I used Mapei Avalanche unsanded grout for my backsplash. It is a pure, bright white, with no pink or yellow undertones. I was very happy with the color.

We used Mapei Avalanche White grout in a bathroom. I wanted a very white grout & Avalanche was just the ticket!

BTW- love how easy it is to post photos now on this forum. Before Houzz took it over you had to first put your photos into some online photo scrapbook and resize them, etc. ! I hated doing that and it took so much time!

We have found that Mapei's Avalanche is the whitest of all the white grouts. The Flexcolor is the way to go. If you are staying with the dry powdered mix, use bottled water to avoid any change in the color due to local water impurities. Read this when using powdered grouts.

Avalanche unsanded in my mirror.

Hi fun2learn! Glad you found the perfect grout. I, like you, spent months ensuring I had the whitest grout possible after bad experience years ago with a white bathroom. The tiler chose the grout and it was that cement color all grout seemed to be 25 yrs ago…I'm going to check out the Flexcolor CQ silicone grout you used as we're remodeling the kitchen & this time I think I'll need something just a bit shy of pure white like you did. Nice photos! Tks! (and yes, sanded grout always looks entirely different & I agree too that what is next to it can also change the tone/hue a bit). Happy grouting! -Lynn

Glad to know I am not the only grout "perfectionist" out there who took months to get the grout right! The Flexcolor does also come in avalanche, which is whiter than their regular "white" grout. One thing that is kind of neat about it is that it really doesn't use sand as filler--it used coated quartz crystals (I guess that is the "CQ" in the name) which aren't supposed to scratch sensitive tiles as easily as regular sanded grout and, because the coated quartz is very fine, it can even be used in 1/16" grout joint. My tiles had irregular edges (simulating a handmade look) and some of the grout joints were greater than 1/8" and some a bit less, so this solved the "should I use "sanded or unsanded" dilemma!"

One note: even though the grout does not ever need sealing and is very stain resistant (my messy household has really put it to the test, too!), the matching CAULK is apparently NOT as stain resistant and probably does need sealing. I am going to try and recaulk a few areas and seal, as the caulk has stained in a few places , though the grout has not-- It is still as clean and white as the day it was installed.

I hope this helps other grout "perfectionists" out there!

Was the caulking you used latex or silicone ?

It was the Mapei sanded Keracaulk. I did a quick google in order to answer your question, Cabot & Rowe. It is advertised as a" siliconized acrylic" caulk. Should I seal it? After cleaning the caulk, can I caulk over it with new caulk to hide the existing stains (there is room, as my husband kind of under filled the caulk joint a bit.

I emailed Mapei today about the caulk staining (since I was thinking about it from this thread being renewed) and they said it shouldn't need sealing. The staining I have is behind the sink, where dish water, etc.(dripping off our hands as we turn the faucet on and off--I think the countertop might slightly lean back towards the wall) has left some stains. They suggested using a 50/50 solution of bleach and water and spraying it on and letting it sit for 10 minutes and wiping it off. He said it shouldn't hurt the caulk. Just thought I'd share this in case anyone else has this problem with caulk. HTH someone else, too.

Anywhere near water we use 100% silicone. In this case its the Kerasil

Is that too avoid staining? Could I just add some on top of the older Keracaulk S (the joint is a bit "underfilled" anyway. Thanks!

This thread was years old and I'm not sure if a reply make it visible or if it's too old but I'm in a situation where I went to get avalanche silicone caulking (mapesil-T) but it only comes in white which is definitely beige/yellowish next to the avalanche. My tile is bright white subway tile in the shower and matte white penny tile on the shower floor. tiles start going in tomorrow and although I found avalanche silicone at lowes it won't arrive until feb 6. I could apply it myself in that case instead of having the tile guy apply it or go with White and hope it doesn't look really yellow. I also thought I could use warm gray as that's the silicone I'll use on the floor but it'd be butted up to the white floor and white wall so I'm not so sure about that idea. Any thoughts? How much would just the silicone bother a person? I think the got the grout right (I'm using avalanche on the tile). I also thought I could use the cheaper kwik seal since it come in bright white. thx!

Use GE 100% silicone from the orange box store. Its the whitest. It will be very fresh and highly available.

thx much! The tile guy is telling me that since I bought the flecolor CQ mapei grout there is no need for silicone but he can put it if I want. Is there a reason to have it in the shower corners? I imagine I'll need to use it on top of the vanity since I am not going to have anything attaached to the backsplash to protect water from going down the walls. I am going to have a 4 1/2 foot wainscoat in the whole bathroom. thx

Caulking is REQUIRED at all changes of plane (inside corners) according to the NTCA and every tile manufacturer. In the NTCA manual, it is under section EJ-171.

thx so much for pointing to the manual! All I could find regarding silicone on that page was the following: " Movement joints are filled with material that allows for contraction and expansion. For floor applications, urethane, neoprene, or polysulfide are most often used in traffic areas and silicone sometimes where traffic is not a concern." I'm wondering if the grout I bought could include some of the other ingredients listed and that may be why the tile guy thinks it's not necessary? I looked on the grout mix package and it did not state ingredients. With reading regarding movement joints I'm curious if the silicone is supposed to be used INSTEAD of grout in along the changes of plane? Also, when you say "inside corners" do you mean any edge where there's a tile (wall meets a wall, wall meets a floor, wall meets a ceiling) or just the corners where 3 edges meet? thx!

