I hope someone will help with the grout issue. They will probably want to know about the brand and kind of grout and what kind of waterproofing was done behind the tile. I can't help with that but just wanted to say I think you did an amazing job tiling! That looks better than many of the "pro" installed tiles we see here!

@Olychick Thank you for the compliment, very nice to hear because it was a lot of work!

I believe the grout was Mapei flexcolor premixed grout in dark grey. The waterproofing behind is red-guard painted on hardie backer board, with a 3mm vapor barrier behind that.

If you use a microfiber cloth to rub the grout do you get what looks like grout on the cloth or is it more like scum?

"The waterproofing behind is red-guard painted on hardie backer board, with a 3mm vapor barrier behind that."

You should NOT have a 3 mm vapor barrier AND Redguard. You have what is called a mold sandwich, not sure it is causing your issues but it certainly will cause others if not this one. One type of waterproofing only never multiple.

@millworkman Do you mean should NOT have….?

You should NOT have a 3mm vapor barrier AND RedGard.

I'm sure that's what millworkman meant to say.

It looks like you just didn't do a complete job of tooling the grout when you applied it. You would have to scrape off the gritty parts with a razor, but since it's been a year you would risk scratching the tile by doing that, so I would leave it be since you didn't seem to notice it before.

The orange spots might be the beginning of bacterial growth of Serratia marcescens, which feeds on fatty substances such as soap and shampoo.

The grout looks to be more porous than usual...almost like a sponge. Is the grout soft? Dark grouts might not sell as quickly as the lighter ones so maybe that pre-mixed grout had been sitting around for a while.

@millworkman hm ok. we were thinking to double up on waterproofing for more protection. i dont see how water could have gotten behind there at all? the vapor barrier was put in to protect the framing.

Moisture in the framing lumber guaranteed and now no air exchange. You never use two moisture barriers as it is not a matter of if only when you will have issues.

@catbuilder yeah i was thinking to try to scrape the excess but i guess we waited too long 😕 that bacteria sounds gross, looked up some ways to clean it, so ill try that and hopefully will get rid of it. thanks!

@Jeff Meeks the grout does look more porous, which i cant understand, but it isnt soft! maybe we just got some bad grout? really bummed if our whole tile job is ruined just because of the grout.

Flexcolor CQ only looks like that when it is both overwashed before drying sufficiently, and the resultant haze is not cleaned enough.

It takes being aggressively muscular, at the right stage of cure, to work with Flexcolor, or any grout, really. Too much water, too soon, and you get that washed out look. The sponge needs to be virtually dry damp, not wet. It isn’t a difficult grout at all to work with, but dark grout will tell all of your sins doing anything the slightest bit incorrectly.

You can try using Blaze, with a red scrubbie pad on a drill, being careful to keep it in a 90degree perpindicular plane to the walls, but it may be the way it is permanantly. If that doesnt help, its a live with it or a full and complete do over. Which, given the build behind the walls, the do over is the best long term solution.

@Robin Kolber The thing with Redguard is that it is a waterproofing membrane and a vapor retarder ie it will let water vapor through from all the steam in the shower and there is obviously also water vapor in regular air. If you put another vapor barrier behind it you end up trapping a fair amount of water vapor and this becomes a damp stagnant environment suitable for mold growth. If you used regular drywall this can be a disaster, but will be marginally better if you used cement backer board.