Grout Cleaning

Welcome to my Work History archive where you will find detailed examples of the cleaning and renovation of Grout carried out in South Essex

Cleaning and Renovating Grout

The top layer of grout is porous and can absorb grease, dirt and limescale. Spillages such as wine, lemonades or greasy substances will cause marks and patches in the joints in the floor. Grout between wall-tiles particularly in damp areas like bathrooms will become dirty and unattractive as a result of Mould, Mildew and Limescale.

Mould is one of the most unsightly problems, which usually starts off in the wettest area of the room, this could be the bottom of the shower or bath, then starts to spread and if left unchecked could cover a large area of the wall.

Another common issue we find is a problem known as Grout Haze or Grout Smearing where a thin layer of grout has been left to set on the surface of the tile. Once grout has set it is difficult to remove.

Discolouration of grout joints in bath or shower areas due to continued use of acid formulated shampoos and soaps. This causes yellow orange and pink stains to the grout over even a short period of time. Whilst Grout Joints can be cleaned, badly stained grout may need to be re-coloured.

Protecting your grout in advance with a sealer will prevent most of these issues and although relatively unknown in the UK, protection awareness is growing. Sealing forms an invisible barrier between the grout and the surface, this will then protect your investment for years to come.

We have solutions for all the problems listed above and below you will find detailed examples of work we have carried out in the past to resolve many of these issues. It should give you some idea of what’s involved and what can be achieved with the right techniques and products.


Grout Cleaning And Re-Colouring A Ceramic Tiled Floor In Canvey Island

Here’s a quick grout cleaning and re-colouring job I completed in the town of Canvey Island, Essex. Canvey Island lies on the south east coast, and lies just above sea level which in my job is always worth noting as the area can be prone to flooding. This wasn’t the problem here though, simply put, my client was unhappy with the colour of their grout, and wanted it re-coloured to a darker shade to match the grey Ceramic floor tiles.

Cleaning the grout before re-colouring is essential because, as many readers are probably well aware, grouts are porous and therefore can very easily absorb dirt and grease. Most often this will result in grout discolouration if not dealt with promptly.

Ceramic tiles before cleaning and colouring in canvey island

Cleaning and Re-Colouring the grout lines of a Ceramic tiled floor

So, as mentioned above the first step in the re-colouring process involved cleaning the grout lines. For this Tile Doctor has a special Pre-Treat Cleaner which is sprayed on and scrubbed into the grout to both remove any existing dirt and also to prepare the grout joints for a superior bond with the Grout Colourant. Once complete the grout lines looked clean and refreshed.

To clean the ceramic I diluted one part Tile Doctor Pro-Clean to three parts water, and used it to wash down the Ceramic tiles, leaving a consistent level of cleanliness across the entire floor. I then rinsed the floor with water which was then extracted using a wet vacuum and waited for 3 hours for the floor to dry.

Once dry, I began the process of applying the Charcoal Grey (as chosen by the client) Grout Colourant to the grout lines. As well as changing the colour the colourant also forms a barrier over the grout sealing it in and protecting it from future staining for years to come.

Then, once dry, the floor was given another quick clean using a light spray of water and a white buffing pad, resulting in an aesthetically pleasing sheen finish. My client was very happy with the outcome and now has the floor they wanted.

Ceramic tiles after cleaning and colouring in canvey island

 
 

Cleaning and Re-Colouring grout lines with grout colourant in Essex

Grout Cleaning And Re-Colouring A Ceramic Tiled Floor In Canvey Island Read More »

Terracotta Tiled floor Restoration in Chingford

These photographs are from an old Terracotta tiled floor in Chingford, Essex that had been under carpet for years. The owners had removed carpet which had been glued to the tiles beneath and found this lovely floor which they wanted to restore as an original feature. As you can see it was in a bad state and needed some work on it.

Terracotta Tiles in Chingford Before Cleaning

Remove Grout Haze and Cleaning Terracotta Tiles

We started by giving the floor a deep clean with Tile Doctor Pro Clean which was left to dwell on the floor for ten minutes before working it into the floor using a scrubbing machine fitted with a black pad. I knew this wouldn’t resolve all the problems but it was a good start and would show what was going to be removed easily.

As expected there were a number of stubborn areas including the surface glue especially around the edges which needed to be tackled with a stronger product so the next step was to apply Tile Doctor Remove and Go which as the name suggests is a coatings remover that will remove almost anything and is safe to use on tiles. Hand scrapers were used along the edges of the floor and although the area was relatively small it took a long time to remove all the various contaminants.

Another issue we found was grout haze on the surface of the tile and for that we need to apply Tile Doctor Grout Clean-Up which was applied to the tile surface and scrubbed in with black scrubbing pads.

Terracotta Tiles in Chingford During Cleaining

Once satisfied the haze was removed we washed the floor down three times with water to remove any residue using a wet vacuum to pick up the slurry and suck any remaining liquids from the floor to allow it to dry quicker..

The floor turned out to be quite acceptable to customer who was happy with the results. They were going to seal the floor themselves once all the decorating had been completed.

Terracotta Tiles in Chingford After Cleaning

 
 

Restoring Terracotta tiled floor in Essex

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Grout Haze Removal from a new Quarry Tiled floor in Woodford, E18

These photographs are from a recently laid Quarry tiled floor in Woodford. East London where the tiler had smothered the tiles with grout and left it on the surface too long where it had then dried and he was unable to remove it. Unable to rectify the problem the Quarry tiles were then sealed, I suspect this was in an attempt to improve the look of the floor which unfortunately left it looking quite the opposite.

Quarry Tiles with Grout Haze

Remove Grout Haze and Cleaning Quarry Tiles

Undeterred by the state of the floor which we were confident could be put right we took the job on. The first step was to remove the sealer by using a strong dilution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean mixed 3 parts water to 1 part Pro-Clean. This was left to dwell on the tile surface for ten minutes before scrubbing with black pads fitted to a rotary scrubbing machine.

Removing Grout Haze

Once we were happy the sealer had been removed we could tackle the Grout Haze with Tile Doctor Grout Clean-Up. It’s applied to the tile surface and again scrubbed in with black scrubbing pads. There was a lot of grout haze so the processes had to be repeated; all the edges were done on hands and knees with small doodle bug pads. Once the haze was removed we washed the floor three times with water to remove any residue.

Quarry Tile During Cleaning Quarry Tiles with Partial Grout Haze

The dirty solution was removed using a wet vacuum and the floor was rinsed three times to remove the residue and neutralise it, the floor was then left for 48 hours to allow it dry fully prior to sealing.

Sealing Quarry Tiles

When we returned we sealed the Quarry tiles using Tile Doctor Seal and Go which is recommended for sealing quarry tiles and give’s a nice low sheen effect. Five coats of sealer where needed in total which took some time to apply as you have to let the sealer dry before applying the next coat.

Quarry Tiles Cleaned and Sealed

The result was a very satisfied customer.
 
 

Grout haze removed from new Quarry tiles in East London

Grout Haze Removal from a new Quarry Tiled floor in Woodford, E18 Read More »

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South Essex Tile Doctor

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