Tile And Grout Cleaning Maintenance Tips

One of the most cumbersome and nastiest areas to clean inside your home or office will be your tiles and grout lines. Once you see those grout lines turning dark or yellowish, you feel like there are lots of bacteria present in there. 

Fortunately, we are writing this article to share with you practical advice from our professional tile cleaning service. We hope you’ll have a more convenient means of removing those stubborn dark lines, molds, and mildews in your ceramic or porcelain tiles.

Continue reading to learn more. Enjoy!

Basics About Grout

You use grout to help adhere your tiles together and onto the floor. It is a combination of different compounds, that includes a white colorant, water, sand particles, and cement. Typically, it is porous so it will be prone to stains and bacterial growth when left uncleaned for days.

Furthermore, you can either have a sanded or unhandled grout, so what’s the difference? 

• • Sanded grout is for those wider than 1/8”
  • Unsanded grout is 1/8” wide or thinner

Nevertheless, we have a third classification – epoxy grout, which is used in bathrooms and kitchen tiles. This type has a better resistance against moisture, stains, and dirt particles. 

Do’s for Tile and Grout Cleaning

• • Regularly vacuum or mop your tiles and grout to prevent piles of dirt.
  • Keep your shower and tub area well-ventilated to avoid that extra moisture, which provides a conducive environment for mold and mildew growth.
  • Use only pH-neutral tile and grout cleaning solutions for your daily sanitation
  • Wash or change your mops when cleaning your floor tiles and grout lines.

Dont’s for Tile and Grout Cleaning

• • It is never pretty much recommended to use soap-based solutions for your kitchen and bathroom tile and grout cleaning regimen. Consequently, it leaves a thin film of a soapy layer on your grout lines, and it can dull out your tiles.
  • Avoid using acidic or basic cleaning products for this effort since it can cause etching and dullness on your tiles and grouts.
  • Never use steel wool or any abrasive scrubbers for cleaning your ceramic tiles and grouts.

General Method for Cleaning Your Ceramic Tiles and Grouts

With our years of experience for our residential and commercial tile and grout cleaning service, we managed to establish a systematic means of doing it. Here are the basic steps you can follow for restoring the whiteness and neatness of your tiles and porous grouts.

1. Prepare your tiled area before scrubbing or washing. With that, you can these three things below:

• • Dry Mopping, Sweeping, or Vacuuming: You need to remove the larger debris and dirt on your floor and wall tiles through these processes.
  • Hot Water and Sponge: It is another effective method to collect those piles of dirt and scums on your tiles and grouts. Hot water softens those stubborn black and yellowish stains, so you can remove some of its first layers.
  • Stagnant Water: You need to remove any pool or stagnant water sitting on your floor tiles. With that, you are preventing molds and mildews from growing.

1. You can either use a DIY cleaning product or a commercial tile and grout solution for your major scrubbing process. Make sure to read the label because you cannot use highly acidic or basic cleaning products for your ceramic tiles.
2. To agitate and scrub your tiles and grouts, you can do it manually or using a counter-rotary brush.
3. For manual scrubbing, you need to glove up and use an old toothbrush or any soft-bristled nylon brush. 
4. To remove excess foam and dirt, you can use a sponge, mop, or a wet vacuum.
5. Thoroughly rinse well with water.
6. You can also do re-sealing of your grouts if necessary.

You save a lot when you can wash and disinfect your floor and wall tiles on your own, yet if you don’t have enough time to handle this chore, then hiring a local grout cleaning service is your second-best option.

Can You Use Bleach for White or Neutrally-Colored Tiles?

To some extent, you can use bleach but you have to dilute it, to avoid discoloration and etching. Spray a sufficient amount on the stained or dirty area and let it sit for 10 to 15 minutes. After, rinse it with water.

Any Home-made Tile and Grout Cleaning Products?

There are a few household products you can use to wash and restore the sanitation and whiteness of your ceramic tiles. Fortunately, you can use your baking soda and hydrogen peroxide either as a stand-alone or mixed cleaning reagent for this purpose.

These two household items have excellent cleaning action for the dark and yellowish stains on your tiles and grouts. Moreover, it cannot harm your ceramic tiles like bleach and muriatic acid can do.

Likewise, always use non-abrasive scrubbers for washing your ceramic tiles, like an old toothbrush, rag, sponge, or soft-bristled nylon brush.

How To Resolve Faded Grout Colors?

There are also instances that your effective ceramic tile and grout cleaning process cannot restore the original color of your grouts. No need to fret since you can use grout colorants to fix this issue.

You can buy grout colorants that match the original color of your grout lines from any hardware or home improvement stores near you. It works like paint, so there’s no problem in applying it.

Nevertheless, you need to wash your tiles and grouts first, before applying any grout colorant to bring back its brand new appearance.

Hire A Professional Cleaning Service

If DIY cleaning is not feasible on your part, then you can hire a local cleaning company near you like Next Day Cleaning LLC. We offer a full range of floor cleaning packages for the homeowners and business establishments in Virginia, Maryland, and Washington DC metro area. 

Our tile and grout steam cleaning method gained the best customer recognition because it guarantees thorough washing and stain removal. Also, we offer flexible rates for your tile and grout cleaning services cost that fits any budget.