Floor Cleaning NOW WITH PICTURES

« **on:** February 16, 2012, 11:09:40 am »

Hi
I have a floor cleaning problem at a school who reckon they have tried everything.
What would you suggest?

« **Reply #1 on:** February 16, 2012, 07:55:55 pm »

Is that porcelain on the floor?

Kev

« **Reply #2 on:** February 16, 2012, 08:53:39 pm »

I don't think so - they are some kind of floor tiles
The whole schools washrooms are fitted with these tiles and they are all as filthy looking.
Caretaker says they have used scrubbers with all types of detregents but to be honest I am sure If I go in with a scrubbing machine I could get them looking better.
Just cant decide what detergent to use - any ideas appreciated.

« **Reply #3 on:** February 16, 2012, 09:16:15 pm »

They look like R11 Porcelain tiles to me! They are designed to be as non slip as possible and in doing so they grip dirt, crap and other contaminants like a magnet.

1. Pre wet the floor
2. Apply a high alkaline cleaner and scrub it in with a slow speed rotary fitted with a soft to medium nylon brush then let it dwell. (I use Aqua Seal Xtreme Clean pH14 Alkaline) but any high alkaline should do as long as you give it a dwell time.
3. Vac a small area and check it! If it's clean vac it up rinse and vac again.
4. If it's not clean add some Aqua Seal Hone Powder 320 grit tro the mix that will deffo sort it.
5. Then vac it up, rinse it really well and vac again! Job Done

Kev

« **Reply #4 on:** February 16, 2012, 09:35:01 pm »

Quote from: Kevin Martin on February 16, 2012, 09:16:15 pm

They look like R11 Porcelain tiles to me! They are designed to be as non slip as possible and in doing so they grip dirt, crap and other contaminants like a magnet.

1. Pre wet the floor
2. Apply a high alkaline cleaner and scrub it in with a slow speed rotary fitted with a soft to medium nylon brush then let it dwell. (I use Aqua Seal Xtreme Clean pH14 Alkaline) but any high alkaline should do as long as you give it a dwell time.
3. Vac a small area and check it! If it's clean vac it up rinse and vac again.
4. If it's not clean add some Aqua Seal Hone Powder 320 grit tro the mix that will deffo sort it.
5. Then vac it up, rinse it really well and vac again! Job Done

Kev

Hi Kev
Thanks very much - very informative.
I will speak to the school and give it a go.
Can you let me know where I can buy the products.

« **Reply #5 on:** February 16, 2012, 10:26:51 pm »

Quote from: Kevin Martin on February 16, 2012, 09:16:15 pm

They look like R11 Porcelain tiles to me! They are designed to be as non slip as possible and in doing so they grip dirt, crap and other contaminants like a magnet.

1. Pre wet the floor
2. Apply a high alkaline cleaner and scrub it in with a slow speed rotary fitted with a soft to medium nylon brush then let it dwell. (I use Aqua Seal Xtreme Clean pH14 Alkaline) but any high alkaline should do as long as you give it a dwell time.
3. Vac a small area and check it! If it's clean vac it up rinse and vac again.
4. If it's not clean add some Aqua Seal Hone Powder 320 grit tro the mix that will deffo sort it.
5. Then vac it up, rinse it really well and vac again! Job Done

Kev

« **Reply #6 on:** February 16, 2012, 10:30:42 pm »

Try these :-

http://www.tilinglogistics.co.uk/contact.html

« **Reply #7 on:** February 17, 2012, 09:04:00 am »

Give kev a break

.. sure he luvs it

« **Reply #8 on:** February 17, 2012, 09:05:40 pm »

www.bonasystems.com

You need Bonapro2 for this. We do loads of poolside/wet leisure cleaning and these guys do awesome products for it.

Give them a call and they will send you a sample.

« **Reply #9 on:** February 18, 2012, 06:46:56 am »

Jamie

As you know always interested in new products! I can't find that one on their site! Do you have any details and an MSDS for it?

Kev Martin
Marble Life Ltd

« **Reply #10 on:** February 18, 2012, 09:40:20 am »

Its not on the site as it is in their Pro range.

It consists of:

Pro1- Anti Slip Deep Cleaner for ceramic & porcelain. We mainly use that for reception areas and retail.

