As important as cleaning is to the health of fabric, hard surfaces, and the people who live around these areas, cleaning can also be hazardous. As anyone who has undergone rug cleaning for a hand-dyed or antique floor covering will know, chemicals can cause damage.
And though it might seem like your tile and grout are sturdy enough to deal with a few commercially available cleaning agents, there are still dangers involved in this type of cleaning. But what are they exactly, and how do you avoid them?
Why Healthy Grout Is Important
Grout serves two main purposes. It is a moisture barrier, so water does not get in between tiles and affects the wood in a wall or floor. The sealant aspect of grout keeps all the surfaces under the tiles from warping and distorting.
Along with avoiding dampness that can lead to rot or fungal growth, grout is also holding the tiles in place. For your tiles to stand without sliding or slipping, there needs to be something functioning as glue.
Sealant Wear
One of the first things to degrade with the use of harsh chemicals is the sealant on the grout, which keeps it from becoming a sponge. When your grout becomes absorbent, it puts your floor at risk and also makes it that much more difficult to clean.
If you are using a professional tile and grout cleaning company, they will use cleaning processes that do not degrade the sealant. Just be sure that the cleaning service advertises biologically friendly or environmentally sound cleaning, as this reflects how corrosive the chemicals are as well.
Dislodging
Most of the time, your grout coming loose is a result of improper installation or age, but improper cleaning can certainly make this problem worse. But steam cleaning services are one of the most gentle cleaning methods that do not use chemicals that erode the structural integrity of grout.
Because your grout functions as a binding agent for your tiles, as it begins to dislodge, there is the risk of the tiles falling off walls or floor tiles coming loose. If tiles fell off during cleaning, chances are they were already going to fall, but they will stay in place longer if they are cleaned correctly.
Cracking
When your grout begins to crack, it is losing its effectiveness as a water barrier because that sealant is only an exterior coating. A crack exposes the un-sealed interior of gout, as well as providing a clear path for moisture to take through your tile.
Cracking will also inevitably lead to dislodging as it turns crumbly. And to say again, this is what happens to older and improperly mixed grout, but it is exacerbated with improper cleaning. If you call us for grout cleaning, you can reduce the wear that leads to cracking.
Closing Advice
You want to use a professional cleaning service to better preserve your tile and grout. But you don’t have to find a specific tile and grout cleaning company. And you should not use a general housekeeping agency. Instead, contact a local Irvine carpet cleaning who knows how to use their steam cleaning machines to harmlessly clean grout.