acid etching on porcelain tile?

[Kelli]

Hi, my husband and I just laid Italgraniti porcelain tile in our new home. We have grouted it and cleaned it and are ready to seal... My problem is that I am afraid I may have damaged some of the tile in my efforts to thoroughly clean it before sealing. I think that I may have some spots of acid etching and I don't know how to get rid of that before I seal it.

When we first cleaned the tile after grouting, we used a product called Superior Grout Haze & Film Remover to remove the grout haze. There were still several areas that didn't seem to be clean all the way so I went to The Tile Shop (not where I got this tile) and asked them how to get rid of hard to clean grout haze and they had me try Superior's Natural Stone Deep Clean. I first tried mixing it for "easy cleaning" per the instructions, and then tried it with a fairly stiff concentration of the product mixed with water. This stuff worked for most of the hazing, but not all. In addition, there appear to be some spots where I left the bucket of cleaning mix on the floor after a long night of scrubbing and it left a half circle mark. I left the mop sit on another tile after rinsing the tiles with water and it left a mark I can't get up either!!

As a final attempt to clean these marks, I used the Natural Stone Deep cleaner straight out of the bottle (as it said to do for stubborn hazing). I let it sit for about 5-8 minutes, wiped it off and then buffed it dry and it really didn't improve the situation much at all. So now I still have a few areas that look like they have grout haze and a few other areas that look more like they are etched.

What can I try now?

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[Davestone]

Both of the products you mentioned are alkaline cleaners not acidic,and shouldn't etch the porcelain.Although a straight high alkaline cleaner can eb caustific if left on a surface too long, it can etch paint,but still shouldn't etch porcelain.You didn't say if it was polished,if it is, it may have absorbed some of the dirty cleaning solution and may be difficult to clean.If not,i would try an acidic haze remover,a stiff brush and rinse well and wetvac it up and see what you've got.

[Kelli]

It is a matte tile - not polished. Should I try a mixture of vinegar and water or would you recommend something else.... how long should the acidic product stay on the tile before I clean it off?

[Davestone]

That should do it, you probably should use it full strength let it dwell for five minutes,and put a aittle ammonia in the cleanup water to kill the acid.