[Matt Gibson]

Back in Australia, we used to use this method, but as Trevor mentions, we had a spinner with extraction build in, run from a van mount carpet cleaning machine. Was the dogs for jobs like that. We used it on everything from sandstone, to limestome inside and out. we had a handheld spinner for walls, worked a treat.

Its quick too, we were doing hundreds of m2 per day and if you wind up the heat, it dries very quick and can be sealed quicker.

[Jamie Pearson]

youtube type in www.tileandgrout.net and you will see how effective this method of cleaning is, only difference is there spinner has an incorporated vac port included so makes it quicker, this is something i am investing in.

I have one of these systems. Been using it for best part of 10 years now.
To begin with the tool was connected to a power washer and a wet vac with pump out.
Now we have a portable with autofill fill & dump.
You have to be VERY careful with these systems on natural stone as they can blow open all the pores.
Maximum pressure us around 7-800 on natural stone.
It needs 500psi to make it spin so it means that it is only suitable for rinsing.
On ceramic & porcelain however you can wind it up a bit and it makes easy work of groutlines.

Even with the above I still apply product of choice, allow to dwell and use a rotary or CRB.

CRB would have cut through that I am certain.

[trevor perry]

hi kevin or cleaning systems, i have just got a job and tried using an alkaline cleaner and then a scrubber as you recomended but it doesnt seem to have toched it i resorted back to using a pressure washer with a whirlaway and this has made the trial patch a little better but personally i am not happy with the result, what specific alkaline cleaner do you recomend i try, like the pictures i have posted before of the other job the tiles are porcelaine and very porous but they are a pretty rough finish not smooth, they have been down about twenty years and are in a terrible state, i would really like to get these really clean as it is a very large area and could be a job that leads to other work
Many thanks if you can help

[david_m]

Hello Trever

we get these from time to time

the chemicals we use are a good quality citrus scrub product mixed with hot water this is important
and dwell.Pre wet the floor before you put down cleaning solution,   scrub off with a tynex brush if its dimpled mat porcelim tiles
then rince with trukmount and spinner tool

Kevin also recommended honeing powder which will also work on these tiles and will bennifit your cleaning.
if its a large commercial job it is worth trying this even if you havent used this method before

cheers davy

[Kev Martin]

hi kevin or cleaning systems, i have just got a job and tried using an alkaline cleaner and then a scrubber as you recomended but it doesnt seem to have toched it i resorted back to using a pressure washer with a whirlaway and this has made the trial patch a little better but personally i am not happy with the result, what specific alkaline cleaner do you recomend i try, like the pictures i have posted before of the other job the tiles are porcelaine and very porous but they are a pretty rough finish not smooth, they have been down about twenty years and are in a terrible state, i would really like to get these really clean as it is a very large area and could be a job that leads to other work
Many thanks if you can help

Trevor

Did you pre wet the stone first?  Because if not on this type of surface without pre wetting the High Alkaline cleaner just penetrates and does nothing!  We recommend Aqua Seal Xtreme Heavy Duty Tile & Grout cleaner but if this fails then as davy says Aqua Seal Hone will sort it guaranteed mate.  Failing that you may in extreme circumstances need to resort to a poultice.

Kev Martin
Marble Life Ltd

[trevor perry]

Thanks Kevin
   can you recomend a uk supplier of this chemical i cant seem to find any on the internet

[steve poole]

Trevor

We clean only man made tiles and mainly just colour seal - we use a truckmount with spinner with great results.I hasten to add that very similar can be acheived with a scrubber and good wet vacuum and the cost of a truckmount has to be questioned but we use it on big jobs and it pays its way on these and other tricky cleans.

You can get sensational results using an acidic based cleaner  - we would use a weak phosphoric acid - pre wet floor and apply with soft brush - scrub and then extract.The alkaline cleaners go after the fats, grease, etc the acidic products the dirt, rocks and soil.

If the soiling here is the rock type then it will certainly make a difference - if its not it won't make any difference at all!!!

A word of warning - do not go anywhere near natural stone with an acidic product but i am sure you know this.

Hope this may help

Steve P

(Clean Tile and Grout)
01256 882840

[Kev Martin]

Good point made by Steve! 

He is of course totally correct and it is definitely something I should have considered.  There may be some sort of Grout or Cement Haze present which could be preventing the Alkaline cleaners from getting through.  So the advice is spot on if all else fails try a diluted mild Phosphoric Acid Substitute.  Just pour a little on neat and look for any signs of effervescence.  Finally I am sure I don't need to tell you but never mix the two;  Alkaline and Acid that is!