I meant any inside turn, 90 degrees is typical. Outside turns are usually grouted and there is no specification.

thankyou. I was also reading on Mapei's website and they do say that is one of the purposes for silicone. I wonder why my tile guy and another contractor thought it was unnecessary. Concerning. Better safe than sorry. I'll go get the GE silicone since the mapei avalanche isn't anywhere to be found locally. I could order it and it would be arrive first week of Feb, but then I'd have to apply it instead of the tile guy. If it's super easy and recommended that I stick to the same color I can do it otherwise GE silicone it is. Sounds like 100% grout in the corners?

I'm not sure what you meant by your last question.

I miswrote. I think I'm hearing that he should not grout the corners and then put silicone on top, but he should apply only silicone to all corners. thx!

You are correct. The silicone does not go on top of the grout. That would defeat the purpose of the caulking. You want the caulking between the tiles to allow for expansion and contraction. Grouts are usually designed to have very high compression ratings, which is the opposite of what you want in the inside corners.

given what you sent about joints that makes sense. thx!

I picked up some GE white silicone. HD had 2 kinds-one that was a buck more or so that comes in a gold tube and the other that comes in a silver tube. The gold tube says "100% waterproof silicone, kitchen, bath, fixtures, countertops. 10 yr mold free product protection. fights mildew and fungus. adheres to more surfaces compared to most acetoxy curing silicones. excellent for most metal finishes. lifetime guarantee. low odor. wet and dry. non paintable.

The silver bottle says: 100% waterproof tub and tile silicone. shower, sink, glass, countertop, resists mold, shrink proof, crack proof, permanently waterproof, lifetime guarantee. freeze and sun-proof, wet and dry, non paintable.

I'm leaning towards the gold one? thx!

The only difference (so I've been told) is the interior stuff has retarders inside to slow the curing process to allow for more cosmetically pleasing installation. Outside you don't need to be so neat.

thanku. i'll prob use the gold. I bought one of each but now I'm realizing I should get another tube or 2 just in case. I don't know how much one bottle will do so better safe than sorry.

each tube will cover at least 30 linear feet

thx!

lynnster52 I saw the photos you uploaded of the white tiles, was that the ultracolor plus from map? Did you try the Cq grout? How did they compare? I am looking for the whitest white grout for white subway tiles.

thanks.

@kimromen Did the GE silicone match the Avalanche grout?

We ended up taking the advice of our tile guy and Mapei, which was wait a year or so or if we see cracking then put silicone. I know that is not the advice of many however. Hope we don't regret that decision down the road. We did get a couple of items to silicone other items and everything seemed so stark white so when it comes time that we will caulk the shower my guess is we'll go with clear like they did around the shower fixtures which is working out well so far.

Hi @kimromen so what is filling your joints at change of plane now?

Just the grout when did the tile. I asked the tile guy several times and he really advised against the Silicon saying it's not going to look good and he's never had any of his customers silicone the edges

I used the Mapei Keracolor U in Avalanche just the other day and I will tell you, when it dries, it dries white as subway tile. BRIGHT WHITE. No question about it. I wish I went with White or something slightly darker to have a little contrast between tile and grout. But it sure looks mega clean.

I tried the Ultracolor Plus FA and found it difficult to work with since it is more rapid setting and I am in a hot environment with big walls.

Zach. Thx for letting us know!

Here is the recommended “whitest white” Flexcolor CQ Avalanche. Clearly it’s not white or it was mislabeled. Mapei will knot admit fault though. They said we must have stripped the color, but that was the way they could weasel out if it. It’s odd considering CQ’s existence is to prevent that from happening. We should have tested out some sections but in hindsight I would not use a Mapei product.

Has anyone tried Mapei White? People at the stores always recommend Avalanche and don’t seem to know much about the White. Is this a beige white or a gray white? I have slightly off white tiles and am concerned that avalanche will be too stark.

I used the white and within a month it yellowed. Having to redo

In case this thread is still helpful to folks, we used Maipei's newer item: ULTRACOLOR PLUS MAX in Pure White. It comes in two colors (pure white and black). Advertised as brightest white on the market and it is indeed very white! We did a new shower with white subway (daltile artic white) and it looks great with this grout. We used maipei frost color on the marble floor (which looks way lighter than the maipei pamphlet shows) and the two colors and materials look nice together. Good luck grouting everyone!

I used Ultracolor Plus FA in Avalanche and it came out really nice and as close to pure white as I can imagine. I did not use water and a sponge at all during the cleaning process. Instead I wiped excess off with a dry cloth, then immediately used a rounded metal scraper to shape the grout (don't wait for it to set) and it came out simply amazing and professional looking. As a result, there was no way to 'pull out the color' and the color remained as white as it can be.