I was contacted by a lady in Wilmslow who had a ceramic tiled floor that had been installed around eight years ago with white grout. Any tiler will tell you that white floor grout gets dirty very quickly and most advise against it. You can seal the grout which will protect it for longer however even sealers wear down over time, especially on a busy floor. Cleaning is also an option but unless done frequently it will start to darken. This was the case with this floor and now eight years later the Ceramic Tiles which are protected by a glaze still looked good but were being let down by the grout which had indeed become black.
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My customer had been cleaning the floor on a regular basis but was now unhappy with the appearance of the tiles due to the dark grout and wanted the colour restored. Grout cleaning is not an issue and I was happy to do that however it will only improve by 75-80% of how it was when new and I cannot guarantee the removal of deep-seated staining. The only way to get it 100% and looking like new was to apply our Tile Doctor White Grout Colourant which is a hard-wearing epoxy covering that adheres to the grout, restoring the colour whilst protecting it. Keeping that as an option my customer asked for the grout cleaning and sealing service that we offer. This involves deep cleaning the grout and then sealing it to prevent the dirt from becoming ingrained again. We agreed we could always look at recolouring the grout later if necessary.
Cleaning the Grout on a Ceramic Tiled Kitchen Floor
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To deep clean the grout I applied Tile Doctor Remove and Go across the floor, I left it to soak into the grout for ten to twenty minutes and then scrubbed it in with a stiff hand brush and followed up with a high pressure steam cleaner. The slurry was vacuumed off the floor using a wet/dry vacuum and the process reapplied where needed. This process really got a lot of the dirt out of the grout and returned the white colour transforming the appearance of the floor.
Sealing Grout on a Ceramic Tiled Kitchen Floor
The grout was left to dry for a few hours and then sealed using Tile Doctor Ultra-Seal which is carefully applied onto the grout line using a pipette. Tile Doctor Ultra-Seal is a natural look sealer that is almost invisible, as a result it does not darken the look of the grout. Sealing the grout in will protect it from staining and ensure it keeps its white appearance for much longer.
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My customer was very happy to see her white grout restored and so didn’t require the application of a Grout Colourant this time. She did say she would recommend us to friends and neighbours which is always a bonus!
Covering East Cheshire, Kamila Logozny is your local Stone, Grout and Tile renovation expert and an agent of Tile Doctor, the largest Tile, Stone and Grout restorative cleaning network in the UK who have developed the products and techniques to handle a multitude of issues surrounding tile, stone and grout, interior, exterior, domestic or commercial.