Just purchased a home with three rooms of stone tile and they never sealed. The grout and tile is so dirty and won't come clean. I've tried muratic acid and just about killed me. Does anyone have any suggestions of what product to use to clean them so I can finally seal them. Thanks
Have you tried bleach and water? I have stone floors and I used it in my shower, which has small carrera and black marble tiles on the floor. Someone here suggested it so I bought some Clorox bleach spray cleaner and tried it there, leaving it on a few minutes, then scrubbing the grout with a narrow grout brush before rinsing it off. You'll need to ventilate the room because like you said, the cleaner is irritating.
The cleaner works very well, not perfectly but still got most of the discoloration up. After doing it a few times I made sure I rinsed it well, then waited for the floor to dry. I then sealed the whole floor and it has definitely helped. I still need to use bleach sometimes but not as often. Just make sure that you start with a weak mixture so you can safeguard the stone tiles. You can add more bleach when you feel comfortable.
Posts: 462 | Location: St Louis, MO (Zone 5) | Registered: Oct 31, 2007
It depends on how badly it is soiled you may want to cosult a professional, if it is real stone not a imitation you will need a penetrating sealer. If the grout can't be cleaned to your standards it can be color sealed. These are services offered by a lot of professional carpet cleaners, check your yellow pages, talk to more than one.
