Our tile cleaning process starts with a pre-inspection where we note any problem areas, which can be stained grout, chipped or cracked tiles, and failing grout joints. Once we have inspected and set out corner protectors, we apply a pretreatment designed to help lift soils and other stuck on debris. We also agitate grout joints that are extremely soiled to ensure we get the best clean possible. Once the pretreatment has had proper dwell time we start the process with our truck-mounted equipment and our specialized SX-12 spinner tool used to get the best results possible. We go over all tiled areas at a speed slow enough to get maximum results.

Usually when people ask if we clean tiled floors they are mostly concerned about grout lines. Grout is porous so it soaks up all kinds of dirty stuff, especially oily gunk. Cruelly, that’s the main type of soil where grout lines are most often found: kitchens, bathrooms and entryways near garages. That’s why grout lines get darker over time, especially in heavy traffic areas. If you look along the walls where no one walks you can usually see the actual color of the grout.

Don’t worry about it, though. Dirty grout lines are common and they aren’t the end of the world. Believe it or not, grout is very easy to clean. It’s really just a light thin concrete. If you’ve ever pressure washed a driveway or sidewalk you know how fun and easy it is to make concrete look new again. The problem with grout lines, though, is their environment. To illustrate, if you’re pressure washing a driveway you can spray water all over the place and make the biggest mess in the world if you want to. But you can’t do that in a nice kitchen or bathroom. Appliances and cabinets would be ruined. To solve this problem we use a special power washing machine with an enclosed cleaning head that gently blasts out gunk with hot double-softened water. The water and dirt are sucked away by the machine so they can’t make a mess.

However, grout lines are somewhat delicate compared to the hearty concrete of a driveway, so the cleaning pressure has to be quite a bit lower. To compensate we use a mild biodegradable cleanser to break down dirt and grime. And remember, even though a lot of the focus is on the grout lines, it’s not like the tile gets neglected. It gets squeaky clean too. It’s not uncommon for a customer to mention they don’t care for what they think are certain design elements of their tile—usually dark little spots and swirly patterns. After our cleaning, they are thrilled to realize it was really just deeply embedded dirt that we were able to remove. Seriously, this happens all the time. The tools and products homeowners have access to can’t tackle this like we can. You need the proper tools, which we have.