Tips on Tile and Grout Cleaning for Fort Lauderdale  Homeowners

One of the least liked household chores for Fort Lauderdale homeowners is tile and grout cleaning. Tile and grout flooring is beautiful and very popular across South Florida but it is a real pain to keep clean and stain free. The tile isn't the problem, it's that porous grout that holds the tile together that is the culprit. You can blow an entire Saturday morning on your hands and knees scrubbing away in an attempt to clean a material that just doesn't want to be cleaned.

Because of grouts composition, it actually absorbs dirt, soap scum, and other debris. Bathroom grout presents a special problem because condensation from showers and damp floors present a perfect breeding ground for mold. Any way you cut it, grout presents a cleaning challenge and it’s a challenge that many homeowners make even worse by putting it off.

Given what it takes to clean tile and grout yourself, who can blame them.

DIY Tile and Grout Cleaning

If you decide to tackle this task yourself here's what you are going to need:

• Vinegar and water. We recommend you avoid abrasive commercial products like Ajax and chemical solutions like "Bath and Tile Cleaner." These products can damage the tile or create a respiratory problem in the case of the chemicals. A 1 to 2 solution of vinegar to water is effective for most grout cleaning tasks. For really dirty grout you may need to replace the grout with bleach.
• An old toothbrush for scrubbing the grout lines.
• A skill knife or flat head screwdriver to remove damaged grout.
• Replacement grout.
• A squirt bottle for rinsing and an old towel or paper towels.
• Knee pads (optional)

Cleaning grout by hand is a low tech skill. Spray on the vinegar water solution and then use the toothbrush in a back and forth motion and then rinse, wipe and repeat until every inch of the grout line has been treated. If you run into grout that is damaged or just stained beyond cleaning use the skill knife or screw driver to dig it out and then replace with new grout in a matching color.

OR

You can skip the Cinderella act and hire a professional like Goldstar Cleaning who will do an amazing job of cleaning your tile and grout. At Goldstar our trained technician will first survey your tile to ensure the right commercial cleaning solution is used (not all tile is the same). Next, a truck mounted steam cleaner is brought into play to quickly and completely clean both tile and grout.

If damaged grout is encountered, the technician will remove it and replace it with perfectly matched new grout.

If you would like to experience the ease of tile and grot cleaning, feel free to give us a call today.