Pro2 - Heavy Duty Tile Cleaner for removing Limescale, Heavy Soiling and generally the one we default to on any "wet area2

Pro3 - Dedicated Limescale Remover for when Pro2 cant break down specific salts. Particularly found where ozonated pools are used in place of traditional chlorine.

Essentially Pro2 & 3 are Nitric and Hydrchloric based with excellent surfactancy.

I have tried many acid side cleaners and high alkaline products. These just take it to the next level.

Obviously they are not intended for prolonged use only for extreme restorations.

« **Reply #11 on:** February 22, 2012, 06:44:49 am »

I've used the Bona Pro products on swimming pool tiles after someone highlighted them on here and ithey are excellent, bit expesive but if it does the job, so be it.

I've also used Acid 80 to get tiles like these up and that works as well.

Denise

« **Reply #12 on:** February 26, 2012, 12:01:28 pm »

heres one we had tried everthing with scrubber driers all different chemicals etc, in the end we used a pressure washer flat surface cleaner and attached a wet vac, the tiles where very porous so we sealed them afterwards

« **Reply #13 on:** February 26, 2012, 12:08:01 pm »

here is another picture

« **Reply #14 on:** February 26, 2012, 08:42:27 pm »

Quote from: trevor perry on February 26, 2012, 12:01:28 pm

heres one we had tried everthing with scrubber driers all different chemicals etc, in the end we used a pressure washer flat surface cleaner and attached a wet vac, the tiles where very porous so we sealed them afterwards

Scrubber dryers are useless with this type of floor! You need single speed good quality rotary scrubber and a decent wet vac coupled with All For Stone Xtreme Clean and possibly some honing powder. A lot less water used and gets the grout immacualte as well

Kev Martin
Marble Life Ltd

« **Reply #15 on:** February 26, 2012, 09:14:50 pm »

we did try a single speed rotary but it wasnt toching it, what we found was the dirt was ingrained so no matter what chemical we used it wouldnt lift, funnily enough though you could use a sponge and it seemed to suck the dirt from the surface hence the idea of high pressure to clean it, the grout is that colour to begin with so chemicals wouldnt have made a difference to that, next time i do one similar i will try the chemicals you recomend and see if it works better as there is no harm in trying

« **Reply #16 on:** February 26, 2012, 10:16:21 pm »

Quote from: trevor perry on February 26, 2012, 12:01:28 pm

heres one we had tried everthing with scrubber driers all different chemicals etc, in the end we used a pressure washer flat surface cleaner and attached a wet vac, the tiles where very porous so we sealed them afterwards

Trevor, how did you deal with the dirt right in the edges, and how did you prevent water ingress to the kickboards / base units.

« **Reply #17 on:** February 27, 2012, 12:05:03 am »

Quote from: trevor perry on February 26, 2012, 09:14:50 pm

we did try a single speed rotary but it wasnt toching it, what we found was the dirt was ingrained so no matter what chemical we used it wouldnt lift, funnily enough though you could use a sponge and it seemed to suck the dirt from the surface hence the idea of high pressure to clean it, the grout is that colour to begin with so chemicals wouldnt have made a difference to that, next time i do one similar i will try the chemicals you recomend and see if it works better as there is no harm in trying

Mate with all due respect there is no way a pressure washer is more efficient or would do a better job than a high alkaline cleaner coupled with an appropriate dwell time and correct scrubbing brush and a decent wet vac on this type of flooring. I am surprised that the water involved did not make the kick boards/plinths swell either.

Kev Martin
Marble Life Ltd

« **Reply #18 on:** February 27, 2012, 07:52:19 am »

I see exactly this on a regular basis. It is usually caused by daily cleaning operatives mopping with hard surface cleaner.

The worst one I do they spray buff with mr.muscle and no matter what I do/say they keep doing it.

When you scrub with a machine it doesnt shift but you rub with your foot and it comes off.

We just use Chemspec Enzall an enzyme boosted high alkaline carpet cleaning pre-spray and it moves just with a mop.

A good scrub, vac and rinse - job done. Material cost for 100m2 is about £1.

