Tile and grout cleaning is an industry that belonged to the janitorial and maid service industry as recently as 10 years ago, but now it has seamlessly connected itself to ours as we have developed tools and chemicals that work in conjunction with our truckmounts and portables to produce better results with faster cleaning times.
Cleaning tile can be easy, but isn’t it usually the grout that we have the toughest time to clean?
The problem with grout is that each time tile is mopped, dirt and stains get pushed down into the grout lines making it several times dirtier than the tile.
We use our chemicals and high-pressure tools like the “Turbo” to clean, but sometimes the grout still looks blotchy. Removing blotchiness isn’t as difficult as it really seems and you don’t have to use dangerous acid based products.
There are two major types of grout we run across daily, cementious grout and epoxy grout. The difference is basically just in the chemistry of their makeup. Cementious is made out of cement (lime-based) and epoxy is similar to silicone or glue. As far as cleaning, I have not found any major differences between cementious or epoxy grout. But when it comes to sealing, cementious grout needs to be sealed with a good penetrating sealer that lowers the surface tension so the stains will be repelled. Epoxy does not need to be sealed, since it will not absorb moisture like an unsealed cementious grout. Also, cementious grout by urinals can be permanently damaged by urine.
Most grout will come clean using a “Turbo” type tool and a pre-spray that contains oxygen and surfactants. Keep it wet, as oxygen only works when it is wet. If the grout still looks blotchy, pre-spray again, let it get absorbed into the grout and keep it wet for fifteen minutes. Use a “Raptor” or “Gekko” type tool with 1,200 psi (on stable grout). These tools can remove the toughest blotchiness. The reason for this is that these tools have jets with small openings (.02) and small spraying angles (5 degrees) which concentrate all the pressure on one spot of the grout. The pressure is necessary to get into the small opening of the grout to blow out the dirt and the oxygen is necessary to bleach away years of dirt and stains that have been absorbed into the grout. Repeating the process can be also beneficial, as the first time around, the oxygen and surfactants might not have been absorbed due to buildup.
What about dirty grout in the bathroom? The dirty grout in the bathroom is a lot different than that found on typical floors. Bathrooms have soap scum and hard-water deposits. A low-pH cleaner works best. Store-bought products contain harsh chemicals and are extremely dangerous when used repeatedly. Just pull up an MSDS sheet for any of these products and you’ll see what I mean.
But there is good news, our industry (including our company) has started to address this issue. Now, there are products that are safe and even green that work great in these situations.
