Friday, May 27, 2016

Professional Tile Cleaning in San Antonio: The Professional Difference

Do you know the differences between do it yourself tile cleaning  and professional tile cleaning in San Antonio?
Grout and Tile Cleaning in San Antonio | Call Us Today | (210) 637-5050
Grout and Tile Cleaning in San Antonio | Call Us Today | (210) 637-5050

A Professional Tile Cleaning Service Has Both Knowledge and Experience

As we covered in a previous article, marble, limestone, and travertine are all types of natural stone heavily used in homes. They are beautiful, and add elegance and grace to your environment, however, they are also members of the calcium carbonate family of stones. As such, they require highly specialized care. If you have a ceramic tile floor in your kitchen and you spill your coffee or orange juice, you probably wipe it up and don't think anything more about it, however, if you spill anything acidic on a calcium carbonate surface, you might end up seeing your stone surface erode before your eyes.
But what about if you have ceramic or porcelain tile? Well, for one, harsh chemicals can strip the glaze from these tiles and cause damage to the grout as well. And that is yet another reason to consult a professional tile cleaning service in San Antonio, they know about grout care and cleaning.

Grout Cleaning and Care

Another good reason for hiring a professional service is they know how to take care of your grout.  Grout is an often overlooked component in floor care, but it matters a lot.  Grout is both a cement and a cushion for your tile, helping to protect the edges from cracking.   A professional tile cleaning service will clean your grout and recommend services that will help it to stay clean such as grout sealing.
Grout sealing helps to fill in the numerous pores in the grout and helps to protect it from stains and damage.  If your grout is protected, your tile is protected as well.  If you want more reasons to hire a tile cleaning service is they will provide you with tips that you can do safely yourself between visits.  For example, damp mopping is a lot better than wet mopping as it doesn't seep into the grout or cause any water related damage.
As a homeowner, every component of your home is an investment, from the new storm windows and roof to your alarm system, but there is one element that is always there and is often forgotten:  your floor.  That's the big difference between do it yourself tile cleaning and hiring a professional tile cleaning service; they know how to protect your investment.
Lone Star Tile and Grout Cleaning
4019 Stahl Rd, Suite 202
San Antonio TX 78217
(210) 637-5050
Contact Us

Friday, May 20, 2016

Stone Cleaning and Restoration

Stone cleaning and restoration help to keep your natural stone surfaces looking their very best.  And before you rush out to try to restore or clean your stone yourself, there are some things you ought to know

Cleaning Your Stone Yourself: A Warning

Get Natural Stone Care in San Antonio , TX | (210) 637-5050
Get Natural Stone Care in San Antonio , TX | (210) 637-5050
You saw it on TV, and online.  A handy dandy miracle stone cleaning product that allows you to clean your stone yourself.  It's only $19.99, but wait there's more.  If you call today, you can get two bottles for the price of one.  Sounds great.  Except for a few problems.  First off, what's in that cleaning solution?  If it contains any harsh chemicals or anything acidic, it may help you to clean your stone yourself,  but it will almost certainly start to dissolve your stone.
Marble, limestone, and travertine are all types of natural stone heavily used in homes.  They are beautiful, and add elegance and grace to your environment, however, they are also members of the calcium carbonate family of stones.  As such, they require highly specialized care.  If you have a ceramic tile floor in your kitchen and you spill your coffee or orange juice, you probably wipe it up and don't think anything more about it, however, if you spill anything acidic on a calcium carbonate surface, you might end up seeing your stone surface erode before your eyes.  The same holds true for anything that has harsh chemicals in like ammonia.  So much for miracle cleaning products, but what about tried and true home remedies.

Hire a Professional Stone Cleaning Service and Keep Your Stone Looking Good

On one cleaning site, it recommends using white vinegar and lemon juice to help clean a wide variety of surfaces.  While hardwood flooring does well with white vinegar, and non reactive surfaces such as ceramic tile, it can harm your natural stone surfaces.  That's why hiring a professional stone cleaning service in San Antonio is a much better idea.
A professional stone cleaning service will be able to do  your stone cleaning project with both experience and knowledge.  They will have access to professional grade chemicals and will be able to get you the results you want when cleaning your stone surfaces.
So remember, life is all about choices.  These choices also apply to your home.  So remember, if you have natural stone, take care of it the right way.  Hire a professional stone cleaning service in San Antonio.
Lone Star Tile and Grout Cleaning
4019 Stahl Rd, Suite 202
San Antonio TX 78217
(210) 637-5050
Contact Us