« **Reply #19 on:** February 27, 2012, 03:34:50 pm »

they had tried 3 different firms with all manner of chemicals and believe me the floor will not scrub clean, as stated it is porous so dirt has to be abstracted, the washer we have was turned down to minimum flow so approximately 10ltr per minute and was put on a maximum heat setting believe me one person on the wet vac could keep up with the water situation, by slightly tilting the whirlaway edges could easily be cleaned, i think the results speak for themselves, there are machines now selling that use the same principle of cleaning as i have used above and getting great results
go on to 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.

« **Reply #20 on:** February 28, 2012, 07:59:52 am »

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.

« **Reply #21 on:** February 28, 2012, 08:22:22 am »

Quote from: trevor perry on February 27, 2012, 03:34:50 pm

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.

« **Reply #22 on:** March 25, 2012, 10:01:06 pm »

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

« **Reply #23 on:** March 25, 2012, 10:34:41 pm »

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

« **Reply #24 on:** March 26, 2012, 12:54:28 am »

Quote from: trevor perry on March 25, 2012, 10:01:06 pm

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

« **Reply #25 on:** March 26, 2012, 08:28:13 am »

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

« **Reply #26 on:** March 26, 2012, 02:56:19 pm »

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

« **Reply #27 on:** March 26, 2012, 03:46:42 pm »

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

« **Reply #28 on:** March 26, 2012, 04:08:42 pm »

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

« **Reply #29 on:** March 29, 2012, 01:01:46 pm »

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

« **Reply #30 on:** March 29, 2012, 01:07:06 pm »

Final pictures

« **Reply #31 on:** March 29, 2012, 01:28:27 pm »

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

« **Reply #32 on:** March 29, 2012, 01:55:50 pm »

Quote from: Kevin Martin on March 29, 2012, 01:28:27 pm

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.

« **Reply #33 on:** April 03, 2012, 10:14:26 am »

Trevor

Have you tried that powder yet mate?

Kev Martin
Marble Life Ltd

« **Reply #34 on:** April 03, 2012, 11:53:11 am »

Quote from: Kevin Martin on April 03, 2012, 10:14:26 am

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

« **Reply #35 on:** April 04, 2012, 02:10:35 pm »

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

« **Reply #36 on:** April 04, 2012, 02:12:15 pm »

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

« **Reply #37 on:** April 04, 2012, 02:14:54 pm »

I hope these have uploaded now

« **Reply #38 on:** April 04, 2012, 04:39:11 pm »

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

« **Reply #39 on:** April 05, 2012, 05:05:59 pm »

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

« **Reply #40 on:** April 05, 2012, 07:50:52 pm »

No problem I am having the weekend this time! Fed up of working Bank Holidays to be honest

Talk to you Tuesday mate!

Kev

« **Reply #41 on:** April 28, 2012, 08:47:36 am »

Hi Kevin
i have used the chemical you sent along with the 100 honing powder i have cleaned a section of the shopping mall but the results are not good i am waiting for them to get back to me today on whether to carry on with the rest of the job but i dont think they will want it doing looking at the results achieved, i dont know whether you know anybody in the north of england area who would know how to tackle this job as it is proving to be well beyond my capabilities and the method you recomend just isnt working

« **Reply #42 on:** April 28, 2012, 09:47:09 am »

Quote from: trevor perry on April 28, 2012, 08:47:36 am

Hi Kevin
i have used the chemical you sent along with the 100 honing powder i have cleaned a section of the shopping mall but the results are not good i am waiting for them to get back to me today on whether to carry on with the rest of the job but i dont think they will want it doing looking at the results achieved, i dont know whether you know anybody in the north of england area who would know how to tackle this job as it is proving to be well beyond my capabilities and the method you recomend just isnt working

Trevor

I thought the test area had worked??? Where exactly is the job? Perhaps I could come up for a site visit and do some testing with you??

Thoughts Comments!!

Kev Martin
Marble Life ltd

« **Reply #43 on:** April 28, 2012, 09:59:05 am »

the job is at kendal in the lake district, the patch that i tested was where there was heavy foot traffic but other areas the dirt is not coming out of the grooves at all the chemical doesnt seem to be loosening it any and the honing powder is not working in the grooves

« **Reply #44 on:** June 14, 2012, 12:43:47 pm »

Genuine interest for keen observers of Hard Floor Cleaning Issues!

