Are you unhappy with the state of your countertops and shower stalls?

Do your tiles give the word vintage a bad name?

Are they cracked, chipped, held in place by lines of black mildew?

Well then... don't pout, regrout! I know it sounds like a big hairy mess, but it's actually pretty easy. Believe me, with a few simple tools and a winning attitude, even a home improvement boob can turn her terrible tiles into a treasure. (Or at least make them look presentable, which is what I was after.)

I just moved into a rent house whose shower floor and kitchen counter tops had seen better days. At first glance I thought they were just moldy, but on closer inspection (after signing the lease, of course) I realized that the dark patches between the tiles weren't discoloration, but shadows cast by missing grout! And the grout that was intact was all stained, irregular, and impervious to bleach. I was really bummed out because I knew these areas would never look clean no matter how much I scrubbed and scoured. Call me anal but I don't live at the Y so why should my bathroom look like the one at the gym?

My friend Christie suggested I regrout. It was the easiest thing on earth, she said, so why didn't I do it right away before I unpacked anything? She talked me through the process right there, and it was convincing enough that I purchased the supplies that afternoon. (The fact that she had only seen the process done on T.V. was revealed later but did not effect the outcome.) I followed the directions and it worked great!

Here's what you will need:

• 1 Qt pre-mixed tile grout (under $6 at Home Depot)
• grout removal tool ($1.95)
• a clean sponge
• grout sealant (under $5)
• a plastic spreader (find this in the paint section with the scrapers)

Here's how to do it:

1. Assess the area you want to regrout and decide if you need to remove old grout or not. (I did two 2'x3' countertops and a 3'x3' shower floor, and the grout was so old that it was either missing and very low in places so I didn't have to scrape much out.)

2. Remove old grout. You need to do this first so there will be spaces for the new grout to fill in. In most cases you only need to scrape out about a millimeter and the new stuff will take. Pulling out the old grout is the most time consuming part, but the little pointy end of the grout tool works like a charm.

3. Clean and dry the surface (sponge away the dead grout dust ).

4. Spread pre-mixed grout over the surface and smash it down into the cracks. The tool you are working with is sort of like a squeegee, so you are effectively packing it into the holes and then leveling them off (kind of like the way you were taught to measure flour in home economics). Remember to only do small areas at a time, because you are only supposed to let it harden for 15 minutes before wiping the excess grout from the surface.

5. Wipe excess grout from the surface with a sponge. To me, this was the hardest part because it felt like I was also wiping away the grout from the cracks. The trick is not to scrub, but wipe. It's practically impossible to get it ALL off the top without smearing the grout in the cracks, so mainly just get the lumps and clumps off of the tile surface, the rest will come off with a damp cloth after the grout dries for good.

6. Wait 48 hours (I know, I know... it's like waiting for Christmas morning).

7. Wipe off the surface again (pay special care to any individual tiles that look like they might have an obvious residue on them and try to polish it off).

8. Apply sealant according to instructions. The sealant won't make a shiny coat on top, it permeates the grout to make it waterproof and more resistant to stain, so don't expect some kind of polyurethane coating.

9. Wait 24 hours (At least it's not 48 this time).

10.Voila, like new!