Proper procedures for tile and grout cleaning and restoration.

Welcome to the North American Tile Cleaning Organization.  We provide proper DIY training and techniques for cleaning, sealing and restoring Ceramic, Porcelain, Slate, Travertine, Marble and Granite tile and grout.

 

 

Cleaning, sealing and maintaining tile and grout can be a difficult task.  It is nevertheless necessary to maintain the beauty and cleanliness of your tile floors, showers, countertops and anywhere else you have tile and grout.  Following the proper tile and grout cleaning procedures combined with using the proper tile cleaning products will help you can achieve the best possible cleaning results without wasting your time or damaging your tile, grout and stone surfaces.

We provide industry standard techniques and DIY advice for tile, grout and stone restoration and refinishing.  We supply industry standard techniques for the latest grout restoration procedures including how to apply grout colorants and grout paints.  These grout colorant and grout paint restoration procedures can restore your grout to just like new condition.

There are different techniques for cleaning and restoring bathroom shower tile and grout as opposed to cleaning tile floors.  Using the proper techniques to clean your tile shower and floor tile and grout can help you achieve the best possible cleaning results. 

In many cases shower grout can be damaged and can not be effectively cleaned.  In these cases it may be necessary to regrout and recaulk your shower.  We provide industry standard techniques for the difficult job of regrouting and recaulking a tile shower.

There are many myths around about how to clean tile and grout.  They include:

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  • Using vinegar or bleach for tile and grout cleaning:  These are acidic products that are not made for cleaning purposes.  Vinegar has the potential to damage and dull your stone tile surfaces and bleach can bleach out the color in your grout.

  • Using dishwashing soap and household cleaners for tile and grout cleaning:  Dishwashing soap is a very viscous cleaning product that is not easily rinsed away.  Over time the dishwashing soap cleaning residue will build up on your tile and inside your grout.  This cleaning residue will attract dirt and be extremely difficult to totally remove.  Most household cleaning supplies were not made specifically for cleaning tile and grout.  Household cleaning supplies generally do not have the cleaning capabilities of specially made tile and grout cleaners.  Additionally most household cleaning supplies will not rinse effectively from the tile and grout surface.

  • Using phosphoric or muriatic acid to clean tile and grout:  These acidic cleaners are excessively aggresive cleaning product and should not be used for cleaning tile and grout.  Phosphoric and muriatic acids will damage your stone surface and will also eat away at your grout causing it to discolor and erode away.

  • Using aggressive scrub pads for tile and grout cleaning:  You should avoid using any type of excessively aggressive scrub pads for cleaning your tile and grout.  Damaging your tiles is not an acceptable outcome when cleaning your tile and grout.

The best way to clean and restore tile and grout is to use professional level tile and grout cleaning products combined with the proper tile and grout cleaning techniques. 

 

Please continue reading on this site for more detailed information regarding cleaning, sealing and restoring your particular tile and grout.