anyone familiar with rialto porcelin tiles sold at lowes? cleaning question...

[david21042]

I tiled the floor and there is gout in all the small voids in the face of the tile. Homeowner wants it all to look clean like it did in the floor. I'm not sure if grout in these voids could have been avoided by better washing the tile on the day of install? I've been trying to scrub out the grout to make the homeowner happy but It's not going so well and it's a lot of work. I got most of the grout out but now the grout has cured and is harder going/next to impossible. Any advice? I want to make the client happy but I'm afraid I'm doing a lot of work for nothing.

Is there an easier way to clean the grout out, I've been wet cleaning it with a scrub brush and a water/grout haze remover mixture with little success. Thanks,
David

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[Davestone]

Depending on how big the job is, i'd use a buffer with a stiff nylon brush and the grout haze remover, be sure to let it dwell for awhile.

[david21042]

my buffer with nylon bristes is 19" and would not work for this area. I wonder if a brass bristle brush would mar/scratch the tile. These tiles are really hard.

[MudGuy]

I’d give phosphoric a try from Miracle Sealents or Aquamix. Allow to dwell and use a stiff nylon deck brush to loosen up the grout residue. Rialto cleans up pretty well during initial and final clean when grouting but I appreciate your frustration trying to remove any leftover grout in the voids.

There is a lot of porcelain on the market, feature rich with voids, divets and scratches that require a little extra attention during initial cleanup (doodlebug pads). If you’ve got most of it cleaned out, you should be good to go.

[kentrk]

My tile setters messed up on the clean up stage of my porcelan tile grout job. They used spectra loc epoxy grout and did not get it cleaned properly. I ended up appling Dupont heavy duty stripper and cleaner ( a very heavy coating) Let it sit for two hours, Then used my var speed polisher at about 400 rpm with hook-latch disk and white nylon scrubbing pads. Basicly a mini floor polisher. Lots of rinse, and picked up the residue with a shop vac. It turned out perfect. For what it's worth, from Muppet Labs, Rick