Cleaning your tile floors

Ok, we have a question from a customer.  Mrs Wimmer asks us "What is the best way to take care of my tile"?  Well lets start by letting our readers know that we have just completed a full master bath remodel for this client in a wonderful white/gray porcelain 12"x24" tile.  We also installed a honed natural stone fireplace accent wall, as well as a polished natural stone back splash in her kitchen, and a full surround in her guest bath in ceramic tile.  What a pleasure it was to work on her job, and she does have almost all of the different types of materials we sell, all in one house.  

The easiest, quickest and most efficient step to taking care of your tile floors is to regularly sweep, vacuum and damp mop them. Lets start with the porcelain tile. The biggest difference between between porcelain and all the other tile options for a floor is that porcelain as part of its make-up is a almost zero porosity material.  This means that it does not absorb something spilled on it like a natural stone or even a ceramic would.  These tiles are very durable and can be cleaned with almost any household cleaner without any worries about damaging the surface.  What we have to be a little more cautious about is the grout joints.  This is the same for all tiled areas.  Grout tends to be the maintenance area of concern with most tile installs.  We do not recommend using vinegar on your grout.  I know a lot of people always have, but we also get a lot of calls from people that have failing grout that comes out just by running a car key down the joints.  Vinegar is a mild acid and over many years of use will break down the strength of the grout.  We also do not recommend any cleaners with detergents in them as they can leave a soapy residue behind in the pores of the grout that actually will attract more dirt.  We also do not recommend any cleaners with color additives in them (lemon, orange, pine etc...), this color can stain the grout over time.  We have a selection of daily cleaners in the showroom that will provide a strong enough cleaning power but are formulated to work with your grout.  The other solution that we suggest is a mix of ammonia and water.  This will cut the grease and grime and not leave a soapy residue behind. We usually mix it 5 parts water to one part ammonia, and remember we don't want the sudsing or the scented kind.  

When we talk about ceramic we have the same suggestions.  Remember that ceramic is more porous then porcelain and so the absence of color in the cleaner is even more important.  Using a good quality steam mop on any of your tile floors is a great way to remove daily grime, and being that it is just a water vapor it doesn't leave any unwanted colors or suds behind.  

Natural stone is the more delicate flooring that we install.  It has a wonderful look to it that is very rich and natural and not easily reproduced in a man made tile form.  Dust mop interior floors frequently using a clean non-treated dry dust mop. Sand, dirt and grit do the most damage to natural stone surfaces due to their abrasiveness. Mats or area rugs inside and outside an entrance will help to minimize the sand, dirt and grit that will scratch the stone floor. Be sure that the underside of the mat or rug is a non-slip surface. Normally, it will take a person about eight steps on a floor surface to remove sand or dirt from the bottom of their shoes. Do not use vacuum cleaners that are worn. The metal or plastic attachments or the wheels may scratch the surface.Clean stone surfaces with a few drops of neutral PH stone cleaner available at retail stores or at your local tile and stone dealer, or a mild liquid dishwashing detergent and warm water. Use a clean rag mop on floors and a soft cloth for other surfaces for best results. Too much cleaner or soap may leave a film and cause streaks. Do not use products that contain lemon, vinegar or other acids on marble or limestone. Rinse the surface thoroughly after washing with the soap solution and dry with a soft cloth. Change the rinse water frequently. Do not use scouring powders or creams; these products contain abrasives that may scratch the surface.

We also suggest that you have your grout sealed if you are concerned about it being stained.  We also offer an upgraded grout that is less pores and helps to repel stains better then a standard grout does.

We want discussion topics...

Today has been a great wrap up to a short week.  We were able to finish three large jobs, and start two more.  Plus we had some little ones mixed in as well.  The back and forth talking about shower repair has been fun.  Looking for some input suggestions on what our readers (287 of them this first week) would like for us to discuss next.  We have some ideas, but the idea of this blog was for interaction with our readers.  Thanks in advance and have a great weekend.

New shower design compared to that of 10 years ago

Its hard to know where to start.  Some of the biggest changes have been brought about due to advancement in the machinery that makes the tile.  We now have more mosaic options and water jet cut tiles that were just to pricey to use before due to the intense labor of hand making these types of pieces.  10 years ago most of the showers that we installed were what is called a floor/wall combination.  The floor tile would come in a 12x12 with a matching wall body 8x10 or 6x8.  A lot of shower walls had 4x4 and 6x6 square tiles.  The big deco item was a listello strip, often with interlocking ends.  Today we see most of our shower walls being the same porcelain that is on the bathroom floor.  The floors of showers in the past were often times a 4x4 tumbled stone or a 2x2 ceramic or unglazed porcelain tile that complimented the wall tile.  Today almost all of our floor tile options come with the matching 2x2 mesh mounted and cut from the field tile for a perfect match.  Pebbles on the floor are another popular option.  With those you either love them or hate them.  We actually installed a showroom shower with a pebble floor just so people can take their shoes off and try standing on the surface.  The new deco options are endless, from full feature walls, to vertical or horizontal deco bands, to cut-in inserts and back panels in niches.  Showers and back splashes are our favorite areas to design.  The options are endless and we get to let our imaginations run wild.