Friday, May 13, 2016

Everything You Wanted to Know About Tile Cleaning in San Antonio

Tile cleaning in San Antonio is easy, right?  Well, not exactly...
Call in a professional for tile cleaning in San Antonio | (210) 637-5050
Call in a professional for tile cleaning in San Antonio | (210) 637-5050

San Antonio Tile Cleaning: Ask Your Experts

Here's an industry secret for you. It's not just tile cleaning. The real secret to a great-looking tile floor is not your tile. It is your grout. Since grout is porous, it absorbs grease and other stains very easily. Our advice?
Well, other than calling a grout cleaning service, don't waste your money on commercial cleaners and instead make a paste of baking soda and water. Rub it on any stains, let the mixture sit overnight, then scrub the stain in the morning with a stiff nylon brush. Make sure you do not use a metal brush, as you will not only damage your grout, you have a good chance of damaging your tile as well. Speaking of tile, how do you clean your tile, particularly if it has stains on it.

Cleaning Ceramic Tile

If you have stains on your ceramic tile floor, here is how to clean your tile floor. Coffee, tea, or juice, simply use hot water and detergent, then blot it with hydrogen peroxide. Grease or oil stains, use club soda and water. Ink, use diluted bleach in a cloth, and leave it sitting on top of the stain. For tile countertops, first, make your own cleaner by combining baking soda, liquid soap, water, and a small amount of vinegar, usually just a couple of teaspoons. The exact proportions of the other ingredients will depend on your floor and square footage.
Start with the grout, because it will be the dirtiest part of the tile counter. Tile doesn’t stain easily but grout does. It’s a good idea to wear gloves when cleaning your grout. For more stubborn stains, allow the cleaner to sit for 10 minutes. Use a toothbrush or other small scrub brush to clean your grout. Start at one corner of the counter and work your way across the surface, cleaning all the grout lines. Do not scrub the tile itself with the brush as this could scratch the tiles.
You want to make sure that if you don't know what you're doing, you don't try to fake your way through it. To do so risks damage to your tile as well as to your floor. When in doubt, source it out. And who do you call to clean your tile? Why a tile cleaning service in San Antonio, of course.
Lone Star Tile and Grout Cleaning
4019 Stahl Rd, Suite 202
San Antonio TX 78217
(210) 637-5050
Contact Us

Friday, May 6, 2016

Saltillo Restoration in Spring Branch Texas

Do you know how to restore saltillo?  Your tile cleaning service in Spring Branch, Texas does.
Saltillo Tile Restoration in San Antonio | (210) 637-5050
Saltillo Tile Restoration in San Antonio | (210) 637-5050

How Can I Restore Saltillo Tile Myself?

Saltillo tile restoration should be left in the hands of an expert.  A lot of products promise results that they can't give.
However, if you really want to know how to restore saltillo, there are a few steps to undertake.
According to Home Depot:
You are dead-on in wanting to first start out with stripping and cleaning the old finish/grime/sealant off the surface. The great news is that we sell a product that will clean AND strip your saltillo tiles in one step! It's by Custom Building Products, and is a concentrate that comes in a 32 oz. bottle. Apply it with a sponge mop in a 4ft by 4ft area and let it set for 5 minutes, and scrub any tough areas with a scrub brush. Lastly, take up the remaining residue with a mop and now you have a clean and unsealed surface ready to be re-finished! If you have a large area you are working with, consider renting out a floor maintainer with a scrub pad to really cut down on the time and effort. Lastly with this step, if you have any stubborn spots or you would just like a tougher acid-based product to use, I would recommend using Sulfamic Acid. The one well sell comes in concentrated crystals that can be mixed with water, giving you a effective yet safe-to-use tile cleaner. Only use this though if the cleaner and stripper product I first recommended didn't meet up to your expectations.
Staining your tile
Now that the tile and grout have the sealant taken off and down to its unglazed state, you are now ready to apply a stain of your choice. There are many types of stains out there, they are mostly for concrete and some are acid-based. SOURCE

Saltillo Tile Cleaning

Spring Branch is a suburb of San Antonio.  A professional tile cleaning service in San Antonio can help you with saltillo tile restoration as well as cleaning. Saltillo is extremly porous, so one thing that is crucial is to seal saltillo right after it has been safely cleaned.
Saltillo fits the San Antonio lifestyle. Its rich red hues calls to mind the playas and villas of Old Mexico, or more to the point of Old Texas. So take care of your saltillo. Call a company that does saltillo tile restoration in San Antonio.

Lone Star Tile and Grout Cleaning
4019 Stahl Rd, Suite 202
San Antonio TX 78217
(210) 637-5050
Contact Us