How should I clean quarry tiles? How should I remove grout from bathroom tiles?

Question

I have moved into house with quarry tiles on whole ground floor which were under carpets and lino etc. Thye have paint on in places and generally look messy but apart from that are in good condition. What is the best place to clean them - is there any special product I can buy?

Also have just had bathroom done and there is still some grey grout on the black floor tiles that we've cleaned loads but is not coming up. Has anyone used something that has removed grout well?

Thanks.

Answer 1

I'm going to assume the QUARRY tiles were not/ are not sealed, hence being as porous as a terra cotta flower pot.

  I agree with answer 1 in some sort of floor scrubbing machine, either using a stiff brush on the tool, or heavy duty Scrub pads,as are used for stripping Vinyl and terrazza, etc. floors. Part of your issue should include some hand scraping perhaps, wire brushing perhaps, knowing what the paint formulation is,,, Latex/Oil??? Any Adhesives  residue?

   Sadly grout once dry/set/cured is going to be your greater challenge. I tile every day of my life, and with no offense to any who might answer, there is NO chemical that will dissolve it. With no offense to YOU, I'm curious about the wording. "We Just Had Bathroom Done". Does that suggest it was a DIY? or contracted?

  Proper application of grout, slaked or not, almost demands it be wiped, in as many as 3 stages, immediately, or asap After application, with large GROUT sponges. 1 st step would be barely moist to remove heavy residue, then successive wipings as the grout sets, to either Flush the grout with the face of the tile, OR get it just to the depressed adges on most glazed tile. The final result would leave nothing but a dust easily mopped away. I just finished grouting 600 sq. ft. of tile this very morning.

  At this stage you may have to wire brush, hard knife scrape, possibly try a heavy grit garnet sand paper, and consider that the tile, can be scratched, given that a glaze coat is only mils thick. If the tile is porcelain, and has the pattern/color going all the way through it, you may be better able to save the job. Certainly there is  a hand operated/manual, Grout saw/tool you can purchase, but the task will still be tedious.

   If in fact the job was contracted, I'd be on the phone long and loud with whoever did the job. With Black Tile, I probably would have used black grout, but that's just my opinion.

Steven Wolf

Just my two "sense"

Answer 2

Try a home made cleaner. Mix 1 part water to 1 part vinegar, add some baking soda and lemon juice as well. Let me know if ur tiles came clean. thanks and all the best

Answer 3

Quarry tiles, you could try a scouring pad, but it will be hard work. If it comes off you can try using a scrubbing machine to clean the tiles, and then you can get a tile sealer from B&Q to give a good finish. grout is just going to have to be scraped off, try giving it a soaking in warm water to see if it will soften, otherwise its back to scraping a bit at a time, lots of work though, use a kneeling pad. good luck

Answer 4

It will be tough job to remove paint depending on what it is, you may wish to try something in a corner somewhere to test i.e stripper/scraper/wire brush/heat gun.. just to see what finish you end up with under it..starting in the middle of the floor you may find using a wire brush is to course and damages the tiles to much maybe try steel wool.

Grout really needs to be cut out with a special tool (kit costs about £120) although you could try to chisel it out by hand but thats extremely timeconsuming and you will probably end up damaging some tiles.  They will probably have used a waterproof grout so soaking it wouldnt help anyway and if indeed it did work, the amount of water getting under your tiles would more than likely cause them to start lifting. (soaking wont work as mentioned by another answer)  

If you decide to scrape off the paint and remove the grout, depending on your floor (if concrete its not issue) make sure you use a flexi grout thats water proof.  And seal the tiles and grout. (stops dirt getting into your grout and staining)