Professional Tile and Grout Cleaning as a service is a relative new comer to the cleaning industry. Regardless of how long it has been around it has exploded as a service people need and since you are reading this, I bet you are one of those people, and you are looking for a Professional Tile and Grout Cleaner. We would love the be your choice but either way there are some things you should know.

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First, a note about grout lines

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Cleaning tile and grout is essentially power washing and does not damage the grout lines. So, If the grout is missing after cleaning, then it was not securely held in the grout line. Which means one of a few things happened: improper installation or there was a strong impact in that area, and/or the floor tile itself is loose. If any of those conditions exists cleaning the grout may knock the grout out of the grout line and you may need to have the grout redone. This is not something that can always be foreseen so it is not something you should hold your Professional Tile and Grout Cleaner responsible for.

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Our Tile and Grout Cleaning Process Step by Step

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When we arrive, we will first inspect the job looking for indications of loose grout, measure the rooms and make a plan of action.

Once we have the size of the rooms, we will write out the invoice and show it to you. Then ask you sign the invoice in acknowledgement of the work to be done and the price.  We will not change the amount we charge unless you decide to change the work we are doing. Because of the way the world runs today, if you cannot be present to sign the invoice, we will text you a picture of it and ask you to reply that you accept it.

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The Cleaning Begins…

To begin we will sweep the floor and clear the area of furniture if the furniture can and should be moved.

Next, we apply the cleaning agent to the floor making sure to coat the floor with enough solution it will remain wet for 10 to 20 minutes to give the cleaning agent time to dwell. (If the areas we are cleaning are large it may be necessary to only pretreat half the room at a time.) The dwell time is maybe the most important step in the cleaning process. When the chemical is given enough dwell time more of the dirt and grime will be loosened from the tile and grout so that it can be extracted.

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During the dwell time the Technician will finish setting up the power washer and the extraction equipment.

 

Scrubbing the Grout Lines

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Next it is time to scrub the grout lines. This is the part that is labor intensive. There are several tools that are made to clean the grout lines but none of them work as well as an old school grout brush and elbow grease.

Grout of course is made with cement so it is very porous. Because it’s porous dirt will get deep within the grout which is why dwell time is so important, it gives the cleaning agent time to soak down into the grout and loosen the dirt deep within. Using a grout brush adds agitation to the process to loosen even more of the dirt and suspends it in the cleaning agent.

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Extraction

We begin the extraction process by setting up a pressure washer with the pressure set at 1500 psi.  So, the dirt from the grout is suspend in the cleaning solution waiting to be extracted but we still have the dirt on the tile. Almost all ceramic and porcelain tile have a top coat on them. Which means they are sealed and are not porous therefore the dirt and such will not go deep within the tile but there is still microscopic crevasses that dirt can attach its self to. Appling the cleaning agent is enough to loosen the dirt and then the high-water pressure (1500 psi) will knock the dirt free from the microscopic crevasses in which they hide.

To extract we use a tool called a Spinner. The Spinner is a floor tool that has a dome and under that dome is a manifold that has two spray jets. The manifold spins and sprays the high-pressure water as we move it along the floor. Around the perimeter of the dome are vacuum slots that extract the water and dirt taking it out to our truck and in to our waste tank that we take with us and dump at our shop in to a floor drain.

 

Closing thoughts

Sometimes after extraction there are some puddles of residual water that form, as a result, we will sometimes need to mop over the floor to remove them but for the most oar that is all we will have left except letting the floor dry and replacing nay furniture we moved

Right after cleaning is the absolute best time to seal the grout. Doing so fills the porous material so dirt cannot embed itself deep with in the grout.  So, the grout will remain clean for a much longer time.

Now is the best time to change the color of your grout, right after cleaning. Keeping in mind that the grout colorant is in part a grout sealant also therefore you will not need to seal your grout. IF you would like information on changing your grout color click here.