In order to clean them I first need to identify them!

[LONGJON]

Hi all,

please please help me....

Sorry if this goes on a bit but the more info the better - i think.

I have just completed my first (and probably last) ever floor tiling job and having been really chuffed with the result at the time, a week later, find myself tearing my hair out.

Having laid 14 sq mtrs of tiles purchased from B&Q and then grouted them as per box instructions, I am now left with a residue that I just can't seem to shift.

The tiles were black slate effect 600 x 300 from B&Q. The adhesive was wickes rapid set and the grout was Mapei rapid set in grey. I think the problem has come from the grout as it didn't matter how much I tried I just couldn't get the tile clean - to the point I was dragging back out the grout as I went.

Having said that an offcut of tile that I have been touting round the tile shops for a solution has also discoloured, but here is my real dilemna - no one seems to say the same when it comes to identifying what the tiles are made from, subsequently they give different solutions.

To date I have used white vinegar, very succesfully, to clean them but I think I need to seal them as they seem to just discolour when cleaned again.

From other threads it looks as though if they are porcelain I am up the proverbial without a you know what, but how do you tell?????

Thanks in advanve for any suggestions,

LongJon.

 

[Matt]

What colour are the back of the tiles? If it is a terracotta colour, they are ceramic. Porcelain is "generally" white bodied, but you can get white bodied ceramics. There are also vitrified porcelain, in which case the back of the tile will be that same colour as the front

 

[david campbell]

looks like you will have to purchase a grout remover,something like lithofin or from topps you can get fila!sounds like you have tried to remove the excess grout too early causing it to spread all over the tiles,did you use a proper grouting sponge?

 

[wetdec]

lick the back if it soakes in its ceramic if not you have porcelain..............


..

 

[LONGJON]

Hi guys,

thanks for the replies.

Matt257 - the backs are pretty much the same colour as the fronts which in the general tiling forum Dave has intimated they are porcelain with a riven finish - chinese probably.

David - Did go for the proper sponge and used mapei grout but over the whole area I tried every conceivable combination of pressure, dampness and direction I could think of all to no avail. Am now looking, thourh tiling forums advice at getting the lithofin cleaner and then sealing the tiles straight after - wish me luck :smilewinkgrin:

Wetdec - I like it, simple but effective (even if it doesn't taste that nice :lol Looks to confirm they are porcelain, albeit vitrified and chinese!

Once again thanks for all the swift replies - I'll let you know how I get on.

Longjon.

 

[Matt]

Hi guys,

thanks for the replies.

Matt257 - the backs are pretty much the same colour as the fronts which in the general tiling forum Dave has intimated they are porcelain with a riven finish - chinese probably.

David - Did go for the proper sponge and used mapei grout but over the whole area I tried every conceivable combination of pressure, dampness and direction I could think of all to no avail. Am now looking, thourh tiling forums advice at getting the lithofin cleaner and then sealing the tiles straight after - wish me luck :smilewinkgrin:

Wetdec - I like it, simple but effective (even if it doesn't taste that nice :lol Looks to confirm they are porcelain, albeit vitrified and chinese!

Once again thanks for all the swift replies - I'll let you know how I get on.

Longjon.

Vitrified is a good thing, Chinese is not neccessarily a bad thing. Good luck with the cleaning and sealing mate

One thing I will say is to only put a light coat of sealer on and make sure you buff them up well. Porcelain tiles are not "porous" so to speak. They have very tiny pores that can hold dirt, which is the reason for sealing them.

 

[enduro]

The best thing i have used on jobs where the grout haze has dried and the tiler has used Mapei grout is Aqua Mix Grout Haze Clean-Up. Use the cleaner neat, and agitate with a white scrub pad on a rotary floor scrubber, let it dwell for 5-10 mins but dont let it dry out, then use a wet vac to clean it up. Then rinse floor with clean water and wet vac up, that should sort it.