How to clean the joints between tiles

After laying the tile you always enjoy the pleasant whiteness of the tile joints, which give the original look to any room. But after a while they become dirty and spoil the look of the entire coverage. And the longer the cleaning measures are not taken, the dirtier they will become. This is due to the impact on the grout wet environment, shampoos and limescale. And to stop this process you need to learn how to clean the seams between the tiles? Immediately I must say that this is not an easy process and you will have to work hard to bring the state of the trowels in its original appearance.

Cleaning the grout with chemicals

At first, you can try to remove the dirt with an ordinary stiff brush and some kind of detergent (with active substances), for example, with the good old Pemolux. Wet a small area with water, and with a hand, of course, in a rubber glove, apply powder to the seams.

Do not rush to immediately flush it, and wait about 10 minutes. Then you need to forcefully clean the seams with a brush. After that, rinse everything with water and brush again to completely remove the powder. If necessary, you can repeat the whole process until you get the desired result.

This method is the most humane and will help clean the grout between the tiles in the event that the pollution is not strongly ingrained in it.

If this method did not help to cope with the pollution of the grouting joints, then you can resort to more radical measures.

Folk method

It is necessary to mix 6 glasses of water, half a glass of soda, one third of a glass of vinegar and lemon juice in ironware.

It is necessary to use such cleaner very carefully, surely in rubber gloves and with an open door. Use a toothbrush or sponge for cleaning. Carefully apply it to the seams between the tiles and, after waiting 10 minutes, rinse with clean water. This procedure is also desirable to repeat twice. Lemon juice, vinegar and soda are eroded into the dirt and wash away even the most difficult of pollution very well.

Mechanical way

Another way to quickly and without chemicals to cope with pollution. Take a little sandpaper (one) and gently, so as not to scratch the tile, clean all the seams. This is a relatively quick and easy option. Do not forget to wash the entire tile after this.

If cleaning does not help

If the usual methods of removing dirt from the trowels do not help, or after some time they dull again, then most likely a fungus started in the joints. The fungus can be discerned by characteristic dark spots in small areas.

These places can be painted over with a covering felt-tip pen, but only purchase it with waterproof paint. Just cover them with problem areas. Also help to cope with pollution will help you to update the seams, which are sold in a specialized store. And if the fungal deposits are more serious and the inter-tile joints crumble while cleaning, then only an autopsy will help. For this you can use, for example, a grinder or a grinder.

Before starting work, completely empty the room, clean all the furniture or cover it with something, because there will be a lot of dust.

Carefully, so as not to spoil the tile, cut the layer of grout. Then, wiping with a wet rag, once again we pass a grinder to make deeper channels. The remaining fragments, which the grinding wheel does not cut off, can be removed with a piece of large emery paper. After that, you need to process the seams with a solvent, a primer and apply a new trowel paste.

Protection of grout joints

Masters who lay tiles and, of course, rub off the seams, do not like to talk about their protection. Meanwhile, special liquids are on the market of building materials that perform such a function. The job of providing such protection is quite tedious and therefore they don’t want to take it, and if they do, you are not insured against the poor quality of such work.

In this case, it is better to do everything yourself, but the point here is as follows. After the seams have completely dried, they must be carefully treated with a protective liquid using a brush..

Manufacturers do not recommend to allow the ingress of such a solution on the tile, so the drops that can fall on it should be wiped with a clean rag right away.

How to exclude chemical compounds

In order not to resort to the use of chemistry and to keep the inter-tile joints in their original form, they should be washed periodically. Once a month, wipe them with a hard brush with warm water. Of course, this is not to everyone's liking, but later you will not need to resort to drastic measures, and the seams will remain snow-white for a long time.