Grout Cleaning Archives - Hertfordshire Tile Doctor

Ceramic Bathroom Grout Before After Cleaning Watford

Ceramic Wall Tile and Grout Renovated in a Watford Bathroom

Our client in Watford, Hertfordshire had a fully Ceramic tiled bathroom which was now in need of a deep clean. The tiles themselves were in good physical condition but the grout and silicone sealant were stained black with mould in places and generally not looking very attractive.

Bathroom Ceramic Wall Tiles Before Cleaning Watford

I visited the property to survey the problem and offer a solution. The tiles were indeed looking grubby but with white ceramic tiling the mould stained grout particularly stood out. Mould loves a moist warm environment so the only way to cure it in the long term is to significantly improve ventilation. It can be removed with the right products however, so I explained the cleaning process, agreed a price for the work and booked in a convenient time to do the renovation.

Cleaning a Ceramic Tiled Bathroom

We prepared the areas with protective sheets and tape to threshold edges then applied a specialist double action cleaning product called Tile Doctor Duo Clean. The product is spayed onto the tile and grout, left for five minutes and then scrubbed in using small polypropylene tile pads and detail brushes.

Duo clean is especially formulated to clean grout and remove mould and so an ideal choice for this situation. Working in sections the tile and grout were thoroughly scrubbed and then rinsed off with water to remove the dirt and mould that was released. The tiles were then inspected, and the process carried out a second time. For stubborn areas we used steam to really lift the ingrained dirt out of the grout.

Ceramic tiles have a glazed surface which is very easy to clean so our main focus was the grout which being cementitious does attract dirt and allow mould to get a hold.

Replacing Silicone Sealant in a Ceramic Tiled Bathroom

Last step was to replace the silicone sealant between the bath and tile. This is best removed with a sharp knife taking care not to damage to scratch the bath itself.

After removing all the old silicone, the bath was filled with water so it would adopt the right shape before being resealed. We then reapplied silicone to the bath and wall corner joints using white mould resistant silicone. This is a precise job which can easily look awful if not carried out correctly. Thankfully we have plenty of experience and this job took just one day to complete.
To finish the tile and grout were sprayed with Tile Doctor wall tile & grout sealer which comes in a convenient aerosol spray. The excess was wiped off the tile, as I mentioned before ceramic tiles are glazed so won’t hold a sealer, but the grout will benefit from it.

Bathroom Ceramic Wall Tiles After Cleaning Watford

As you can see from the pictures the bathroom now looked as good as new, clean and tidy. The client was very happy with the outcome and now wasn’t embarrassed to let guests use his bathroom.

To maintain the ceramic bathroom tiles, we recommended the use of Tile Doctor Aqua-Pro tile cleaner which is ideal for maintaining porcelain/ceramic bathroom wall tiles. Aqua-Pro is an effective pH neutral tile and grout cleaner which is designed for everyday use in bathrooms. The neutral formula helps to eliminates soap scum build-up and hard water deposits which are all too common. It has a lovely fresh lemon scent which leaves the room smelling clean and fresh. It will help to prevent the discolouration they had previously experienced.

Professional Bathroom Grout Cleaning in Hertfordshire

Ceramic Wall Tile and Grout Renovated in a Watford Bathroom Read More »

Porcelain Bathroom Tile Floor Before After Cleaning Stevenage

Removing Grout Haze from Black Porcelain Bathroom Tiles, Stevenage

1 Comment / Grout Cleaning, Porcelain Tile Cleaning, Stevenage Tile Cleaning, Work History / Robert Voyce

A builder in Stevenage contacted us about cleaning up a Grout Haze problem in a bathroom that they had recently tiled. Ideally grout should be polished off the tile after installation as getting grout off the surface of tiles once it has dried can be difficult. It’s actually a common problem often referred to as Grout Haze or Grout Smears that ruins the look of the tile. To remove it you need to use an acidic product, but acids can cause damage, so you need to be careful. In fact, my customer had read several horror stories on-line where brick acid and other strong chemicals had been used to clean up tiles so had decided to call us in and have it done professionally rather than attempt to do it themselves.

Black Porcelain Bathroom Floor Before Cleaning Stevenage

The tiling work had been carried out in the ensuite of a house in Stevenage as part of larger renovation project they were involved in and being a Black porcelain tile the grout smears were very obvious as you can see form the photographs on this page.

Cleaning a Porcelain Tiled Ensuite Floor

To remove the grout smears we used Tile Doctor Grout Clean-Up which is an acidic product available from Tile Doctor which penetrates beneath the surface and was specifically created for the removal of grout smears. It can also be used to remove efflorescence which are those white salt deposits that you often see on brickwork. We have used this product on numerous occasions on many different tile installations, so we were confident it would work well on the black porcelain.

We began by applying Tile Doctor Grout Clean-Up to the tiles with a sponge and then scrubbing it into each individual tile as we went. The tiles are then rinsed with water, inspected and cleaned again if required. I should mention that being an acid-based product, it is advisable to wear rubber gloves and eye protection and ensure any areas not requiring treatment are well covered and protected.

Black Porcelain Bathroom Floor During Cleaning Stevenage

Once done a second rinse was carried out and the resulting residue was removed with a wet vacuum before leaving the tiles to dry off.

This process was carried out throughout the bathroom and to both the floor and wall tiles. The room was quite large, so the job took most of the day to complete, working methodically around each area. Once the areas were dry, you could see that the grout haze was no longer there.

Black Porcelain Bathroom Floor After Cleaning Stevenage

The room was soon left looking much more presentable for the new owners who I’m sure would not have been impressed with the way it looked before. The builders were grateful that we had been able to get the tiles looking pristine and the room looking as good as new. Before leaving we discussed with them the best course of action on future projects to avoid the same problem and recommended the use of Tile Doctor Aqua-Pro as a general maintenance cleaner.

