Good luck. Please keep us updated. Thank you. :)

Yes carpet is gross.

Just counter sink the rebar and plug the holes with a wood dowel - or just countersink the rebar and do nothing.

I based my comment purely on the photo that the OP provided which looked to me like the grout was way past the point of any concern for sealants that may or may not have been applied previously. With no disrespect intended to the OP, is is clearly a well aged bathroom. Ask me how I know, lol. 😁

Cold floors is a feature in hot climates. We have area rugs where appropriate and wear comfy slippers in the winter.

Wall to wall carpet is gross, even in a shoe-free household. I owned a very nice carpet cleaner when we had carpet and learned quickly that it is impossible to fully clean. With tile if you can wipe with a white cloth and not pull up much dirt, you can be assured that it is actually clean. All kinds of nasty stuff can hide in carpet even with excellent care.

Agreed. Like a shelf made out of nails for it to sit on.

Krud Cutter also works well. Spray on, wait about a minute, stuff brush 3-4 swipes, and wipe off with a clean rag. You'll need a lot of rags since wiping off with a dirty rag isn't very effective.

Oven cleaner tends to recommend that also. Or at least heavy ventilation. The ones I have used tend to be spray and leave for an hour type products.

Hah, I'm learning!

Thank you for the thoughtful response! Retiling seems to be in my future, but I'm excited to try a few cleaning methods first. If only for science!

I'm making a list of everything to try, and this is on it. Thank you!

I might be wrong so someone is welcome to correct me but I read that using bleach like this can break down any sealant and actually cause the grout to become more porous and stain even more.

I still do it because like you said, it works, and I live in an very old apartment rental and if those floors were ever sealed it was probably 30 tenants and 60+ years ago, but I don’t think I’d try it anywhere else without looking further into it.

Ha, this is basically what my partner said!

This is really good to know. Thank you!

From this one photo, looks like there is quite the transition (i.e. lots of room for buildup). I would not bother trying to remove the tiles if there is no need to.

Personally, I would put a layer of Schluter Ditra underlayment (use polymer modified thinset), let this cure. And then lay some new tiles over this. With this underlayment, you can lay large tiles if you want (personal preference) and not worry about cracking from the house settling/moving from temp changes) as this is the role of the underlayment (movement absorber,best way to describe it). Non-modified thinset OK here, use the correct trowel notching for the tile size, and backbutter the tiles before setting. Let cure and then grout the gaps with whatever color you choose (lots of options to suit the decor/tile color).

Noted! Thank you so much!

I appreciate the recommendation!

Thank you for the recommendation, I'll give it a go!

What about a respirator too? Seems like shit that can burn your skin is also not great to inhale

Grout sealer

Domestos. Without dilution. A lots more than you think. Basically pour it directrly over the grout everywhere. Then wait. 1-2 hours. It will whiten the grout, like magic, with almost no scrubbing.

Or pour some colored epoxy. Can look fantastic, if you use the right material, and it matches the style. One of the guys i know makes marble style, professionally.

The last one I put down had 4" of rockwool and electric underfloor heating, because without that you're just installing a giant cold radiator.

I agree, anything but tile unless you have no other option.

I agree with you. They’re SO cold, the grout ends up looking super gross so fast, they can make a space echoey, they’re hard on your back & feet, they show every little drip, smudge, footprint.

For a small bathroom I’d be fine with it but I would never ever tile anything larger than that in my house.

Never heard of it, but it sounds amazing!

If you see a crack, try to find a replacement right away. You are just seeing a small, but important part of the big issue. It would save youa huge headache