Our Tile and Grout Cleaners in Simsbury, CT, Transformed the Look of This Home's Floor
September 27, 2017
The owner of this beautiful home located in Simsbury, Connecticut, was very proud of it. He had bought it some years ago and had made improvements and renovations himself over time. However, the floors in the house's common areas were driving him crazy. He liked the pattern and color, composed of light, large tiles with dark tile accents scattered throughout, giving the area a cozy feel. The problem was that it was obvious the floor needed to be either thoroughly cleaned or completely renovated. When he first bought the house, he thought this job would be easy, so he left it for last—thinking about all the mess that all the other work around the house would cause. It was only after spending hundreds of dollars on cleaning products and even some tools when he came to the conclusion that this was not a DIY job and he needed the help of professionals. That's when he decided to search for tile and grout cleaners in Simsbury to have an assessment of the state of the floor and what experts could do to improve its appearance.
After a quick online search, he decided to set up a free in-home evaluation through our website.
Evaluation day: What the tile and grout cleaning specialist had to say
On the day set to do the evaluation, Sir Grout Hartford's owner, Rod Carnes, arrived at the client's home to check out the problem area. He reaffirmed what the client had thought all along. The tiles were in great shape; they just needed a professional cleaning service and the grout needed to be fixed in some areas. He asked the client to show him what he'd been using to clean the floor and when Carnes saw the products, he understood the problem. The client showed him an array of acidic "tile and grout cleaners". Rod explained that these types of products are actually damaging for tile floors, and that was probably why some of the grout was broken. Luckily, the damage was not severe and the overall appearance of the floor could be improved by a tile and grout cleaning, a grout repair, and a color seal treatment to protect the grout lines.
What's so terrible about acid-based cleaners?
Acidic cleaners are those that have a pH lower than 7 and the most popular tile cleaning products available in stores contain some form of acid. For example, one of the most popular tile cleaners in the market lists its ingredients as various unspecified organic acids, glycolic acid and citric acid. The problem with acid is that it isn't a cleaner, it's a corrosive agent. It can destroy and discolor grout joints. So, after years of using these store-bought cleaners claiming to work miracles against grime, clients are often left with deteriorated and dirty grout lines. It's a classic example where "the remedy is worse than the disease."
The solution? A professional tile and grout cleaning and sealing service
After a thorough evaluation, a date was set to help the client get the floors looking as he wanted. On the date set, our specialists arrived right on time to start the process. All the surrounding areas that needed protection were masked before starting the job. To revive this floor's clean appearance, Sir Grout Hartford's technicians began by applying the right combination of tile cleaners to remove the dirt buildup. To make the settled grime easier to remove, they let the floor soak for a few minutes and then a professional, high-speed gentle scrubber was used to remove it. After that, we used a steam cleaner to treat the most stubborn areas. All excess cleaner was removed with a wet vacuum to continue to the next stage.
Once the floor was cleaned and had properly dried, the team checked for damaged grout and made repairs around every dark tile. They went on color sealing the grout lines with our proprietary product: Sir Grout's ColorSeal. This is a water-based acrylic sealant that closes off grout's pores while giving it some color. It is non-toxic and it creates a shield on grout lines that prevents their deterioration. The ColorSeal shade the client chose for this floor was 'marble beige.' This process provides an even color across the floor while making the grout water, mold and mildew resistant, and less prone to staining.
After the color sealing process was finished, our technicians proceeded to apply Tile Armor. This is another one of Sir Grout's proprietary sealants for tiles and grout. Tile Armor serves as further protection for grout and makes tiles easier to clean.
The result? An impeccable appearance
The floor turned out spotless, looking refreshed, and complementing all the renovations the homeowner had done so far. When he saw the outcome, he was ecstatic to see what we were able to achieve. He was relieved that the floor didn't need replacing to get the look he was after.
Tips and recommendations
The client asked us about the right type of cleaning products that he needed to use so we took the opportunity to give him some recommendations to help him keep his floors spotless:
- He should vacuum the floor frequently to remove loose dirt and dust.
- He should use a soap-less, pH-neutral floor cleaner to mop the floor.
- He should always dry the floor with a towel or terry cloth to remove dirty water/cleaner residue that settles into the concave grout lines.
If you're looking to transform the look of your tile floors at the fraction of the cost of a complete retiling, Sir Grout Hartford is a leading company in the hard surface restoration industry. We provide high-quality tile and grout cleaning and sealing, as well as other services to improve the look of your home or office's hard surfaces. Give us a call at (860) 781-6480 or fill out the "Request a Quote" form to book a free evaluation.
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