Many people are confused about what type of cleaning products work best for cleaning tile, grout and stone surface.  Alkaline, Acidic and pH neutral cleaning products all have their specific uses for cleaning tile, stone and grout.

 

 

Choosing the appropriate type of cleaner is  the most important first step to getting your tile and grout properly cleaned.  There are basically three types of tile and grout cleaners and all have their place in cleaning and maintaining your tile and grout.

 

The three basic types of tile, grout and stone cleaners are:

• Alkaline tile and grout cleaners.

•  Acidic tile and grout cleaners.

• PH neutral tile and grout cleaners.  

To understand what type of cleaner to use you must first analyze the type of dirt and stains you need to clean.  Choosing the proper type of cleaning solution is essential to obtaining the best possible cleaning results for your tile, stone and grout.

 

 

Alkaline tile and grout cleaning product:

Most dirt, grease and grime stains are acidic in nature and these are the most common types of dirt and stains on tile and grout.  Dirt and grime of this nature typically occurs in kitchens, entrance ways, lobbies and wherever there is high foot traffic or greasy cooking conditions.  To clean these types of acidic stains you need an alkaline cleaning solution. 

The alkaline cleaner will react with the acidic dirt grease and grime and leave the resulting slurry in suspension.  This slurry can then be extracted and then your tile and grout can be rinsed and you are left with clean looking sanitary tile and grout. 

Stonetech Klenzall is an excellent professional alkaline cleaning product that is safe to use on any of your tile, grout or stone surfaces.  The one gallon container of Klenzall will typically clean approximately 1000 sq/ft of dirty tile and grout.

 

 

Acidic tile and grout cleaning product:

You may notice that your tile and grout may still have some stains that did not come out with the alkaline cleaner solution.  An acidic tile cleaning solution is excellent to use to on ceramic and porcelain tile installations.  Acidic cleaning solutions work great to to clean up any alkaline type of stains on tile and especially the grout.   These alkaline stains are typically inorganic stains and some examples of these include red wine, mustard, urine, ink and food coloring.  These inorganic alkaline stains can be effectively cleaned by using an acidic cleaning solution. 

The acidic cleaning solution will react with the alkaline stains and cause them to become suspended making them easy to be extracted away.   Acidic cleaners designed for cleaning tile and grout work great for cleaning grout and restoring the original appearance of grout.  The acidic cleaning solution will also react with the top layer of the grout to perform a sort of micro abrasion procedure.  This micro abrasion will remove a very small top layer of the stained grout to reveal a clean stain free layer of grout. 

Stonetech Restore is a professional level acidic tile cleaning product that will not damage your ceramic or porcelain tiles or the grout.  Stonetech restore also works excellent to clean up soap scum and dirty tile and grout in ceramic and porcelain showers and bathtub surrounds.  A one gallon container of Restore acidic cleaner will typically clean up approximately 1000 sq/ft of dirty tile and grout.

Note that you can use an acidic cleaning solution when cleaning ceramic and porcelain tiles but you should never use an acidic cleaner on any type of stone tiles.

 

PH neutral tile, grout and stone cleaning solution:

A pH neutral cleaning solution is best used for maintenance cleaning of your tile and grout after it has been deep cleaned.  A pH neutral cleaning solution  is preferred for daily or weekly cleanings because it will not break down any sealers that were applied to the grout or tiles.  Also a pH neutral cleaner is easy to rinse off the tile and grout and will not leave any cleaning residue on the tile or in the grout. 

PH neutral cleaners are safe to use on all types of tile, grout and stone and will not damage or etch even the most delicate stone surfaces.  PH neutral tile and grout cleaners are not as effective as alkaline or acidic tile and grout cleaners for cleaning stubborn dirt, grease and grime.   PH neutral cleaners are the best type of tile and grout cleaning product to use for daily or weekly maintenance cleanings of your tile, grout and stone surfaces.

Stonetech's all purpose cleaning product is a professional level pH neutral tile, grout and stone cleaning product that is safe to use on all your tile grout and stone surfaces.  It is packaged in concentrate form so you only need to use 2-4 ounces per gallon of hot water to achieve effective cleaning results.  A one gallon container of the pH neutral cleaning solution will typically last a considerable amount of time.