Removing Clear Sealer?

[Mark Imbesi]

OK, did my first tile cleaning job today. I gineau pigged a long-time client with this service under the assumption that if she wasn't totally happy, she didnt have to pay. She had her tile cleaned by HWE 6 months ago by another cleaner (I'm just starting up again after a 4 year absence).

Anyway, I have a Challenger OP and used the tile and grout brush. But first, I applied Anomaly (Vacaway.com) by sprayer and let it dwell the recommended 15 minutes. Used the OP w/brush, then mopped up with a dry pad. I then sprayed with plain water and rinsed with a wet pad (I did this twice). I allowed the floor to dry.

The floor was not trashed to begin with, but did have some soil that just a mop wouldnt have picked up. It was noticably cleaner, but photos dont do it justice. My client was happy and paid for the service. She was going to clear seal the grout herself after I left. She has done this many times before.

What I had taken away from this experience is the grout really didnt clean as well as I expected. Is it b/c I didnt follow with an acid? Is it b/c my client clear sealed over dirty grout? How could I have removed the previous clear sealer? Would this have been necessary for color sealing?

Thanks for the replies!

 

[John Watson]

Think you are in the wrong room, Imbise

 

[Mikey P]

When you say "clear seal" do you mean a topical seal essentially clean paint?

That is a possibility that there was old dirt/stains under her coating.

Not acid cleaning is another.

Using just a scrubber is certainly yet another reason.


and some grout is just plain stained through and through.

 

[CapeCleaner]

Anyway, I have a Challenger OP and used the tile and grout brush. But first, I applied Anomaly (Vacaway.com) by sprayer and let it dwell the recommended 15 minutes. Used the OP w/brush, then mopped up with a dry pad. I then sprayed with plain water and rinsed with a wet pad (I did this twice). I allowed the floor to dry.

The floor was not trashed to begin with, but did have some soil that just a mop wouldnt have picked up. It was noticably cleaner, but photos dont do it justice. My client was happy and paid for the service. She was going to clear seal the grout herself after I left. She has done this many times before.

What I had taken away from this experience is the grout really didnt clean as well as I expected. Is it b/c I didnt follow with an acid? Is it b/c my client clear sealed over dirty grout? How could I have removed the previous clear sealer? Would this have been necessary for color sealing?

Thanks for the replies!

If your client is using an imprenator (clear sealer), that is broken down during the cleaning process. If she is using a topical sealer, you need to find out what she is using and then determine what will remove it. Floor stripper, acetone, etc. I always ask how they maintain the floor while doing my estimate.

With regard to the grout not being as clean as you thought it might be, that is one of the limits of grout cleaning. I always tell my clients that their expectations should be set at seeing the grout much cleaner but not looking like it was just installed. Especially if the floor has not been maintained properly. I also tell them there most likely will be inconsistencies across the floor as some lines will clean better than others. It almost always comes out better than they expect but there are those times when I've been glad I established their expectations. It also helps sell color seal jobs.

What is the client using to clean the floor? If anything other than a neutral cleaner, she is breaking down the impregnator - if that is what she is using to seal the grout - over time and allowing staining soils and liquids into the grout. This could one cause for some of the grout lines still looking "dirty". For me, following with an acid cleaning depends on the condition of the floor. I just did a job yesterday that required cleaning with only an alkaline. No sense adding steps if you don't have to.

As far as the cleaning process, the first thing you want to do is purchase a turbo or sx tool. This will really speed things up for you. My process is: vac floor if necessary (it does make a difference), apply cleaning solution and let dwell; during dwell time, scrub grout lines with with grout brush; use sx-12/sx-7 to rinse and extract; a quick damp mop, air mover to help dry. On floors where the tile is extremely dirty, I'll use a floor machine with brush for large areas and a deck brush for small areas. Essentially the same process if an acid clean is necessary but there is no need to use the machine. I'm not familiar with Anomlay. I use Prochem Tile and Grout cleaner for my alkaline cleaner and This Old Grout Easy Etch for my acid cleaner. I scrub the gout lines because the machine, even with a floor brush, doesn't reach down into all the grout lines.

For color sealing, I use the same cleaning process. It's especially important to get the grout lines clean - free of dirt and soiling material - before color sealing and use only the alkaline cleaning process. Stains don't matter because the color seal will cover them.

 

[hogjowl]

I'd be interested in seeing him hook up that turbo tool to the OP machine.

I can't believe there are still people out there who are trying to clean tile with only an OP machine.

 

[Mark Imbesi]

Listen Pigster, Powermatic is taking a nap and is out of the equation right now. My Challenger has given me the opportunity to re-start my company quickly and profitably. I will be turning to both systems in 2009. I certainly cant clean upholstery with an OP either.

Also, being from the Northeast, my tack is a hell of a lot sharper than yours!

Thanks, anyway, for your contribution. Though, it certainly didn't come close to David's response (thank you, too, David). Heck, John's was even better than yours!

 

[Carpet Cleaning Fool]

I recently spent half a day trying to remove water based clear sealant drips from glazed tile.

I used acid tile cleaner, acetone, denatured alcohol, floor striper, solvent, high ph tile cleaner, and a 175 w/ green scrubby pad. Nothing but nothing removes that crap except Soft Scrub or a pumice paste.

There are certain limitations to how good grout will clean so set the clients expectations accordingly. Besides, if they want a guarantee sell them a Grout Perfect Color Sealant job.

 

[Larry Cobb]

George;

Clear grout sealers can be difficult to remove.

The difficult ones are of two types:

1. Acrylic sealers - usually solvent-based

2. Urethane sealers - the most difficult

Acrylic sealers will be softened by a chlorinated POG or an actual paint remover.

Urethane sealers require a special solvent to soften the seal.

We make one (DC Seal Remover) and others specialized ones for urethane are available

Larry

 

[Fon Johnson]

It is entirely possible that there was some sealer you did not remove from her previous sealings. If there was dirt under that sealer, you did not remove it either. One thing is that you cannot mop it up by using pads on an OP machine. You need to invest in a good quality wet vac (preferably one with a front mounted squeege.) If I did not have the turbo to to utilize, I would flood mop the floor with rinse water, vacuum it up, repeat, then do a damp mop. You are NOT going to remove all of the soil by "mopping" with pads.

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