Is professional tile cleaning worth the price?

Time to clean your grout. Saying that phrase often makes people sick or worse, depressed. Is it really worth paying someone else to take on this sometimes daunting task? Let’s take a look at the benefits and drawbacks of this relatively new home delivery service.

First of all, many people are not familiar with this home delivery service. Carpet cleaners have been around for years and most people are aware of the service or have had their carpets cleaned at one time or another. Whether or not the customer has been satisfied with the cleaning service is a completely different matter. With any service that focuses on your home, trust is an important factor in taking the first step and allowing someone else to work on your prized possession. As, of course, there are many excellent carpet cleaners in the industry, there are many that give the industry a bad reputation. This is true for any industry, but once you’ve been misled or poorly served, you’re reluctant to go back down that path.

This brings us to the world of tile and grout cleaning. Is it really worth paying someone to do what most people assume they can do for themselves? If you search the internet, there are countless home remedies and solutions for cleaning grout yourself. In some cases these solutions are not bad options. Minor spot cleaning and pet stain removal can be helpful in many cases. However, if you’re looking at an entire floor that needs restoration or just a good cleaning, you might be up against a monster.

Anyone who’s ever been brought to their knees with a scrub brush and some horrible chemical can tell you that it’s anything but easy. It can be smelly, messy and hard on your body and there is always a chance that it may even make things look worse than before you started. So you’re wondering, when is he going to tell me what makes paying for this service so great and why I should spend my hard-earned money to do just that? Well, let’s find out!

First of all, you should be aware that not all tile and grout cleaning services are created equal. The old adage “You get what you pay for” holds true here as if you were comparing a new car, printer, or camera. You want to ensure that you are getting quality service that you will be happy with; but not one that breaks the bank. Depending on your region of the country, you can expect to pay between 0.75 cents and $1.50 per square foot for clean tile.

This is standard and can of course vary depending on the condition of the grout or if there are existing sealers that need to be removed first. So on average, a 400 square foot kitchen would cost you between $300 and $600 depending on your area of ​​the country. A lot of people would look at that number and say it’s ridiculous. I can clean the entire carpet in my house for less than $200. Well, let’s take a look at the actual difference here. This will also help you qualify a true tile and grout cleaning company versus a carpet cleaner that acts like a tile and grout cleaning company.

The keys to a quality tile and grout cleaning job are contained in these four components. Emulsifier (detergent), pressure, heat and extraction or vacuum. If your tile and grout cleaning company doesn’t have these four components, you can easily eliminate them from the competition. These are the reasons why.

Water alone will not be enough to get the job done. Your tile and grout cleaning company needs to have enough detergent to tackle your particular job. Detergent is used to loosen dirt and grease molecules from tile and grout. Without this, it’s like throwing water into oil, with the expected result.

Pressure, and here is one of the main ones besides detergent. If you spray a regular garden hose on your driveway, you can wash away any surface dirt. However, if you really want it to look brand new, grab a pressure washer and get the job done right. The same goes for grout cleaning. Grout is porous and is a cement product. Now, I don’t recommend bringing a pressure washer to your kitchen floor unless you want to bring your pool indoors. However, you need pressure; and not just steam pressure.

Most carpet cleaners handle between 100 and 500 psi pressure to clean carpets. To clean tile and grout you really need to start at around 1200 psi and can go up from there. If your carpet cleaner’s machine doesn’t provide as much pressure, you can cross it off your list. Now, if they do a good job cleaning your rugs, keep them for that. You’ll just have to find someone else to clean the tiles and grout. Pressure is key, as it loosens dirt and grease from the grout. It works together with the detergent to penetrate deep into the pores of the grout for a deep clean.

A scrub brush will not and cannot do the same. A brush only reaches the top layer and then pushes the dirt down or just moves it to another surface. You may see some adequate results, but in most cases they are only temporary as dirt that has been pushed down will find its way back to the surface.

Heat isn’t always a necessity, but most of us know that when you add heat to most cleaning procedures, you get better results. Now of course there are exceptions and I am aware of that. You wouldn’t want to clean silk at 200 degrees, but we’re talking about tiles and not fine fabrics. The heat not only helps loosen the grease particles trapped in the grout, but it also helps kill any bacteria that are present. Trust me, there are definitely germs and bacteria growing in your grout. The grout is like a sponge, it will absorb everything.

Finally, extraction or vacuum is essential. What good would it do you to clean the grout only to leave the dirty water on the clean tile and grout? It wouldn’t be clean for long. Having a powerful truck mounted vacuum cleaner is very important. When you put that much water in the ground, you want something that will draw it out quickly and completely. Not only will this completely remove the dirt from the freshly cleaned surface, but it will also help your floors dry much faster.

Armed with this information, you can now make a more informed and hopefully safe decision when you decide to have your tile and grout cleaned by a professional. Remember, no company is perfect, but with the right equipment and trained professionals, the job can be done right. Just be sure to rate any cleaning company before they start the job. Ask for references and make sure they can fully answer all of your questions and have all four components to properly cleaning your floors.

Next week, we’ll talk about sealants and their role in a residential application.
Please feel free to contact me with any questions.