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April 13, 2009
renew bathroom floor tile?
Unglazed ceramic tile
does not get clean with a mop
Found one guy who will put on a chemical that takes the stains out, it was an unmarked bottle though so i don't know what chemical. Then i found this sealer to put on after: http://www.stonecare.com/Shopping/ProductInfo.aspx?ProductID=7834
Someone else recommended to find someone to grind it down slightly.
Anyone have any thoughts, advice, or recomendation of someone to fix it?
Comments
Have you thought about scrubbing it Cinderella-style and then sealing it?
Posted by: vanburenproud at April 13, 2009 9:14 PM
CAUTION: DO NOT MIX ANY OF THE FOLLOWING TOGETHER OR EVEN APPLY SEPARATELY WITHOUT RINSING THOROUGHLY BETWEEN APPLICATIONS!
You might have some luck with straight white vinegar separately, hydrogen peroxide separately, baking soda mixed with water to form a paste separately, or bleach separately BUT NOT ANY OF THEM MIXED TOGETHER OR USED ONE AFTER THE OTHER WITHOUT THOROUGH RINSING!!!!!! Even though these are household products, make sure the room is well ventilated. There are also stronger acids on the market for cleaning masonry, however those products can be or are EXTREMELY DANGEROUS. If these cautions seem extreme, you're right, they are, in order to clearly convey that even the household products named above have the potential to create noxious gases or worse if used in combination.
Posted by: vinca at April 13, 2009 10:40 PM
I have a similar situation, the baking soda + hydrogen peroxide actually did do some good. More than Greased Lightning, Tilex, or clorox clean up with bleach. Try a few coats of a paste of baking soda and hydrogen peroxide 3% (reg store stuff). The above poster is incorrect about combining these two, they are fine, go ahead, strong but no noxious gas.
Posted by: bqe1970 at April 13, 2009 11:11 PM
The Ecover powder bleach works really well in a paste, too. Let it sit for a while then scrub.
Posted by: mshook at April 14, 2009 9:30 AM
Have you tried the Magic Erase sponge? It works better than most cleaners . . .
Posted by: CHM at April 14, 2009 9:33 AM
BQE: You're right of course, baking soda and peroxide can be mixed. But many of these products are dangerous to mix. The permutations are so many, and the detail far more than I care to write. Therefore, in the spirit of better safe than sorry, and can't be sure how closely reader is following, I chose to caution against mixing across the board and I REPEAT that caution. For anyone who cares, there are endless online resources for more detail about cleaning with "green" household products. One link is the following...not saying it's the best source, just saying it's there: http://www.greenlivingtips.com/articles/119/1/Versatile-vinegar-tips.html
Posted by: vinca at April 14, 2009 11:35 AM
The tiles are a vitrified porcelain. There are little voids in the surface which are where the stain resides. The chemical baths described previously will work to a point, but probably unsatisfactorily. What you need to do is to use an abrasive pad, water, and a powdered detergent. The project is to wear away the little bit of the top surface that has the dirt trapped and to reveal the fresh tile underneath.
Look on the web for an "alpha" tool. It is a highspeed grinder that has a water supply to the center of the spinnning pad. The pads used paper backed disks impregnated with silicon carbide. Try a 400 grit pad and dish washing powder. The results should be obvious. Many tile/stone installers will have familiarity with this. I don't think you want to use too fine of a grit, this will make the surface polished which is not good.
As a test, you could do the same thing with a lower speed occilating sander (Beware that electricity and water do not mix well so take precautions)
You could even try it with a sanding block. The paper is available in tile stores that carry tools, or on the web.
Posted by: lestilemkr at April 14, 2009 12:28 PM
I've heard some people swear by steam cleaning (ala stanley steamer)...has anyone tried that? Then sealing of course.
Posted by: amybnyc at April 14, 2009 3:09 PM
It's bleach and ammonia mixed together that can kill you.
Posted by: mopar at April 14, 2009 3:25 PM
Are these old types of tiles really unglazed? I thought they were just matte but still glazed. I don't understand how tile becomes this dirty -- unless it's rust stains or dye or something.
I do have unglazed, unsealed tile in my (rental) kitchen and it does stain as easily as a shirt. Anything except water will stain it.
But not the old style bathroom tiles.
Posted by: mopar at April 14, 2009 3:28 PM
I have newer mosaic matte tiles and they are glazed or sealed, but they are a bitch to clean! Especially that stupid white grout I had to go and use. Anyway, first I vacuum, because sweeping doesn't do it. Then I get down on my hands and knees with a scrubbing brush. I think elbow grease is more important than the cleaning product.
