Removing Grout Smears from Porcelain Tiles in South Middlesex
This Porcelain tiled floor was located in Hampton, Middlesex. The floor had been newly laid a year ago and had not been sealed. The Porcelain was of the semi porous variety and this type of Porcelain needs to be sealed to maintain its appearance and make maintenance easier. To make things worse the tiler had left a lot of grout residue on the surface of the tile which made the tile rougher, trapping the dirt and making it difficult to clean effectively.
Cleaning Porcelain Tile and Grout
To remove the grout haze it was necessary to give the tile and wash with an acid product known as Tile Doctor Grout Clean-up, which is very effective at removing grout haze. Working in sections the product was diluted and then applied to the floor letting it soak in for a short while before being scrubbed in with a scrubbing pad fitted to a rotary machine. This action had the added bonus of cleaning the floor but you do have to be careful with acids no to leave them on the tile too long.
The soiled solution was removed using a wet vacuum and the tile rinsed down with clean water. This process was repeated until I was satisfied the tile and grout was clear of grout residue.
Sealing Semi-Porous Porcelain Tiles
After allowing the floor to dry for 24 hours, we returned to seal the tiles with Tile Doctor Ultra-Seal which is a solvent based impregnating sealer that’s ideally suited for semi porous Porcelain and provides a natural look.
I took the photograph above between sections so you could see the difference between the before and after and I think you will agree the treated tiles look much cleaner.
Source: Stone and Tiles Problems Resolved in Middlesex