The Ultimate Guide to Professional Tile & Grout Cleaning

Whether you want to restore the shine of your home’s tile or keep a business looking its best, it helps to understand your tile, your grout and how professional cleaning works.

Know your tile

• Ceramic: affordable, durable and easy to maintain.
• Porcelain: dense and highly resistant to moisture, stains and wear, which suits kitchens and bathrooms.
• Natural stone (marble, granite, travertine): beautiful but more sensitive. Avoid acidic cleaners that can etch the surface.
• Glass: often used for accents and backsplashes.

Know your grout

• Cement-based grout: the most common type. It’s porous, so it absorbs dirt and spills unless it’s sealed.
• Epoxy grout: resists stains, chemicals and water better, and is common in high-moisture areas.

How professional cleaning works

We start by checking the tile type and the condition of the grout. Then we pre-treat heavy soil, agitate the grout lines and rinse with hot water while extracting the dirty water, so it isn’t left behind to dry back into the grout. Very heavy buildup, hard water, efflorescence and deep stains may need restoration work, which we’ll quote separately.

Keeping it clean

• Sweep or vacuum before mopping so you don’t push grit into the grout.
• Use a pH-neutral cleaner and change the mop water often.
• Wipe up spills quickly, especially on stone.
• Schedule a professional cleaning when grout lines darken.