How did it finish? - any pics - its better than Corrie this!

cheers

dave

« **Reply #45 on:** June 14, 2012, 04:15:56 pm »

I am in the lake district in 2 weeks.

Want me to come take a look and bring my sample bag with me. I am certain I can get them clean.

« **Reply #46 on:** June 14, 2012, 05:49:34 pm »

Jamie

I have had no contact from Trevor since my e mail back to him after his last post. I can sort it mate! I have never been beaten by a floor yet and certainly not a porcelain one
Kev

« **Reply #47 on:** June 14, 2012, 07:28:47 pm »

Reading this post I can't see what the problem would be either.

As we both know it can be one simple thing in the already simple processes that can effect the outcome.

I always carry Bonasystems Pro2 and Pro3 for nasty porcelains. These products are nitric and hydrochloric based with plenty surfactants. When used by experienced staff they always deliver.

« **Reply #48 on:** June 16, 2012, 05:47:27 pm »

Jamie
I cannot understand why you need something so strong! The key is a good quality High Alkaline 13-14 and a decent dwell time. Just been out to Germany working on some great products from a small company but they have completed some very high profile work with amazing results. I will ring you next week to discuss.

Kev

« **Reply #49 on:** June 16, 2012, 06:46:23 pm »

I usually use these for descaling pool sides removing limescale deposits. However they work amazingly when diluted down for deep cleaning.

I am out on site mon/tue and in office rest of week.

« **Reply #50 on:** June 20, 2012, 04:04:07 pm »

only just re looked at this post, in the end the methods i tried where not good enough although there was a vast improvement i would not have been happy to leave the floor with the results achieved, the client was going to try a firm that specialized in pool cleaning but i dont know how they got on with the job.

« **Reply #51 on:** June 20, 2012, 06:07:46 pm »

The products I mentioned are from a company who specialise in pool cleaning.
www.bonasystems.com

« **Reply #52 on:** June 21, 2012, 05:05:05 pm »

Trevor

I am more than happy to come up and do a test area for you mate!

Kev Martin
Marblelife Ltd

« **Reply #53 on:** July 10, 2012, 06:53:32 pm »

Hi Guys,

This is a solution to some of the problems quoted here. I have attached two video links of work that I did on 2 very similar floors.

http://www.jskcleaning.ie/content/26-cleaning-ceramic-tiles

http://www.jskcleaning.ie/content/8-maintaining-anti-slip-safety-floors

In the cases I worked on it was a combination of janitors using Kentucky Mop Heads combined with high alkaline products that caused the issues in the first place.

Sorry about the dodgy music

« **Reply #54 on:** July 10, 2012, 07:26:19 pm »

Quote from: Tadgh O Shea on July 10, 2012, 06:53:32 pm

Hi Guys,

This is a solution to some of the problems quoted here. I have attached two video links of work that I did on 2 very similar floors.

http://www.jskcleaning.ie/content/26-cleaning-ceramic-tiles

http://www.jskcleaning.ie/content/8-maintaining-anti-slip-safety-floors

In the cases I worked on it was a combination of janitors using Kentucky Mop Heads combined with high alkaline products that caused the issues in the first place.

Sorry about the dodgy music

So can you explain how an acid based cleaner did that on an R11 tile with a flat mop? What were the contaminants involved? I am even more amazed because you said it was caused by a Kentucky mop! Which I understand but then you said coupled with a high Alkaline cleaner. So what I am trying to understand is how did an acid work to clean the floor if it was coated with a high Alkaline residue.

Kev Martin
Marblelife Ltd

« **Reply #55 on:** July 10, 2012, 09:55:20 pm »

Hi Kevin

We come across this problem on a regular basis, first off you must understand one of the most trusted tools in the cleaning industry (cotton kentucky mops) are one of the most useless tools in the industry as they just push the dirt around the floors being cleaned as when the moisture evaporates the loosened soils just dry back on to the floor surface, this is repeated on a daily basis so the film of soil thats drying back on the floor surface just keeps building up which in turn will make the floor look just like the floors in the pictures.
Using high alkaline cleaning chemicals just add to the problem as they just grind the soils further into the substrate, we have solved this problem for many cleaning contractors, the problem is conformity many cleaners are conformed to using cotton mops and hard surface cleaners which usually have a ph value of betweem 10 to 14
The solution to cleaning hard floors to stop this problem is to use microfiber floor cloths and a hard surface cleaner of between 7.5 to 9 on the ph scale. never use one thats more than 9 on the scale and i promise you will not have this problem again.
we use a microcleaning mop pad to solve these floors as they are far more effective than any pressues washer,scrubber dryer with fiber or nylon pads, if you are deepcleaning large areas we have the microcleaning pads in 16" diameter.
the acid based cleaner we used is foodgrade and will not damage the tiles being cleaned.

