Grout Cleaning 101: Everything You Need To Know About Cleaning Grout from Your Tile Cleaning Service in San Antonio (Conclusion)

Grout cleaning involves knowing the ins and outs of grout.

Professional Grout Cleaning: The Know How and the Experience

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As we covered previously,grout cleaning is not for the timid. We mean that. You're going to have to make sure that you have the right safety equipment as well as the right cleaning products. Some cleaning products are inherently dangerous.
If you know what you're doing, then cleaning your grout yourself is a breeze. If you don't, please know your limits. Call a professional tile cleaning service in San Antonio

One of the toughest areas to clean your grout in is in your shower. According to Mother Nature News:

"To reduce moisture, you could squeegee or towel down the walls of your shower after every use. I’m not quite that motivated; in my home I leave the bath door wide open after a shower to allow the humidity to dissipate and this seems to work for me. Running a bathroom exhaust fan also helps pull humidity out of the room.
Why you need to scrub
Bleach is one of the most common substances used to “whiten” things, so you might be tempted to use it to whiten stained tile grout. While chlorine bleach does a great job of killing mold spores, simply spraying it on is not enough to break the mold growth triangle (water, food and temperature).
Here's why bleach alone won't work: The "dirt" in your tile grout is behind a layer of soap scum, and this layer need not be thick and obvious. Keep in mind most of these cleaning reactions are taking place at a molecular level, and a layer of soap residue a thousandth of an inch thick can prevent the “bleach to dirt” contact.
That's why physical scrubbing or the use of acidic chemicals (like the phosphoric acid found in toilet bowl cleaner) can break through this soap layer. One of the problems of using these harsh chemicals (aside from the environmental and skin contact issues) is the destructive effects to the grout itself. Grouts are cement-based and can be eroded by acidic compounds. Bleach is less destructive to the grout than phosphoric acid, but you'll need to scrub in order to for it to be effective."[SOURCE]

Professional Tile and Grout Cleaning: Final Thoughts

We get it. You want to save money. But wouldn't you rather spend money and eliminate the guesswork? Hire a professional grout cleaning service in San Antonio.

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Lone Star Tile and Grout Cleaning
4019 Stahl Rd, Suite 202
San Antonio TX 78217
(210) 637-5050
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Grout Cleaning 101: Everything You Need To Know About Cleaning Grout from Your Tile Cleaning Service in San Antonio (Contd.)

You might want to hire a professional tile cleaning service in San Antonio to not only clean your tile, but clean your grout as well.

Reasons for Professional Tile Cleaning

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As we covered previously,a professional tile cleaning service will have a ton of experience. They also have all the knowledge, tools, and equipment to do your job quickly and right the first time. They can recommend procedures to help you between visits, such as grout sealing. They can offer ways to not only dramatically change your floor's appearance, but to help protect it from stains and damage.

According to a 2011 post on Mother Nature Network from user Networx Systems:

"You can clean tile grout without scrubbing, but the products you'd need to use contain some pretty harsh chemicals. If a simple and nontoxic method were available, it would be the best thing since sliced bread. In reality, a combined regimen is needed to keep your grout ship shape.
Water, food and temperature
Since grout is a porous and rough surface, it tends to pose cleaning challenges that are not present on the surface of glazed tile or polished stone. Dirty-looking grout is usually a combination of dirt, mold and mildew. To be effectively cleaned, a combined attack is needed — one that reaches into the tiny pores of the grout and stops mildew at its source.
For molds and mildews to grow, they need a moisture source, a food source and a bit of warmth. Reducing the temperature of your shower to the temperature of a refrigerator is … well let's just say that’s not going to work. The best method of control is by reducing the food and water sources for mold. The food source for most of these molds is our own skin cells and the soaps we use. The phosphates found in many soaps are also a great fertilizer for this growth. Keeping these residues at minimum levels will reduce potential mold growth."[VIEW SOURCE]

Grout Cleaning is Not For The Timid

As to why you should consult a professional tile and grout cleaning service in San Antonio to clean your grout, grout cleaning is not for the timid. We mean that. You're going to have to make sure that you have the right safety equipment as well as the right cleaning products. Some cleaning products are inherently dangerous.

If you know what you're doing, then cleaning your grout yourself is a breeze. If you don't, please know your limits. Call a professional tile cleaning service in San Antonio.

Continue...

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

Grout Cleaning 101: Everything You Need To Know About Cleaning Grout from Your Tile Cleaning Service in San Antonio

How hard is it to clean your grout yourself?  Well, the answer to that question depends on a lot of factors.

