Your house is a high-traffic zone throughout the year, but the holiday bring additional feet walking, running and standing on your floors. Tile is highly durable, but most people don’t realize that high traffic does wear on your tile floors.
Traffic Patterns on Tile and Grout
Tile and grout do, after a while, develop a traffic pattern. It eventually becomes discolored and that is especially true in grout joints. Dirt from feet, shoes and the environment seeps into tile and grout to cause it to become darker or discolored. A main reason for discolored tile is excessive water. This is why bathroom grout seems to wear and discolor faster. This can cause your floors and tiled walls to look perpetually dirty even if it is clean.
There is a way to fix this and make your floors look clean again. It doesn’t take a long time to accomplish either, so it is the perfect time to get the work done before the holidays kick in full force.
The truth is it is easier to clean your grout than it is to re-stain or replace your tile. In fact, the cost of fixing your grout is 70 percent less than a larger project involving tile. It doesn’t take as much time to complete either. We have a system that works really well.
The process starts with us adding a solution to your floor that pulls dirt out of grout joints. Grout has pores and dirt collects in these spaces. The solution, which is environmentally safe, brings all the dirt up to the top of the floor where it can be cleaned.
Next, your floor needs to be steam cleaned. Normal steam cleaners rented at the grocery store will not eliminate traffic patterns, but we have an advanced steam vapor cleaning process that gets rid of all traffic patterns. Rinsing your tile floor is also important to remove all the remaining dirt.
Now that your grout is clean, you will need a sealer to protect it from dirt and more discoloration. Our penetrating, clear sealer protects your grout joints. You need to let the sealer dry for about 24 hours before allowing your family to walk on it.
Know Your Grout
There are certain grout products and cleaners that are better for high traffic areas than others. Believe it or not, there are different types of grout. Some different grouts include:
- Epoxy Grout
- Single Component Grout
- San bed Grout
- SureColor Grout
- Non-Sanded Grout
- Silicon Grout
Epoxy grout is the preferred choice of home improvement experts. It contains both resin and a hardener and comes in both unsanded and sanded forms. The reason why it is the preferred choice is because epoxy grout is resistant to most stains and chemicals. While the earlier versions were hard to apply and had to be applied quickly, the modern versions contain detergents. This makes it easier to work with and for a fast cleanup.
There are some elements to working with epoxy grout that are unique. It can discolor some tile types like limestone or quarry if they are unsealed, but it has a hardness, durability and resistance that is alluring to those with high-traffic areas in their homes.
You need to find out what kind of grout you have before you decide whether it should be replaced or just cleaned. While you don’t have to replace it for the holidays, you may want to consider replacing it later with epoxy if you want something more durable than what you have.
Regular Grout Cleaning
Once your tile and grout are clean and sealed, you will need to maintain it on a regular basis. One of the simplest ways to do that is use a vinegar-water solution to clean it weekly. Weekly cleaning will keep it looking fresh longer and prevent dirt accumulating on the floor.
With your high-traffic areas properly cleaned, none of your holiday guests will ever suspect there were noticeable traffic patterns in your grout.
