Archive for Grout Cleaning

Tile and Grout Cleaning Tips from the St. Louis Area Experts

The floors in your house take a lot of abuse. Think about how often you and your family, friends and guests walk around, tracking dirt, germs and who knows what else! You might notice that your tile and grout are getting grungy, dirty and just not looking their best. But what can you do to bring the tile and grout back to their previous clean glory, or is it a lost cause? We are here to tell you that your tile and grout can be looking new and refreshed!

Can You Clean Tile and Grout Yourself?

With the right tools and sometimes a lot of elbow grease, you can definitely get the tile and grout in your home looking brighter and cleaner.

You can make a paste of baking soda and vinegar to “paint” on the grout lines, then spray the paste with a solution of equal amounts water and vinegar. Once the solution stops bubbling, scrub the grout with a nylon bristled scrub brush, or an old toothbrush (be sure to mark the cleaning toothbrush to ensure it doesn’t end up in someone’s mouth!) After scrubbing away all the buildup, mop the floor with plain water to remove the baking soda and vinegar residue.

Those instructions were pretty easy to write, but they’re a lot harder to follow. Cleaning your tile and grout yourself is a lot of work, and still may not produce the best result. So, is there a better way?

Sams is the St. Louis Area Tile and Grout Specialists

We get it. You have a lot to get done in a day. Getting down and deep cleaning the tile and grout in your home is not a quick and easy process. You might be thinking, “Who has time for that?”

Well, that’s where the Sams team comes in!

Here’s the 8-step process our technicians follow to help St. Louis area homeowners restore their tile and grout to its original beauty:

  1. Inspect the surface for any damage
  2. Carefully move furniture and prepare the work area
  3. We will sweep and vacuum the surface to remove loose dirt, dust or soil
  4. Apply a pre-conditioner to break down any oil and residue
  5. The floors are scrubbed with abrasive brushes to remove stains and traffic patterns (no one wants to see that, right?)
  6. Pressure cleaning is done with a rotary hot water extractor leaving the area clean and fresh
  7. Excess water residue is removed and the drying process begins
  8. Once dried, furniture is returned to their original positions!
  9. If you’d like, a sealant can be applied throughout to help prevent future staining of your grout and make cleaning easier! If sealant is applied, the drying process will take a little longer.

And that’s it! Having your tile and grout professionally cleaned will make the entire room look fresh and new again. We’re not recommending that you eat off the ground, but, after our deep cleaning of your tile and grout, you most certainly could. Nobody here will judge you for it. Contact us to learn more or to set up an appointment.

 

Enjoy this article? Pass it on!

Why Your Business Should Have Routine, Professional Tile Cleaning

Look down! That’s what your customers tend to do when they enter your business. Studies have shown this to be true, so when they look down, what are they seeing? Is it sparkling tile that’s free from debris and residue, or has your tile seen better, cleaner days? Remember when you built your business, and you took time and great care to choose just the right tile, design and color? It’s probably pretty important to you that it stay that way, and the Sams team can help you out!

Have the dingy days arrived?

Chances are, you have many feet touching your floors on a daily basis, and traffic in your business can be pretty hectic at certain times of the day. Spills can happen quickly. Muddy shoes can bring the outside in. You name it, it probably has happened on your tile floor. But why does it get so dingy looking? There are a few common reasons for this:

  1. Tile and grout are very porous, meaning dirt is absorbed easily. As people walk on it, dirt can get even more ground in, and discoloration follows. Your once ivory tiles are now 50 shades of something dirty.
  2. Routine floor cleaning, particularly sweeping and mopping, will remove surface soils, but as time passes, this process will leave residue that becomes embedded into the tile and grout. While this step is important to perform on a daily basis, it’s not enough for the long-term life and beauty of your tile floors.
  3. It’s a fact that commercial buildings see a lot of footprints, which leads to dirt, wear and tear. High traffic areas will be the first to reveal their dirty side, and when it comes to restrooms, you know what kind of spillage may happen there!

Professional Tile Cleaning and Maintenance with Sams

It’s true – to make your tile and grout sparkle, you’ll need more than just a sponge. How we tackle it, and how frequently you’ll need us, depends on many factors, so we’ll help you determine what’s best for your particular situation.

The Sams process involves a thorough procedure which penetrates deeply into the surface of your tile and grout to eliminate dirt, mildew, and other contaminants. But before any machinery touches your floors, we’ll perform an inspection to identify any damage we may need to address, or any areas of special concern you may have. We’ll sweep and vacuum to remove loose dirt and dust, and then apply a pre-conditioner to break down oils and stains. That’s something a mop and sponge – or even consumer grade floor cleaners – can’t do!

Here’s where the muscle comes in. Your floors are scrubbed with high-powered brushes to remove stains and even get rid of traffic patterns that appear in the tile over time. You know, like that “track” of dirt you can see going down the hallway. Everybody gets them, and Sams can take care of it! Finally, we perform a pressure cleaning process with a rotary hot water extractor. This leaves the area clean, fresh, and something you can be proud of! We can even apply sealant to help prevent future stains.

Regular Care for your Tile and Grout

Ongoing activities such as daily vacuuming, sweeping and mopping, as well as quick attention to spills and stains will help extend the life and looks of your tile floors. But there’s only so far you can go with a broom and scrub brush. Sealing the tile grout is great for keeping moisture and dirt from penetrating into the floor. You will be so amazed at how much easier it is to clean spills off your floors once the grout has been sealed. Let Sams do the dirty work for you! Not only will you get a beautifully clean floor, you’ll get the Sams experience of the best technicians, the highest quality cleaning products and processes, and service you can count on. We appreciate an opportunity to be welcomed into your business!

Enjoy this article? Pass it on!