| Author |
Message |
Lynn Javoroski
Senior Member
Username: lynn_javoroski
Post Number: 115
Registered: 07-2002
| | Posted on Wednesday, June 30, 2004 - 12:58 pm: |    |
Anyone have experience with using/specifying this for wet tile areas, especially in hospital or other sensitive areas? (like food prep) |
Phil Kabza
Senior Member
Username: phil_kabza
Post Number: 54
Registered: 12-2002
| | Posted on Monday, July 05, 2004 - 04:54 pm: | |
Can't think of any organic material in grout or hard tile that would support bacterial growth in the first place and make this advisable, unless they mixed in some ground-up marketing literature. |
Marc C Chavez
Senior Member
Username: mchavez
Post Number: 36
Registered: 07-2002
| | Posted on Tuesday, July 06, 2004 - 11:12 am: | |
I love it! Anti-microbial grout! What's next anti-microbial wide flange steel. ASTM A-36m (m for microbial not metric.)
On a semiserious note. It's not the grout but the little pockets on the surface that will fill up with "dirt" and then the "dirt" will grow stuff. So I can see somebody playing at doing this. The long term effectiveness would be a real consideration of any product. However, I have no experience with products of this kind (and hope I never do.)
Breed a better bug! Use natural selection to produce one that can't be killed! Use anti-microbial everything! The new strains of TB and staff can't be all wrong.
(Sorry for the rant but it's a Monday (on a Tuesday) |
David Stutzman
Senior Member
Username: david_stutzman
Post Number: 24
Registered: 07-2002
| | Posted on Tuesday, July 06, 2004 - 11:52 am: | |
Yea, lets load buildings with anti-microbial additives and still strive for the tightest buildings we can to save energy - trapping all those additives inside the building. And years from now we will learn that the anti-microbial additives cause cancer or some other disease.
Just eliminate one of the requisites for microbe growth: food or moisture. Keep the surfaces clean and voila - no microbes. What a concept, actually maintaining buildings as they should be. Its amazing what that can do to improve the environment. |
Vivian Volz
New member
Username: vivianvolz
Post Number: 1
Registered: 06-2004
| | Posted on Monday, July 19, 2004 - 02:14 pm: | |
In all seriousness, does the anti-microbial treatment purport to keep microbes from growing in the latex in latex-modified grout? Mapei is one of the companies that makes an anti-microbial latex-modified grout, and they recommend using their epoxy grout instead for chemical and stain resistance. I don't have experience with it (in answer to your actual question) but for steamy high-use showers in a health club, I went with epoxy grout, which is less porous than cementitious grout. It more easily sheds "dirt", so doesn't support growth. However, it's more expensive and harder to work than cementitious grout. Maybe a cheaper but still effective approach would be sealing your grout after application?
I hope someone jumps in with an experience answer about anti-microbial treatment for grout, or perhaps about sealing the grout or using epoxy grout. I'd like to hear it, too. |
Ralph Liebing
Senior Member
Username: rliebing
Post Number: 89
Registered: 02-2003
| | Posted on Monday, July 19, 2004 - 04:02 pm: | |
Might try an outfit called "Agion Technologies" which is into microbial materials and additives. |
Bill Buchholz (Unregistered Guest)
Unregistered guest
| | Posted on Wednesday, July 21, 2004 - 06:44 pm: | |
Vivian,
I would recommend staying away from any anti-microbial additives and use an epoxy grout instead.
My limited understanding of biochemistry makes me think that "anti-microbial" means it kills microbes. If it is poisonous to microbes, then what is it doing to the people who are walking on it and rubbing it into the bottom of their bare feet or touching it as they take a shower. Sounds like an excellent opportunity for transmission of something undesirable into humans. I can hear the prosecution lawyers questioning you on this one already.
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