Anyway, the point is that tile and grout is becoming, more and more, a common floor type in the housing market. Regular maintenance is relatively simple and easy to do, as with any hard flooring surface. All you do is run something similar to a Swiffer over it, and if you want to spend a little extra, you get the one that has the steamer built into it. The extra heat from the steamer does a great job at breaking up any soiling that may be there.

However, long term, you’re going to encounter stuff that YOU, the consumer, simply can’t get up. Traffic levels affect this (imagine a tile floor in a house where a relatively neat and clean, young, professional couple lives, as opposed to that same house 10 years later after 3 kids, 2 dogs and a cat), as do types of usage.  I have noticed 3 main areas that tend to be problematic, usually in front of the stove due to grease spattering and getting into the grout, near the dishwasher, and around toilets.

By problematic, I mean that after a normal cleaning, there can still be some minor discoloration in these areas. This is due to soiling (oily/greasy stuff, like the cooking oils/greasy stuff that pops as you’re cooking, and lands on the grout) penetrating the porous grout, and getting deeper than can be removed by normal professional cleaning processes. There are a couple different options that can be pursued to handle this, but they DO fall outside of the normal cleaning process.  We can discuss how to handle it at that point in time, but the solution will either be to try etching the grout (thereby removing a thin layer of grout with the intent of getting down to a uniform color), or color sealing the grout, which is similar to “painting” it.  The color seal is not a paint, though, it’s an acrylic designed specifically for tile.  Details of these processes can/will be discussed as needed, if the cleaning process doesn’t work.

If your tile and grout need a good cleaning by a professional, give us a call at 540-818-4073.  I would be happy to come take a look at your situation and discuss what needs to be done.