cant clean grout off porcelain tile

[herny80]

just fitted a dark grey porcelain tile on kitchen walls and grouted with a grey grout, i cant seem to clean tile. i have tried soapy water, plain water, letting it dry then tried buffing the tile and now i have just bought plasplug heavy duty tile cleaner and it still dried up with what looks like a layer of dust. please any suggestions what i can do?

 

[Deleted member 1779]

There's quite a number of posts on the forum about the topic.

Might be worth typing "grout removal" into the search box above this post and having a read.

I believe it boils down to having let the excess dry out too soon. There are a number of products on the market to aid the removal.

Worst case - tile removal and replacement. Mild Acid.

Best case, elbow grease and a suitable product.

Other people will guide you on this topic (I cant answer because I have no technical background) but its worth typing in that search term and having a bit of a pre-read.

 

[grumpygrouter]

You amy also find you should have sealed the porcelain before grouting if it wasn't a "glazed" variety. Porcelain can have microscopic spores on the surface that can grab hold of the grout. Buy yourself a can of Lithofin Cement Residue Remover and clean with that FOLLOWING THE INSTRUCTIONS CAREFULLY. That should do the trick.

 

[herny80]

Thanks guys i thought they were glazed porcelain as they had a matt finish am i right in saying that polished porcelain is extremely smooth and shinny? do you have any idea where i can get Lithofin Cement Residue Remover from? if they were glazed should this do the job.

I am going to see if i can retrieve a old box which i took to the local tip earlier today.

 

[grumpygrouter]

Polished is usually shiny yes. You can get lithofin stuff online or from good tile shops normally. Not the cheapest, though you get what you pay for.

 

[herny80]

just got back from the tile shop and they were glazed porcelain and they agreed with you that you shouldnt need to seal it first i even asked him if it would of been good practise to just seal porcelain anyway and they said no as there wouldnt be any point. i will have a look for Lithofin Cement Residue Remover and if the customer isnt happy with the finish i can then advise him on his options. I am just glad that it looks as though its not something that i have done to cause this.

 

[baht'at]

Hi still a newbie in the trade (2 years) and had the same problems like we all do. How ever I thought of trying the green pan scrubs once I had cleaned all the excess grout off , then letting the residue dry.Then just lightly rub the surface with a dry pan scrub then pick the dust up with Henry, then polish off with one of those washing mits (dry)advertised for washing your car
The green ones dont last that long so bought one of the industrial floor scrubbing disc's from a local tool hire and cut it up in to useable bits and lasts for ages

 

[TilingLogistics]

My advice "Save Your Fingers" You can buy emulsifying pads on handles they are brilliant for removing grout haze. They are available in all colours at around a £1 each. The best supplier normally is a janitorial type place that sells wholesale cleaning stuff for cleaners. Most major towns and cities have at least one

Kev

 

[grumpygrouter]

Hi still a newbie in the trade (2 years) and had the same problems like we all do. How ever I thought of trying the green pan scrubs once I had cleaned all the excess grout off , then letting the residue dry.Then just lightly rub the surface with a dry pan scrub then pick the dust up with Henry, then polish off with one of those washing mits (dry)advertised for washing your car
The green ones dont last that long so bought one of the industrial floor scrubbing disc's from a local tool hire and cut it up in to useable bits and lasts for ages

Need to be careful with the green stuff. They are made with tungsten carbide dust and can make quite a mess if not used carefully!

 

[deback]

just fitted a dark grey porcelain tile on kitchen walls and grouted with a grey grout, i cant seem to clean tile. i have tried soapy water, plain water, letting it dry then tried buffing the tile and now i have just bought plasplug heavy duty tile cleaner and it still dried up with what looks like a layer of dust. please any suggestions what i can do?

I had the same problem (on Daltile Marseilles Tuscany Grey tile) and finally used an SOS pad, which worked great to remove the grout that had dried in the pits and grooves of the porcelain tile. It didn't scratch the tiles, but it would be a good idea to do a test to make sure an SOS pad won't scratch your tiles.