When to change out that old shower

Sometimes the shower damage is to extensive and the shower may need to be replaced.  There are times when the damage is just in the curb, or the slab is too contaminated with calcium to be fully cleaned.  In these situations we are able to remove the tile from the shower floor, remove the slab, and then clean the drain.  Schluter makes a drain that we can install to the pvc flange as we pour the new slab.  We can then add a piece of kerdi liner to the floor and re-tile.  It is important to note that this is not a full kerdi shower with all the benefits of the waterproofing going up the full wall.  We still rely on the weep holes to clear the water that wicks through the walls and down into the vinyl liner that is still there as well.  But we have put a waterproofing membrane on the floor part of the shower which greatly reduces the amount of water that gets into the slab.  And then sometimes we have to remove the entire shower.  This is when we find damage to the sub floor that can not be repaired with the vinyl liner in place.  There are also times that we find damage in the wall structure as well.  The unfortunate thing is that this damage is not always visible until we start taking out elements of the old shower.  Jen, why don't you comment a little on how the design of tile showers has changed in the last 5-10 years?

What about shower repairs?

Although there are a lot of showers that we can fix, sometimes are they just to far gone to be repaired?  And what is the best solution for repairing such a problem?  I know that I always like to use the opportunity of doing a shower repair to update the design of the shower as well.

How Schluter helps us eliminate shower problems

A great feature of the Schluter drain system is that it has no weep holes to get plugged.   The water proofing membrane is on top of the cement board and the floor slab, so water getting into the slab is completely eliminated.  As for the showers that still have the vinyl liner system (usually a round drain cover), there is still hope.  We have spent many years looking at these problems and devising ways to fix them.  We have a service we offer where we come to your home, power wash the entire shower system, we manually scrape out the build up from the inside of the pipe, clean the grout from between the walls and floor and any damaged grout joints.  We then use a test ball to plug the 2" drain pipe and back fill the drain with CLR to eat up the calcium deposits in the weep holes.  After we have let the shower sit for a day or two to completely drain and dry out we replace the grout as required, put the drain cover back on and then seal the grout.  It's not a money maker for us as we only charge between $250.00 and $350.00 depending on the shower size and how bad the calcium build up is.  But as a tile guy I want everyone to be happy with the tile showers they have, and I want them to last for many years, as they should.

Solving Shower Problems

Since about six years ago when we switched to the Schluter drain and water proofing system, we no longer have these problems with any of our showers. But, we get at least two calls a week from customers to look at these types of shower problems.  What can be done to fix showers that were built with the old style drain? 

Some pics of common shower problems

Moldy corners and calcium clogged drain

Calcium in the stone's pores 

Discolored bottom row of tile

Well Jen, the most popular style of shower in our area is the traditional PVC drain that clamps to a 30 - 40 mil. liner. This liner runs up behind the tile work up to 6-12 inches. The idea behind this lining system is that water that wicks through the grout joints on both the floor and walls is  pulled by gravity to the floor, then collects in the liner and drains through weep holes in the drain. This is the only place in the home where you find a drain hole so small. The problem with drain holes of this size is that they are easily plugged with sediment or worse, calcium.  After these holes become plugged the cement slab under the floor tile has no way of drying out. This is when we get the mold and mildew growing behind the tile especially in the corners. The first picture above shows a shower drain almost completely choked off with calcium growth. The second picture shows calcium deposits left behind in the stone's pores. The third picture shows calcium growing up from the ridge of the grout joint, and the forth picture shows the final stage where the bottom row of tile stays wet all the time due to the presence of water. At this point water starts running over the lowest part of the pan and rotting subfloor and floor joists. This can cause extensive damage to the home and after too long can result in having to change the entire shower.

Shower Maintenance

We have been getting several calls to the office about shower problems. Customers are having issues with crusty white build up around the drain and on the shower floor. They have cleaned away mold and mildew from the corners but it returns after a few days, as well as cracks and crumbles in the grout. Some have also notices discoloration in the bottom row of tile. What causes this to happen around the drain?