Keeping your tiled surfaces clean is crucial to maintaining a safe and healthy home or office environment. Our tiled surfaces in kitchens and bathrooms in particular are the perfect places for fungus and mould to breed in. These germs potentially breeding in our tiled surfaces can cause various types of contagious infections including the common cold, flu and enteritis.

Maintaining clean and sparkling tiles can often seem like a daunting task. Aside from dirty or stained tiles and mould growth on grout, there are other tile-related problems we may face. Here are the most common tile and grout problems and what you can do to fix them.

White residue and stains on tiles

It’s quite common to see white residue or stains on tiles. When water penetrates underneath the tiles and the minerals in the water crystalise, it results to white residue or stains appearing on the surface of the tiles. This is known as Efflorescence.

Efflorescence is generally a porous tile issue, but the clusters of crystals can also often appear on grout joints due to grout being a highly porous substance. The source of efflorescence needs to be identified and resolved by a leak detection professional or a tile and grout specialist. The removal of these unsightly white residue and stains can be costly and time consuming, so it’s best to get the help of experts right away. Refrain from using a DIY treatment as using the wrong products on tiles and grout can lead to more issues.

Milky or cloudy tile surface

A milky or cloudy tile surface often indicates that a wrong cleaning product has been used for that tile type. In this case, call a professional tile and grout cleaner right away. Professional cleaners use the correct products and process in cleaning tiles and can give you proper advice on products you can use.

Stained and dirty grout

Did you know that stained or dirty grout is often caused by the cleaning process? This is because grout joints sit lower than the tiles, so dirt and other contaminants are pushed into the grout joints when scrubbing or mopping tiles.

Since grout is porous, it can stain instantly and often permanently. Professional maintenance is essential to keep them looking new. Regular mopping using a clean mop is also essential in between professional cleans.

Mould

Mould in shower and bathroom tiles is possibly the most common tile problem. The shower and bathroom seem to offer the ideal environment for mould to grow. This is because wet and highly humid areas with poor ventilation provide the perfect breeding ground for mould. Soap residue and body oils also create a food source that encourages mould growth.

Once mould develops in porous grout joints, no amount of scrubbing can resolve it. Using chemicals to get rid of the mould won’t help either, they will just eat away at the grout which can cause more damage.

Mould in shower and bathroom tiles is often caused by a leak. Even a small hole in the grout, or cracks in the shower corners quickly lead to water build-up and mould ingress. In this case, a leak detection or shower repair specialist can help as the cause of mould needs to be identified and rectified, before you can begin removing it.

Hollow tiles

Loose or hollow tiles is often an installation issue. It means the tile adhesive isn’t strongly bonding the tiles to the wall or floor, or there are gaps where adhesive is missing under the tiles.

Hollow tiles will eventually break, crack or lift from the surface. To resolve this issue, a tile repair specialist can inject adhesive under the tiles. However, in most cases, the only solution is to re-tile.

Stained and dirty tiles

It’s inevitable: tiles will collect spots, stains and dirt. If the tiles are porous, they will always stain. Textured tiles will often retain dirt particles in the surface of the tiles. The good news is, the correct cleaning products and processes properly applied by expert tile and grout cleaners can assist with managing the problem.

If your tiles and grout need a thorough clean, call in the experts. Wizard Cleaning offers professional tile and grout cleaning that not only makes your tiled surfaces sparkle, but also helps in getting rid of nasty microorganisms growing in between your tiles. Call us on 0438 554 830 and book our professional tile and grout cleaning service.