Without a doubt, when you complete your home improvement with tiles, the value of the house is bound to increase. This is no rocket science to most residents of the Adelaide hills. Tiles were designed to last a very long time, to be versatile, and easy to clean. However, when they get dirty, cleaning them is often uncomfortable, messy, and close to impossible to obtain the exact outcome that comes with professional tile & grout cleaning. The reason being that grout is a material which is porous and collects grimes, spills, and dirt, and this often discolors the tile surface. This is the kind of knowledge a young couple of ours had while living in the Adelaide hills had before she called us. She wanted the tiles in her 5-bedroom home cleaned and around her pool cleaned while maintaining the value of her property at the same time.
The Client
A young couple living in Adelaide Hills
The Challenge
The tiles of a 5-bedroom home owned by young couple needed professional cleaning. The tiles were cleaned a few months ago by some cleaners, but she was not satisfied with the level of cleaning. She wanted more and after narrating her ordeal to a lawyer colleague at work, Benson Cleaning Services was recommended to her. She contacted us immediately. After getting her address, we advised her of our process and she was very happy so she booked us in (as scheduled!).
How we helped
When we got to our client’s residence, she was glad to meet us and kept hammering into our ear that she expected more from us. However, she didn’t forget to request for our IICRC certificate which we showed her. She wasn’t ready to take any chance this time around we guessed!
After showing us the areas she would like to have cleaned, our team went ahead to carry out some cleaning preparation which included pre scrubbing of some soiled areas which were missed last time round. We then went ahead to agitate small areas at a time before pressure cleaning the tiles, the areas were also being inspected by our client and so far she was very impressed. Once all the tiled areas were pressure cleaned we then mopped all the hard floors with a special neutral floor chemical to remove any chemical residue.
Next came the pool patio tiles. Reopening her pool after the spring means she was greeted with a pool which was a little dirtier than how it was last year. This was a fairly large open area of around 130sqm including a small retaining wall to be pressure cleaned.
Quite unfortunately, soil, lawn chemicals, tree leaves, and foods in addition to other natural dirt weren’t treating the pavers nor pool itself any good. It can’t be denied that thorough, professional cleaning is necessary. Our team cleaned the tiles with appropriate detergents so that soil and every other foreign matter can be lifted off the pavers. Wet vacuums were then used to lift the residue from the tiles.
The Result
After a long day at our clients home, she was very happy as both indoor areas as well as outdoor areas looked brilliant. She was astonished by our outstanding result such that she contracted out her carpet cleaning work to our company immediately – that we did the following week.
Nevertheless, our editorial staff at Bensons Cleaning Service put together some DIY tiles cleaning tips to help you if you want to maintain your tiles yourself. You should be able to get a decent result if you plan using them.
DIY Ceramic Flooring Tiles Cleaning
Tiles will consistently keep its position in the world as one of the best indoor flooring surfaces, but unfortunately, a ceramic floor doesn’t keep its good looks without proper maintenance. And when any issue does appear, it most times has to do with grout. However, a tile grout that is deteriorating is undoubtedly something you’ll be able to fix up yourself. All you’ll need is the type of info you’ll find in this piece.
There are several things you should have a grasp of before getting busy ripping out old grout and putting in some new material:
Is an awful grout color the issue with your flooring? Light colors of grout lines can be darkened readily with paint-on grout dye.
Is crumbling grout plaguing you? As you’ll see, this can be simple to repair.
Cracked grout may be another problem because this type of failure likely goes beyond lousy grout itself. Maybe it’s that small movement of the tile on wall, or a bad subfloor is the cause. If this is true, then the new grout might break finally, also. Having said that, re-grouting continues to be the best approach to take until you’re prepared to get the tile replaced.
How to Remove Old, Failing Grout
The first thing you will need to do is removing the old, failing grout, and this may be hard or simple depending on what you have at hand.
Any local hardware store will sell you a carbide-tipped, claw-shaped hand tool for scraping out old grout, and this comes in handy on little areas with loose grout.
If this hand tool proves tiring or overly slow, there are power tools intended to get the job done. Some of this tools are designed for cutting, polishing, and sanding.
You’ll discover that a blend of hand and power tools does the greatest job getting old grout removed.
Create at least 3 to 4 millimeters of depth to take new grout as you work. There is a possibility of applying grout into openings which might not be deeper than this, but, 3 to 4 millimeter is better because it improves the likelihood that the new grout will stay put.
It’s Vacuum time…
Vacuum the area to remove dust and grit, then take a closer look, when you believe you’ve got all the old grout removed.
Vacuum until you are sure you didn’t miss any spot having the old grout.
Cleanliness is key to the adhesion of your new grout, thus, don’t try to use only a sweeper.
Apply the New Grout
Ceramic tile grout consistently comes as a powder which you mix with water. Begin with mixing a batch of grout to match the consistency of butter. It is possible to do it with a trowel by hand; however you’ll get results that are smoother quickly using a mixing paddle whirled in a hand-held drill.
- Use a rubber-edged or wooden trowel to spread the grout into the grout gap. Ensure all openings are filled, with extra grout. What you’ll have at this period is a flooring that is filthy looking, however, one that’s nearly done.
- Lightly wipe the tiles over a grout joint with a moist sponge after five minutes. What you’re looking for is grout that’s somewhat sturdy, but still soft enough to be wiped off the tiles. Wait if more than the usual tiny little bit of the grout comes out and try again.
- When the grout is stable enough to clean, wipe and rinse your sponge frequently as you work. It may take eight or six passes before the tiles are entirely clean.
- Leave the place for two or a day, then open it up to traffic. You’ll be amazed at how much the appearance of your house will be enhanced.
Peradventure, what you need is a professional tile and grout cleaning, Bensons Cleaning Services is always there to help get an outstanding result. You can get in touch with us at Dernancourt, SA, 5075, AU or call us on 1300 505 354 or 0412 184 687.