Kev Martin
Marble Life Ltd

[trevor perry]

Thanks steve and kevin, i had already tried a weak phosphoric acid because i had already thought it may not be grease but that made no differerance i have ordered some of tha extreme clean from kevin so i will try a test patch with this and see what happens, if it doesnt work then i will rinse thoroughly and try the acid again as acid will only work if all grease has been removed first, i will post pictures when i do this so you can see results.
 once again thanks

[trevor perry]

Hi kevin
   below are some pictures of cleaning of tiles using the extreme clean you recomended, as you can see it had litttle to no effect, i then attempted to do the area again using a phosphoric acid again little to no effect, the process folllowed was pre wet the area with water, following that i mixed the extreme clean at a ratio of 2 parts water to 1 part extreme clean, this was applied to area liberally with a mop and left for 15 minutes to dwell, area was then scrubbed using rotary scrubber with a brush attachment, area was then dried with a wet vac and rescrubbed with fresh water to rinse, this water was then also wet vacced,  when this had no effect phosphoric acid was applied and area was re scrubbed and dried and then given a final rinse.
  the final picture is an area i did last week using a whirlaway attached to presure washer as you can see it did come better but i am not happy with the result, is there anything else you could recomend trying

[trevor perry]

Final pictures

[Kev Martin]

Trevor

OK the process is working but very deep and ingrained dirt on a riven tile that is designed to grip so consequently grips anything.  What has happened is there is years of dirt there that has probably been mopped most nights with a mop which becomes dirty after two minutes but they just keep mopping.  The consequences of this are that the residues of soap/detergent/cleaner are left on the floor and they in turn emulsify and grip the dirt even better.  The good news is we can sort it.  Ring me with your details and I am going to send you out a product "Free of Charge" to do another test using the same process but this time as soon as the High Alkaline is down I want you to add the powder to the floor before you scrub it.  Be prepared to be amazed.  However I also want you to take a good look at the brush you are using because it looks to me like it has seen better days.  If you ring me before 2pm today you will have the product tomorrow.  0121 705 5333 or 07770 598855.

Kev Martin
Marble Life Ltd

[AshWhite]

Trevor

OK the process is working but very deep and ingrained dirt on a riven tile that is designed to grip so consequently grips anything.  What has happened is there is years of dirt there that has probably been mopped most nights with a mop which becomes dirty after two minutes but they just keep mopping.  The consequences of this are that the residues of soap/detergent/cleaner are left on the floor and they in turn emulsify and grip the dirt even better.  The good news is we can sort it.  Ring me with your details and I am going to send you out a product "Free of Charge" to do another test using the same process but this time as soon as the High Alkaline is down I want you to add the powder to the floor before you scrub it.  Be prepared to be amazed.  However I also want you to take a good look at the brush you are using because it looks to me like it has seen better days.  If you ring me before 2pm today you will have the product tomorrow.  0121 705 5333 or 07770 598855.

Kev Martin
Marble Life Ltd

Can't fault that for service. Well done Kevin.

[Kev Martin]

Trevor

Have you tried that powder yet mate?

Kev Martin
Marble Life Ltd

[trevor perry]

Trevor

Have you tried that powder yet mate?

Kev Martin
Marble Life Ltd

i am going tomorrow morning to give it a try, i will post pictures when done
Thanks

[trevor perry]

Hi kevin, here are a couple of pictures, as you can see the floor did come a lot better but not perfect it involved lots of scrubbing to get it like this infact about 5 minutes just for a small 1metre area the shopping centre managers where very happy with the results and are after a qoute for the full area they also want the floor sealing i explained that personally i wouldnt like to seal the floor unless it was cleaned perfect otherwise they would be sealing the dirt that hasnt been removed permanently, with the time it took to get this finish and an area of over 1700 metres this is going to be a very time consuming task and personally i am not 100% happy with the results, i am going to give a price just for cleaning but wondered what your thoughts where on the sealing issue.

Many thanks for your help
Trevor

[trevor perry]

Sorry Kevin pictures wont upload just getting message uploader file full, i will try again later

[trevor perry]

I hope these have uploaded now

[Kev Martin]

Trevor

Give me a ring about this tomorrow.  It looks as though it has worked but we may need to be a bit more agressive and increase the powder to 100 Grit.  How fast did it strip once you had let the High Akaline dwell?  Do you think it would benefit from a more agressive powder?  You are right we need to get it right before we can seal and in this case because of the very low porosity the sealer will make it a damn side easier to clean on a maintenance basis. 

Kev Martin
Marble Life Ltd

[trevor perry]

Kevin
  sorry i forgot to ring today i was really busy and it slipped my mind, i wii ring you tuesday
Trevor