Kitchen Tile Cleaning

I took the photographs below of a Ceramic Tiled kitchen floor at a property in Woking. Two adults, two children and a dog so a lot of foot fall coming in and out of the patio doors that opened to the garden. Ceramic tiles are an ideal choice for a busy floor like this however we all know that children and animals don’t tend to wipe their feet and so they were struggling to keep the tile and grout clean.

Ceramic tiles are usually very easy to keep clean however grout has a rough cementitious surface and so easily attracts dirt turning it black. Also, we find that dirt is washed into the grout line during cleaning which doesn’t help.

Happy to assist I quoted for deep cleaning the tile and grout with a weighted mechanical floor buffer which would scrub the floor clean again, the work would also involve manually cleaning the grout as the pads can struggle to reach into the recesses of the grout line.

Deep Cleaning Kitchen Ceramic Tile and Grout

On arrival I ran a thin line of transparent mastic along the kickboards where they meet the tiles. Unwanted water can be destructive and cause the boards to warp. I leave the mastic in place once I’ve finished as it looks subtle and offers added protection.

With that done I sprayed the tiles with and 1:5 dilution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean and left this to soak into the floor for twenty minutes. The Pro-Clean breaks down the dirt turning it a shade of yellow. While this was happening, I retrieved a weighted floor polisher from the van. The iron bars I use as weights improves traction to make the clean more.

Once the Pro-Clean had soaked in I went around the grout lines giving them a good scrub with more Pro-Clean and a wire brush. I’m yet to find a machine that does this as effectively as hand brushing so for best results I get on my hands and knees and give it a good scrub. You can see from the pictures the dirt being released.

Once the grout was done the buffing machine was brought in fitted with a black scrubbing pad that won’t scratch the tiles but does a job of releasing the dirt. All the dirt is vacuumed up with a wet vax. Then just to be sure I neutralise with fresh, warm water. This is also removed leaving the tiles to dry.

Once dry the floor was inspected and any stubborn areas spot treated until both I and the customer were satisfied the tile and grout was as clean as it could be.

Normally after cleaning the final step would be to seal the tiles, however Ceramic tiles won’t take a sealer so once the cleaning was done the job was completed, and in less than a day.

 

Professional Clean of a Ceramic Tiled Kitchen in West Surrey