Budda Oliver states that tile is becoming a more preferred choice of flooring due to its durability, longer life span, and convenience when cleaning (2009). Tiles are simply easier to clean and maintain. They do not have as much dust production, keeping homes clear of dust mites. This sounds great but when time passes, tile and grout are just as susceptible to dirt, grime, and bacteria as other floorings, and just as them, require maintenance and care. Regular tracking on tiles, mopping with dirty water, and many other factors all contribute to this (Grosvenor, 2006). Grout is more venerable than tile, but both maybe at risk without proper care.

            Many will argue that their tiles color is gone for good, but the fact is even if your tile changed to gray or even black, your original color is still there. Many look and seek ways to take care of matters in their own hands such as Carrie Grosvenor. She declares household methods using vinegar or baking soda along with other methods in cleaning and concealing grout and tile (2006). Truth is there are a lot of steps and factors to consider when caring for tiles and grout.

            First, we look to see what colors we are dealing with. When working with colors other than white, bleach is the last chemical wanted as a cleaning agent in order to maintain the original presence. After determining the color the next step is to loosen all accumulated soil, grease, contaminants, and residues as much as possible, like pre-treatment.  Afterwards is the power scrub step. You want to then use a special surrogated bush to agitate the grout lines as well as tile surface. Grosvenor tells all self-doers to use a stiff brush, but nothing with metal bristles because they may cause the wearing away of the grout (2006). It is tough to know exactly the brush to use, which is why it is best to leave it to the professionals. The turbo rinse is the next cycle. The use of pressure-heated water captures and extracts all cleaning solutions and contaminates with the fluid control, difficult to do on your own without the profession equipment and knowledge to work it. These steps should then be repeated at a low Ph restorative cleaner and then dried speedily with high-powered air movers. After all is dried, the difficult stains will be visible, and then spot cleaning will then be necessary for all stains not removed. The reason we do not spot stain at the beginning is simply to avoid extra work. If there are stains you can get out with water, get it out with water! We are not going to jump to a high Ph balanced chemical if we do not have to. Lastly, be sure to participate in applying pigmented grout sealer to create a waterproof barrier to prevent future stains; routinely apply when necessary, usually yearly, to make routine maintenance easier.

For more information, as well as the main reference of the article, please refer Payless Carpet Cleaners at http://www.payless-carpet-cleaners.com/tile-cleaning.html or by telephone at (305)503-5868 or (954)671-1050.

                                                   References

Grosvenor, C. (2006). How to Clean Tile Grout. Retrieved January 20, 2009 at http://www.doityourself.com/stry/steamcleangrout.

Oliver, B. Tile and Grout Cleaning. Retrieved January 20, 2009 at http://ezinearticles.com/?Tile-and-Grout-Cleaning&id=844812.