Professional Removal of Grout Smears from Black Porcelain Tiles in Hertfordshire

Removing Grout Haze from Black Porcelain Bathroom Tiles, Stevenage Read More »

St Albans Bath Tile Grout Before and After Renovation

Bathroom Deep Clean and Re-grout in St.Albans

1 Comment / Ceramic Tile Cleaning, Grout Cleaning, St. Albans Tile Cleaning, Work History / Robert Voyce

The photographs on this page were taken at a property in St. Albans, Hertfordshire or Verulamium as it was known in Roman times. St. Albans is roughly 20 miles north-west of central London and a popular choice for commuters who work in London. The owners were fed up with the discoloured grouting and their bathroom looking tired and had tried lots of products on the market to get the grout looking clean. The results had been disappointing, and they were starting to despair.

St Albans Bath Tile Grout Before Renovation

They contacted me to see if I could help and after visiting the property I recommended deep cleaning the Ceramic tile and grout and then removing and re-grouting those areas that were badly stained. I explained that this would take one day to complete and by using a series of products we would soon have the bathroom looking more pleasing. Happy with the quote which was far less expensive than installing a new bathroom I scheduled the work in for an agreed date.

Deep Cleaning and Re-grouting a Tiled Bathroom

We started out by preparing the area with protective sheets and tape to threshold edges. This was then followed by giving the tile and especially the grout a deep clean using Tile Doctor Oxy-Gel and aa steam cleaner to get the grout as clean as possible. Oxy-Gel is a strong alkaline gel cleaner and degreaser which works well on vertical surfaces where a long dwell time is required. Being a gel, it stays in place allowing it to really get to work on the dirt making it an ideal choice for this situation.

The top layer of grout is porous and, as a result, it easily absorbs grease, dirt and limescale. Grout between wall-tiles, particularly in damp areas like bathrooms, will become dirty and unattractive and if the ventilation is inadequate Mould and Mildew can develop. The grout was scrubbed with Oxy-Gel several times to get it as clean as possible and then rinsed off with water.

At this stage we were able to identify all those areas of grout that were badly stained and we set about carefully removing the old grout using a special tool. This work takes a bit of time, but we felt it was the best solution in this instance

Next, using a craft blade we carefully removed all the old silicone sealant, so it could be replaced later. This was followed by re-grouting using a white grout to match the existing.

St Albans Bath Tile Grout After Renovation

Whilst the grout was drying the final step was to replace the silicone sealant around the bath edge with fresh sealant. We always use high quality mould resistant silicone for this as we don’t want any call backs later when the sealant goes mouldy or water leaks through.

After making some final checks and ensuing excess grout was polished off the tiles the bathroom transformation was complete. Even I was amazed at how much cleaner and tidier the bathroom now looked. The important thing was the customer who was equally impressed and left the following comment on our Tile Doctor feedback system.

‘Excellent and friendly service – would recommend to others’

Bathroom Deep Clean and Re-Grout in Hertfordshire

Bathroom Deep Clean and Re-grout in St.Albans Read More »

Bathroom Tiles Before and After Cleaning St Albans

Ceramic Tiled Bathroom Refresh in St Albans

1 Comment / Ceramic Tile Cleaning, Grout Cleaning, St. Albans Tile Cleaning, Work History / Robert Voyce

This was a small family bathroom at a house in St Albans with white ceramic glazed tiles and what was once white grout. The grout was now stained and proving difficult to keep clean, additionally the silicone seal between the tile and the bathtub was perishing. The bathroom needed cleaning and restoring to give it a new lease of life as well as making it easier to maintain for the busy family.

Bathroom Tiles Before Cleaning St Albans

Were actually based in St Albans so always a pleasure to pop round and meet fellow residents. The city dates to the Romans when it was known as Verulamium and these days its popular with commuters working in London.

Cleaning a Ceramic Bathroom Tile and Grout

On arrival I inspected the tiles around the bath and could see they were going to be problematic, the silicone sealant was starting to perish, and I was concerned that the bottom row may be not be watertight. I like to do a job right the first time round so I decided the best thing to do would be to remove the row around the bathroom edge, clean them up and refit them with fresh adhesive, grout and reseal with silicone.

With that in mind my first job was to give the ceramic tile and grout a deep clean by spaying on Tile Doctor Aqua-Pro and then scrubbing it in with polypropylene brushes and pads. This product is designed for the regular cleaning of bathroom tiles as is Tile Doctor Duo-Clean which is a stronger product that can tackle mould as well. The tile and grout were then given a high-pressure steam clean using a special machine we usually use on floor tiles and then let to dry off over lunch.

Ensuring a Tight Bath Seal

After lunch the old silicone was stripped off between the bathtub and wall tile and this was followed by the careful removal of the bottom row of ceramic tiles. This is done by removing the grout first with an oscillating hand tool and then carefully prising the tiles off the wall without damaging them.

The old adhesive was then scrapped off the exposed area to prepare the wall for re-tiling and the tiles were re-installed with fresh. Once the adhesive and gone off the tiles were re-grouted and the grout left to dry before applying a fresh silicone sealant between the tile and bathtub. During the various drying phases, the ceramic bathroom tiles were buffed using a soft white buffing pad to give them an as new appearance.

The job was completed in one day and the bathroom now looks like it was recently installed.

Rejuvenating Ceramic Bathroom Tiles and Grout in Hertfordshire

Ceramic Tiled Bathroom Refresh in St Albans Read More »

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Hertfordshire Tile Doctor

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