Posted by: rh at April 14, 2009 4:25 PM
Just chiming in to say that it's perfectly fine to mix baking soda and vinegar, etc.
Baking soda and vinegar is how kid makes volcano.
Posted by: vanburenproud at April 14, 2009 4:40 PM
Lestilemkr, thanks for great info!
Mopar, it's not just bleach and ammonia that hurt or kill, but it's posts like yours that unnecessarily encourage others to expose themselves to danger. Try looking up vinegar and hydrogen peroxide and tell me what you get from mixing. Try mixing vinegar and baking soda and report back the results. I'm not into unnecessary warnings, but I wrote the caution that I did for a very good reason. Here's a basic link...quite elementary...I hope you can follow: http://www.apple-cider-vinegar-benefits.com/baking-soda-and-vinegar.html
Posted by: vinca at April 14, 2009 4:43 PM
I mixed vinegar and baking soda with a bunch of kids last year. It makes a reaction. It won't harm you. It's standard science fair stuff. You are overreacting.
Posted by: vanburenproud at April 14, 2009 4:50 PM
Vinca, the link you provided talks about the reaction, and it specifically says that these are two non-toxic chemicals that make a lot of CO2 gas happen. CO2 is in your seltzer water.
What is your point?
Posted by: vanburenproud at April 14, 2009 4:53 PM
Bleach + ammonia = chlorine gas a/k/a mustard gas
Also cat urine = ammonia. Therefore, never use bleach to clean the cat box.
More:
http://www.state.nj.us/health/eoh/cehsweb/bleach_fs.pdf
Now you know. And knowing is 1/2 the battle.
Posted by: Knickerbocker at April 14, 2009 5:08 PM
Everyone (most everyone) has had the experience of mixing vinegar and baking soda. It's a standard elementary school science experiment. Did any of your kids back off from the fumes and the unexpected reaction? What's your point? That you can mix these two, does not prove that you can mix any two. vbp, how about you go through all the permutations and let us know which are safe and which aren't. Please report from personal experience and make your list complete. Or maybe you'll do the wiser thing and tell people NOT to mix, knowing from experience that if people create one mixture that works well, they're likely to assume that adding in another product from the same list might make it work better.
Posted by: vinca at April 14, 2009 5:18 PM
It makes carbon dioxide! That creates a lot of gas, which makes an enormous VISUAL reaction!
Read your own link!
Posted by: vanburenproud at April 14, 2009 5:26 PM
Did something change about the way tiles and grout are made? Because I have had these old bathrooms and never had any trouble cleaning them. Hm.
Posted by: mopar at April 14, 2009 5:32 PM
thnx for the replies, i have made some progess, i'll post a pic when its done in a week or so - busy atm
Posted by: 11211 at April 14, 2009 6:32 PM
Mopar, The worst thing to happen to tile was the adoption of a "shouldered edge". That's a 5-7 degree bevel which was added because it eased the release of the tiles from the die on the presses.
By beveling the edges, a "valley" was created between the tiles. This valley served to create a place for dirt to accumulate, and grout to be applied unevenly.
There are other differences but this one feature is probably the most significant.
Posted by: Oldtiles at April 16, 2009 8:15 PM
Bleach the entire floor. Should work.
Posted by: grip100692 at April 21, 2009 2:06 PM
I'm the OP, here is the after photo:
http://img205.imageshack.us/img205/8837/bathroomafter.jpg
i ended up using baking soda and peroxide
the peroxide seemed to be doing most of the work
used a kind of nylon stiff broom so i could stand and do the center areas
used old toothbrush for hard to reach areas
bought the best sealer i could find - Dupont Stonetech Bulletproof sealer:
http://www.amazon.com/StoneTech-BPSS12-32-BulletProof-Sealer-1-Quart/dp/B00065W8G8/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=hi&qid=1240777091&sr=8-1
So far seems ok but haven't tested it much yet. Only thing i may have done wrong is i think there still may have been a lot of baking soda on the floor when i applied the sealer (i vacuumed many times but did not mop with water) so i worry if its possible the baking soda may have absorbed and limited the effectiveness of the sealer
These guys came out to look and give estimate on grinding and cleaning. I ended up doing it myself but they were surprisingly helpful and honest so i mention them here:
www.perfectmarble.com - they restore/maintain natural stone
Posted by: 11211 at April 26, 2009 4:22 PM
Wow, incredible before and after pics. Thanks for posting. You must feel so accomplished. Very nice!
Posted by: mopar at April 26, 2009 11:54 PM
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