end up on my hands an knees scrubbing with a stiff brush. I would be very interested in a product made specifically for grout that actually works!
I really HATE that mottled look.
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How do you explain this? In person, in writing? a parting note left? I need a brief tasteful way to explain this without putting the guest off.
Nope, what you do with this is admit the grout won and make it a different color:
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Oh…I was hoping it would be the little brown mosaic with 1950’s design and very retro.
I think I would put a rug under the table though…( just minor feedback - sorry if you did not want that ).
A rug could either soften the brown ( think sisal ) or with bright colors it could pull and compliment the fabulous blues and yellows.
of course, maybe you have a rug, but it isnt in this photo.
I know you like to keep it simple and you get great reviews so you can ignore me anyway -
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LOL. This looks great! Thank you. The grout definitely has won. Before I click to Amazon, is this an affiliate link for @Tom2 ?
Tiles not dissimilar to mine, though at least yours look as if they’re meant to be brown … mine just look as if they’re mud-coloured by default.
But what I’m mad about are those glorious yellow walls! I’m all about yellow at the moment (ref. Amal Clooney’s dress at Royal wedding) and am so glad it seems to be coming back into fashion as a decor colour… And yes, a blue and yellow rug would look fabulous there!
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I use a paste made of 50/50 bicarbonate of soda and bleach, which I paint on with a smallish paint brush. Leave twenty minutes and shower off with the hand held. Lasts about six-eight months.
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@yecatsr - There is a product called “GroutRenew” and they have it at Home Depot. It comes in lots of colors, you can mix them to get a custom color, and you just paint it on,and a bottle costs about $14. The home we bought had darker grout between light tiles, and I really hate that look. So I used this to make the grout lines “disappear” by painting them the same color as the background of the tile.
It’s held up ok on the floor, but did not stick well on the countertops, presumably because I could not get all the grease out of the grout. So now I’m going to remove the grout from the countertop and regrout with a lighter color. (Sigh… I wish I could actually be on vacation when I go to our vacation home instead of having to do all these projects all the time 
)
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I will look into this one too. Thanks. Yay! Another project!
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My experience when I’ve asked for private feedback about a rating has been consistently radio silence. If someone asked me, I would feel awkward especially if I had had personal interactions with them. I’m curious if a host has ever received an useful answer to this type of a request.
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Oh yes, I think a blue rug would look great with those bright yellow walls. It would make it more cozy and welcoming.