The Best Method to Keep Your Grout Clean

Customers always ask me, "What's the best way to clean my grout after you've cleaned and sealed it?" I always tell them a good old fashion type mop and neutral cleaner.  Most people are familiar with using vinegar and water and that's fine, but if you really want to keep your newly cleaned floors looking their best, using a mop with a water and neutral cleaner solution will give you the best results. Neutral cleaners won't break down the sealers in your grout so quickly and most of them have a built in decreasing agent that will assist in loosening the dirt and oils that are in your grout lines and tile. Most janitorial supply stores carry a brand of Neutral Cleaner, but Home Depot carries a brand by Zep's that is very good.  In the video link I demonstrate why a mop works the best. A Swiffer just doesn't get between the grout lines as well as the strings of a mop.  Even the Shark home steamers aren't as affective with a floor that has a significant amount of dirt build up. Now remember, this cleaning method really works best after your floors have been professionally cleaned and sealed. That's the key!

Sealers and penetrating stains soak into the pours of the grout and create a barrier much like wax on a car's finish. Most people are under the impression that sealers prevent the grout from getting dirty, which is incorrect. Sealers protect against oil and water based stains. In other words for example, if you spill a little wine on the grout line, it will give you some time before it completely soaks into the grout. These are grout joints so in time they will attract a small amount of dirt and oil, but using a mop with a neutral cleaning solution will keep your floors looking good for a much longer period of time.http://youtu.be/ymOlKHmS0fA

How To Remove Sanded Grout From Your Floor (The Grout Pro)

Here is the way we remove sanded grout from a tiled floor. This technique takes a great while of time to perfect, so I wouldn't suggest a beginner trying this at home. We typically remove grout this way a half dozen times per month, so we have a lot of practice at it. The Grout Pro also specializes in keeping the dust in your home to a minimum. We use hepa filters along with a vacuum system to capture about 75% of the dust.

When removing the grout utilizing grinders be sure to use gloves, safety glasses and ear protection at all times. As always, feel free to ask any questions you may have.

What Causes Cracks In Grout Lines?

The main causes for cracks in the grout lines or the grout to be falling out is tile is no longer adhered to the floor. Sometimes the tiles will pop up from the floor and appear to be folding ontop of eachother. This means the only thing holding it down is the grout itself.  Everytime you step on the section of the tile it moves very slightly, causing the grout to give way. The second reason for cracks is the shifting in the floors foundation. To know if this is the cause, you will usually find cracked tiles along the line route. The crack will also travel a distance from one area to another. When this happens the tiles have moved apart from eachother and caused the crackes to appear.  This may also cause a tile to lift itself from the foundation and become hollow as well.

The proper way to repair this is to replace the tile with a new one and have it properly set to the floor. In some cases you can even resuse the exhisting tile becuase it is able to be removed without damaging the tile. This can only be done if the tile has a hollow sound all around it when you tap on it. If the tiles are sound and just a foundation shift, you may be able to fix the crack by removing the damaged line completely and regrouting it. If the crack reappears, than the problem is the tile itself and will need to be replaced.

As always, you can ask any questions you want and we will do our best to answer them for you. http://www.thegroutpro.com/