Regards

Tadgh

« **Reply #56 on:** July 11, 2012, 10:44:39 am »

Quote from: Tadgh O Shea on July 10, 2012, 09:55:20 pm

Hi Kevin

We come across this problem on a regular basis, first off you must understand one of the most trusted tools in the cleaning industry (cotton kentucky mops) are one of the most useless tools in the industry as they just push the dirt around the floors being cleaned as when the moisture evaporates the loosened soils just dry back on to the floor surface, this is repeated on a daily basis so the film of soil thats drying back on the floor surface just keeps building up which in turn will make the floor look just like the floors in the pictures.
Using high alkaline cleaning chemicals just add to the problem as they just grind the soils further into the substrate, we have solved this problem for many cleaning contractors, the problem is conformity many cleaners are conformed to using cotton mops and hard surface cleaners which usually have a ph value of betweem 10 to 14
The solution to cleaning hard floors to stop this problem is to use microfiber floor cloths and a hard surface cleaner of between 7.5 to 9 on the ph scale. never use one thats more than 9 on the scale and i promise you will not have this problem again.
we use a microcleaning mop pad to solve these floors as they are far more effective than any pressues washer,scrubber dryer with fiber or nylon pads, if you are deepcleaning large areas we have the microcleaning pads in 16" diameter.
the acid based cleaner we used is foodgrade and will not damage the tiles being cleaned.

Regards

Tadgh

Tadgh

I totally understand the cleaning industry, the science of cleaning and how it all works. I am also totally "Au Fait" with Colloidal Chemistry and how that works! In my original question if you read it thoroughly I state that I understand about the Kentucky Mop and it's misuse but that is another discussion. I asked you how you sprayed an Acid (Regardless of how safe it is) onto an R11 Riven Porcelain floor supposedly highly contaminated with a High Alkaline cleaner then mopped it and it came up supposedly immaculate. My question was how did this happen with an acid? Furthermore how did a microfibre cloth get into all the pits and fissures of the riven tile? In addition I cannot find the featured acid product on your website to study the MSDS.

Kev Martin
Marblelife Ltd

« **Reply #57 on:** July 11, 2012, 06:55:39 pm »

This is all going to end in tears

« **Reply #58 on:** July 11, 2012, 07:21:13 pm »

Quote from: Paul Woods on July 11, 2012, 06:55:39 pm

This is all going to end in tears

Paul

No it's not but we need to get to the bottom of it because if this product coupled with these microfibre pads are this good I want to know more about them!

Kev Martin
Marblelife Ltd

« **Reply #59 on:** July 11, 2012, 09:47:03 pm »

the videos are very impressive would love to know how acid removes the grease as i thought only an alkaline cleaner would do this, is it possible to buy a sample of the chemical to give it a try and could i have a coshh sheet for the product
Trevor

just watched the video again this is a cement and mortar cleaner so is probably a hydrochloric acid, i do not think this product will move grease as when doing brick cleaning a alkaline cleaner is used to remove grease prior to acid being applied so the acid can work on the carbon, had the floor in videos been treated with another cleaning product before the cement cleaner was applied

« **Reply #60 on:** July 21, 2012, 01:50:38 pm »

Quote from: trevor perry on July 11, 2012, 09:47:03 pm

the videos are very impressive would love to know how acid removes the grease as i thought only an alkaline cleaner would do this, is it possible to buy a sample of the chemical to give it a try and could i have a coshh sheet for the product
Trevor

just watched the video again this is a cement and mortar cleaner so is probably a hydrochloric acid, i do not think this product will move grease as when doing brick cleaning a alkaline cleaner is used to remove grease prior to acid being applied so the acid can work on the carbon, had the floor in videos been treated with another cleaning product before the cement cleaner was applied

Hi Trevor
We pre sprayed the tiles at a dilution of 5-1 with the cement and mortar residue remover, let this dwell on surface for two minutes, then used a damp microcleaning mop pad (125 times more effective) than a traditional cotton mop to pull out the ingrained soils from the tiles, finally finish off using a damp waffle microfiber floor cloth to remove any loosened soils that are left on the surface, this will produce a perfect streak free finish on the floor.

