A Biased Look at Grout Care & Repair from Someone Who Detests Ugly Grout.
By Alan Mayr
Chief Operating Officer
MARBLELIFE, Inc.
December 19, 2007
Did you know that the number one complaint from office building tenants is the dirty grout appearance in their common areas? This has lead to an industry-wide drive to find answers. Today techniques exist to eliminate this problem and to return your grout to its original fresh, clean beautiful appearance.
Grout can be discolored by surface dirt and penetrating stains. Selecting the right treatment to “clean your tile and grout” is dependent upon your particular stone, tile and grout situation. For this discussion it is important to note that sanded grout is typically used with ceramic and porcelain and non-sanded grout with marble, granite and natural stones.
Sand acts as a reinforcement, enhancing grout strength. It is typically recommended for use in grout lines wider than 1/4 inch. However it should NOT be used with stones such as marble, limestone, travertine or granite. Sand WILL come lose from time to time providing grinding medium underfoot. The use of sanded grout with polished natural stone WILL result in a dulled finish overtime. How long depending on how much foot traffic and movement the surface encounters. For this reason non-sanded grout is recommended for use with natural stone surfaces. This does not mean that sanded grout is not used with natural stone with grout lines of greater than ¼ inch. It is. Nor does this mean these surfaces cannot be restored should they dull, but it may take a little more time and a little more tender-loving-care. Okay enough grout background, back to the subject at hand – cleaning tile and grout.
There are several options each with positives and negatives.
Deep Extraction Cleaning
Cleaning to remove surface discoloration caused by dirt and grime is suitable
for either sanded or non-sanded grout. Deep extraction cleaning utilizes heated
water under pressure to physically separate dirt from the tile and grout
surface. Deep extraction cleaning will have limited impact on stains. This is
the most cost effective grout treatment. If your floor has been regularly
sealed this may be all you need to restore your grout's appearance.
Unfortunately, most people forget to re-seal their stone and grout. Unsealed
grout can be stained with dirty mop water resulting in spotty stains and grayed
out grout. While the industry standard, if your floor sees normal use and has
not been sealed, this process will remove the surface dirt, but uncover hidden
stains. While cost effective, the results are not always that beautiful clean
fresh tile look you may be expecting (hoping for). The good news is that with
each of the more advanced techniques, deep extraction cleaning is the first
element. This is to insure all foreign particles or oils are removed from the
surface prior to application of any other treatment. As such, one can always
contract the cleaning and then decide to progress to a more involved
treatment.
COLORSeal Treatment
Better than new! COLORSeal restored sanded grout returns your grout to its original color plus provides a topical seal dramatically enhancing your grout's future stain resistance. This process is so effective it can even be utilized to alter your grout color, if so desired. Suitable for use with sanded grout only, making this a rare solution for marble and granite surfaces, but common for ceramic and porcelain surfaces. This chemical treatment introduces a colored topical seal designed to bond to the silica in the sand filler. (Note – sand is not typically used with marble and granite surfaces as loose sand broken free from the grout surface can scratch and dull the softer stone surface).
This is the fastest growing sealing and care technique in the industry today. Color consistency is superior to the natural grout whose color can vary based on how much water was used to prepare the initial grout. Want to be sure to maintain the interior design integrity of your room? Not a problem, MARBLELIFE can have your COLORSeal custom colored to match the color specification of your particulare grout manufacturer and color. Want to change the color of your grout? This is now possible, with the added benefit as the applicator can visually see what areas have been sealed and which have not. Most penetrating and impregnating sealers are designed NOT to alter the stone’s appearance making it difficult to see where they have and have not been applied. This has lead to an industry-wide problem with dishonest contractors who claim a seal has been applied when none was. When COLORSeal is applied you can visually and very strikingly see the difference.
Grout Stripping &
Regrouting
Stripping or Replacing - Suitable for removing shallow stains on non-sanded grout. This approach strips the top layer of stained grout to allow the natural grout color beneath to show through. Once completed the grout should be sealed to retard future staining. Suitable for removing badly stained grout. This is a labor intensive approach as each grout line affected must be hand scraped. Areas of stained grout can be cut out and re-installed, however this can result in areas of light -new- and dark -old- grout. In some heavily stained unsanded grout cases this is the best approach.
Interlok Sheen Enhancement
Flamed granite, slate, flagstone or quarry tile looking a little dull? Would you prefer a deeper richer color OR a higher sheen or gloss? Interlok is a durable reactive coating designed to enrich stone color and impart a sheen to your tile. Bring your stone or tile to life with this beautiful enhancement. Interlok is applied by professional MARBLELIFE craftsman. Surfaces are open to light traffic within 20 minutes of application.
This technique can be used to provide a permanent wet look to the stone surface. It can also be used to place a light sheen or gloss on the stone.
Maintenance Cleaning
For those customers who have already taken advantage of our Stain Sealing process, MARBLELIFE offers maintenance cleanings to prolong the life of the finish on stain sealed tile and grout surfaces. This service involves an application of our specially formulated, neutral pH maintenance cleaning product, which is agitated into the tile and grout manually and then removed, along with dirt and grime, using a low pressure steam treatment and extraction. The tile and grout are then sealed as needed.
Ready to get rid of your ugly grout? Receive your free estimate? Click here and enter your zip code in the service locator to find your local MARBLELIFE office number or request an estimate online.