No more nails and tile grout

[granny grump]

OH is cleaning up a utility room for a friend and the tiles have what appears to be no more nails and tile grout on them. Is there any way to remove this witout damagibg the tiles too much ?

[marden40]

it will depend on the type of tile..........if its a glazed tile then a window scraper ( the type that you attach a utility knife blade to ) can be used to remove anything stuck to the tile without causing any damage, however if these are unglazed tiles such as stone or slate more care is involved and soapy water on a washing up sponge ( the type with a green scouring pad ) combined with plenty of elbow grease is pretty much the best option.

[buildersmate]

Grout usually comes off the enamelled edges OK, with the adhesive - none that I know of.
When I've been short of new tiles and need to re-use old ones that have come off the wall OK but have a good smear of adhesive on the backs, I have ground it off with a drill fitted with a flat abrader. It is an extremely dusty and mucky job

[granny grump]

Thank you both for you help

[granny grump]

sorry 'your'

[Sipowicz]

Buildersmate, to remove tile adhesive from the back of tiles, leave the tiles to soak in a bucket of boiling water for 1/2 an hour or so. Then scrape off! When I was told of this method, I was sceptical, it works and no mess!

[tonyav]

Sipowicz, i have used this method myself, except that i left them in a bucket of cold water over night. Scraped the old fixing/ grout off next day easily.

[granny grump]

Thank you for your input Sipowicz (another NYPD fan?) and tonyav for your input - with a little soaking, a mild scourer and a paint scraper he has managed to get it all off

[Sipowicz]

Glad it worked Granny, how about celebrating with a night on the tiles!
NYPD fan? You bet!