Regards

Tadgh

« **Reply #61 on:** July 29, 2012, 12:29:23 am »

Hi Trevor

Its not grease on those floors its ground in soil from regular mopping with kentucky mops and high alkaline floor cleaners, the acid we used is food grade and not hydrocloric, for cleaning and maintaining hard surface floors on a daily basis, we recommend to use waffle microfiber floor cloths and a floor cleaner of between 7 to 9 on the pH scale and guaranteed those problems will never again happen, trust me it took 25 years to discover the solution to this on going problem in the cleaning industry.

Kind regards

Tadgh

« **Reply #62 on:** July 29, 2012, 03:45:25 pm »

Quote from: Paul Woods on July 11, 2012, 06:55:39 pm

This is all going to end in tears

No Paul this can all end with joy, we have solved this problem many times by using microcleaning pads, microcleaning pads are far more effective than pressure washers,nylon or bristle floor pads etc. nothing will deep clean hard floors like microcleaning mop or machine floor cleaning pads. i can offer special pricing to any forum members who want to transform their cleaning results when it comes to deep cleaning hard floors.
microcleaning pads available in 6x4x1 inch hand pads, 10x4x1 inch microcleaning mop pad to suit doodle bug/octopus floor cleaning tools, 14x4x1 inch microcleaning mop pad to suit Numatics multi-mop, 16 inch diameter microcleaning floor pads to suit all slow speed floor scrubbing machines, info@jskcleaning.ie
Regards

Tadgh

« **Reply #63 on:** August 01, 2012, 07:18:33 pm »

Has anyone tried Dynax Tile & Grout Cleaner?

« **Reply #64 on:** August 02, 2012, 07:23:12 am »

Hi Len,

We use it on a monthy maintenance job on a hotel spa poolside.
It cant really cut heavy heavy soil as effectively as other chemistry but on the above location its adequate and safe should it end up in the pool due to the small amount used and its make up.

« **Reply #65 on:** August 02, 2012, 09:34:39 am »

Quote from: Len Gribble on August 01, 2012, 07:18:33 pm

Has anyone tried Dynax Tile & Grout Cleaner?

Len

I agree with Jamie on this one it has a pH of 11.8 so it's getting there but their claim that it is the "best on the market" is not correct in my opinion. Naturally as a retailer of Aqua Mix, Aqua Seal and LTP products it appears biased coming from me but we do test many products and because we Clean & Restore Floors on a daily basis we only want the most effective products. I have not come across anything yet that can beat Aqua Mix Heavy Duty Tile & Grout Cleaner or Aqua Seal Xtreme Heavy Duty Tile & Grout Cleaner.

Kev Martin
Marblelife Ltd

« **Reply #66 on:** August 03, 2012, 01:43:29 am »

Quote from: Len Gribble on August 01, 2012, 07:18:33 pm

Has anyone tried Dynax Tile & Grout Cleaner?

Hi Len yes i would regard Dynax as a good hard surface floor cleaner, but to pull out the ingrained soils from the surface if you combine it with using damp microcleaning mop pads the combination will transform the results, trust me it took many years to find this incredible solution to solving the problem of removing ingrained soils from hard floors.

Kind regards

Tadgh

« **Reply #67 on:** August 04, 2012, 09:32:11 am »

http://www.worldofclean.co.uk/xr-doodle-bug-pad.html

Are these the types of pads you refer to?

« **Reply #68 on:** August 04, 2012, 10:02:19 am »

Quote from: CleaningSystemsUK on August 04, 2012, 09:32:11 am

http://www.worldofclean.co.uk/xr-doodle-bug-pad.html

Are these the types of pads you refer to?

Hi Jamie yes they are the microcleaning pads.

« **Reply #69 on:** August 04, 2012, 10:58:02 am »

A customer of mine raves about these.

He maintains a large porcelain installation in a car showroom (Renault I think)