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What is the best product to use to remove Mold/Mildew?
QUESTION
Hi There! I saw this site in my local Daily Herald newspaper & thought I'd reach out to you.Just a General Question Here: I have ceramic tile on my bathroom shower walk-in floor that has mold/mildew on it in/on the grout lines and am wondering what is the BEST product to use to remove it. This was installed in 2001 and we had no issue until recently. Many, many years ago, I had used some type of spray bleach products on my old tile/grout which worked fabulous, but cannot recall the name. CLR maybe?
Thank you for your time.
ANSWER
ANSWER - You have to be careful on what cleaning products you use on tile, stone or grout. Some of the grocery store brands may not be reliable for the type of cleaning you want to do since it is hard to determine what the chemical makeup is of those products. It is best to use the professional cleaners specifically for tile, stone, and grout.Mildew and mold is not hard to clean up with most liquid cleaners. There are regulations that state that if you have mold/microbial growth that covers more than 10 square feet you have to have it professionally removed. If you have microbial growth that covers more than 10 square feet that would suggest you have a leak somewhere that needs to be found and repaired.
Microbial growth only develops if you have a damp surface with a lower pH with organic food at comfortable temperatures. Dirt, skin cells, and residuals from soap and etc is the organic food. So if you keep the area clean and dry, you won't have microbial growth. Particularly on glazed ceramic tile that is very hygienic. Microbial doesn't like cement, which has a higher pH value, so grout is not a friendly spot for microbial growth unless it is kept damp and dirty for an excessive amount of time.
If you go to CTaSC Cleaners and Resource section there are a number of manufacturers of cleaners listed such as Miracle Sealants and Aqua Mix who has a number of different cleaners for tile and grout materials. These are the best and safest products to use for cleaning tile and grout. Click on the following link to go to that page: Cleaners and Sealers
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Interesting information on microbial growth and organic food. 🙂
Hi, I’ve used Miracle Sealant poultice to clean a stone shower. For the most part it has worked well, but some grout stains remain. Would you recommend replacing the affected grout or re-coloring? I believe the stains are the result of insufficient cleaning/cleaning with wrong products – my fault for not paying more attention to what the cleaners were doing. Thank you.
Grout is generally more difficult to clean and keep from staining as it is generally very porous. If you bleached the grout then that can’t be restored. If you cut out all of the grout and re-grout you could risk chipping tiles. If you use a gout colorant it will make the grout consistent and impervious, but it is a tedious process. You need to clean the grout and let it dry. Then masking tape both sides of the joint tightly with blue masking tape and then paint the joints. Pull the tape right away before it dries so it doesn’t pull the colorant off the grout.