Loose bathroom floor tiles are usually fixed by removing the tile, cleaning the cavity, re-bedding it with thin-set, and re-grouting the joint.

Start by carefully lifting the loose tile using a flat chisel and a small hammer, working from the grout line inward to avoid cracking neighboring tiles. Remove all old adhesive and thin-set from both the back of the tile and the floor substrate using a scraper until you reach sound material; a rag dampened with warm water helps soften remaining mastic. Inspect the substrate for movement or hollow spots by pressing around the cavity; if the subfloor is plywood and feels spongy you should screw down or replace the damaged section because tile needs a rigid base. Mix a quality polymer-modified thin-set to a peanut butter consistency and trowel an even layer both on the floor and a thin butter coat on the tile back to ensure full coverage; when the tile is fully bedded you should see a small squeeze out around the edges. Set the tile with a firm twist and press motion and use tile spacers to maintain joint lines at the same level as surrounding tiles, then remove excess thin-set from the joints before it skins over. Allow the thin-set to cure for the time recommended by the manufacturer, then grout with a sanded or unsanded grout appropriate to your joint width, and seal the grout after it cures to protect from moisture and stains.

Three common mistakes are reusing the same adhesive without removing old material, which prevents proper bonding and leads to repeat failure, so always clean both surfaces to a sound substrate. Another frequent issue is not addressing the subfloor movement that caused the looseness, which means you should reinforce or replace unstable substrate before reattaching the tile. A final problem is improper thin-set coverage leaving voids under the tile, which you can avoid by buttering the tile and combing the mortar on the floor with the correct notch size trowel to achieve full bed coverage and then checking for squeeze out when setting the tile.

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