[regencycc]

Hi
I wonder if anyone can give me some advice. I have been cleaning carpets for a few years now and have been considering branching out into tile and grout cleaning. Can anyone tell me if they have, has it worked for you and is it a big investment in tools.
Cheers
Jim

[Dave_Lee]

First of all, have you got the machine to cope with it. Most Tile and Grout cleaning is carried out at between 800 - 1,300 psi. Obviously you need a large recovery tank or APO system, as well as a large fresh water tank or feed.
There are plenty of floors domestic and commercial in tile and grout, but its a bit slow to get going as most people manage with diy mopping, however if you dont give it a go, youlle never know. Think of it as an additional service.
Dave.

[sherco]

I do miles of tile & grout cleaning, all you need is a rotary scrubber and a good wet vac.

[slioch]

Sherco,

Where do you get the work from?  This will be good advice for a lot of people.  I think Jim should be sure he can bring the work in before he starts to invest.

[sherco]

I'm a tiler by trade so i offer a maintenance package to people i lay floors for. Also i get alot of work from tile and stone suppliers, architects, builders and i do trouble shooting for them if a floor has a problem, broken tile etc i go and repair it.

[rich hand]

Im averaging about 1 kitchen floor a week at the moment, mainly from website but also leaflets. I think its a misconceptionn you need high psi. High psi with a spinner may be quick but does not offer the same thorough result as a rotary scrub, grout brush and rinse.

[sherco]

I also do grout recoloring.

[rich hand]

You must need some patience for that Sherco. I sealed some grout yesterday and I was glad to get back on my feet after just 20 minutes. What type of stone was that?

[craigp]

Sherco, is that limestone?

I'll be cleaning something just like that soon, not my first, but it looks very non-poruos, (looks exactly the same as your pic!)

does it just look that way (non-poruos) because its honed/polished?

only I think its limestone but the non poruos aspect makes me wonder

[craigp]

But just to add, I been offering (advertising) hard floor for 6 months now and done 3 and 4 soon jobs which have been every bit or more as profitable as my c/cing, but that only equates to about 0.2% of my work ish? or less guessing here.

The point is look at Shercos pic, it's a high end home you'll find that in, I can count on one hand the amount of homes I work in with large areas of hard floor like this.
Your average home might have a 10x9ft kitchen with porcline tiles hardly worth bothering with.

Get a spinner if you have a TM anyway, but don't a high spec Portable/TM just so you can get a spinner. imo.

[Magic Dry Perth]

one thing I would ask yourself first is in your client base is there a lot of tile and grout you cant do.  If the answer is yes then it would be worth starting as you already have a base to grow from.  But if it is only a small amount then maybe its not worth the expense.

[sherco]

Sherco, is that limestone?

I'll be cleaning something just like that soon, not my first, but it looks very non-poruos, (looks exactly the same as your pic!)

does it just look that way (non-poruos) because its honed/polished?

only I think its limestone but the non porous aspect makes me wonder

Yes its limestone, and it is porous, and i would not recommend grout recoloring unless you know what you are doing or you will get yourself in big problems.

[sherco]

This type of floor i like, the customers can believe how dirt there floor is.

[Ian Gourlay]

At the extracvanza on Wednesday , it was suggested all you need is a Rotary Scruber , Grout Brush etc and a wet vac

You visit local contract cleaners to see if they have any slow speed scrubers they do not want, and pop along to machine mart and see if they have any end of line returned wet vacs in the bargain section at back of shop.

Obviously you need to learn how to do it.

Then if you get the business in sufficient quantity invest in tools etc

[regencycc]

Hi
Thanks for all the advice, I currently use an Alltec Aqua 40 is this sufficient? Also any ideas how much a rotary scrubber is or where to get one? What is the general opinion on leather cleaning, is this a better option to tile and grout cleaning?

[Ian Gourlay]

You need a hard floor wand  Altec ones are £350 . Ashbys have a cheaper one but you need advise from someone who knows more than me on suitability but be careful if you are cleaning floors where polish has been striped that was what wet vac was for.

[ady]

I have the ashbys hard floor wand it was about £190.00 pluss vat about four months ago ,its great 

[skillwizz]

Very interested to see that you don't have to spend a small fortune on equipment!! Are the results different with diff equipment??....what's the deal with the white plastic(?)skirt? Am i right in thinking it'sto stop splashing? 

[sherco]

I do carpet cleaning and i have a prochem steampro, but for my floor cleaning i use a rotary scrubber and a triple motor wet vac. Yes that is a splash skirt, homemade.

[skillwizz]

Sherco,that brilliant mate 10/10...patent it an get on dragons den