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Grout Cleaning: What You'll Need

If you want to clean your grout yourself, here is what you're going to need. First off, you're going to need kneepads. Makes sense if you think about it. The floor is the lowest point of your home, so you're going to have to get close to it in order to clean it.  You will also need a nylon brush, such as a toothbrush in order to properly clean your grout lines.

You might also want some padded gloves to ease strain on your wrists. If you have any sort of back, hip, or joint problems, you are probably better off hiring a professional grout cleaning service in San Antonio to clean your tile and your grout for you.

Hire a Tile Cleaning Service Instead

Why should you hire a tile cleaning service instead?  For one, they have a ton of experience. They also have all the knowledge, tools, and equipment to do your job quickly and right the first time. They can recommend procedures to help you between visits, such as grout sealing. They can offer ways to not only dramatically change your floor's appearance, but to help protect it from stains and damage.  With that said, here are some grout cleaning tips if you insist on doing it yourself from Melanie Pinola at LIFEHACKER.COM:

"Even with regular floor mopping, shower wall scrubbing, and countertop cleaning, tile grout inevitably gets filthy. This homemade grout cleaning solution can get rid of those grout stains with less elbow grease than you might expect.

The powerful combo: equal parts white vinegar and Dawn dish soap. Jo-Anna on A Pretty Life in the Suburbs recommends heating the cup of vinegar for one minute in the microwave, then mixing in the soap. Spray on your grout lines, let sit for a few minutes, then scrub before wiping off with a wet cloth.

(Unfortunately, we're all still waiting on a completely no-scrub solution, but this one helps lift up the dirt thanks in large part to the acidic powers of vinegar."[SOURCE]

One thing you want to be careful of if you are trying to clean your grout yourself is to avoid using any harsh chemicals such as bleach or ammonia.  Both of these can conceivably strip your tile's glaze as well as your grout.  If you're going to try to clean your grout yourself, make sure you know what you're doing. Otherwise, call a tile cleaning service in San Antonio.

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Lone Star Tile and Grout Cleaning
4019 Stahl Rd, Suite 202
San Antonio TX 78217
(210) 637-5050
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Steps to Take To Clean Your Tile Yourself

Do you know the steps to clean your tile yourself?  As a tile cleaning service, we can't stress the importance of knowing proper tile cleaning enough.  Either know what you're doing or call a professional service to clean your tile.  Why?  Well, what you don't know can hurt your floor.

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Tile Cleaning in San Antonio: Why You Want an Expert

You will want to call a professional tile cleaning service in San Antonio to clean your tiles, rather than trying to clean them yourself. Professional tile cleaning is based on knowledge. To clean tile, you have to know what you can use safely, and what you should stay away from.

For example, if you use harsh chemicals such as bleach and/or ammonia on your ceramic tile, did you know that you can end up stripping the protective glaze off the tile? If that happens, then your tile becomes a lot more susceptible to stains. And it isn't just your tile that you have to worry about. There is also the issue of properly cleaning your grout. However, we will give you some tile cleaning tips to help you.

Tile Cleaning Tips From a Pro

Start by sweeping. You will want to sweep tile floors regularly to keep them looking sharp. You can use a vacuum on tile, however, make sure that there are no metal fittings that can damage your tile. As to why you want to sweep your tile, while tile is largely resistant to dirt, that doesn't include grit and sand. Since they are abrasive, they can scratch your tile and damage your grout. After you sweep, you will want to use a mild detergent and clean water. Avoid sponge mops, and instead use a chamois mop, or a rag mop. Sponge mops can push dirty water into grout lines and stain them. Change your water thoroughly and periodically to avoid causing stains to spread.

If you notice a haze on your tiles, you likely just have some soapy residue. To get it off, use a nonabrasive all-purpose cleaner. It's important to know that what works on one type of tile doesn't mean it works on all of them. For example, you can use fresh lemon juice on porcelain or ceramic, however, if you try it with marble, limestone, or travertine, you're asking for trouble. Rinse thoroughly with clean water, and buff dry with a clean lint-free cloth. Be kind to your knees and dry tiles the easy way: by using your foot to slide the cloth over the floor. Without kneepads and an armrest, you're going to end up hurting your knees, back, and hands.

As you can see tile cleaning is harder than it looks. If you think it's beyond you, you're actually better off calling a San Antonio tile cleaning service.

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