Grout Cleaning Floors - Worth the Expense?

I have not used Doug's for grout cleaning, but have used them for carpet cleaning and they did a great job! I thought they were a really nice company to work with and would use them again.

I know Doug, and he's a great guy. He's very conscientious, and would do a great job for you. With that said, though, you need to keep in mind that the real cost of having someone else do it is the time, effort, and energy that you would have to put out there to get it done. Meanwhile, the kids would have to be occupied somehow. :-)

Here is some info I found on another online source:
Q. I have spent hours looking on the Internet for products to clean my floor-tile grout. There seem to be lots of different answers at chat rooms and online forums about using chlorine bleach, baking soda, vinegar, peroxide, etc.

My grout is colored, and I do not want to harm it. I also do not want to spend lots of time scrubbing.

Is there an easy way to clean floor-tile grout? Is there a product that is non-toxic and doesn't produce fumes?

A. Every now and then, I lurk in some of the Internet home improvement forums and chat rooms to see what kind of misinformation is floating to the surface. I am constantly amazed at how much bad advice is readily available.

In fact, some of the advice is downright dangerous, especially when people talk about blending household chemicals together to make a witch's brew of cleaning solution.

Some of the chemicals you discovered in your search will work, but not the way you want them to. Chlorine bleach is a powerful oxidizer that can remove stains in floor-tile grout. But it can also remove color. Chlorine bleach can damage nearby fabrics and rugs if it is accidentally applied to them. As you know, the fumes from chlorine bleach are irritating to many people and pets.

I have never had any luck with baking soda. Vinegar works well to dissolve hard-water deposits that build up around sinks and dishwashers, but it's not an effective floor-tile grout cleaner.

The peroxide you mention is probably common liquid hydrogen peroxide. It can be an effective cleaner, but only if you can get the peroxide to release one of its extra oxygen ions. This is not always easy to do.

Hydrogen peroxide has two atoms of hydrogen and two atoms of oxygen. If you can get it to release one of the oxygen ions, you get a free oxygen ion and regular water. The free oxygen ion is a powerful stain remover; it acts much like a torpedo or a cruise missile to attack and split apart stain molecules. Once a stain molecule is split apart, the stain disappears.

There is a better way to get that free oxygen ion you need to remove your stains, and it comes in a non-toxic form. It is a powdered product called oxygen bleach.

The powder readily mixes with water, instantly producing billions of free oxygen ions in solution. As the solution is applied to the floor, it soaks deeply into the grout and starts to blast apart stain molecules. The best part is that there are no fumes, and the oxygen ions will not harm the color in the grout. Nor will it harm any adjacent carpets or fabrics.

It is best to apply the solution and let it sit for 30 or even 60 minutes. If the oxygen bleach solution soaks into the grout and the grout appears dry or just damp, simply mop on more, so there is a standing layer of oxygen bleach solution on the grout.

After the dwell period is over, lightly scrub the grout. The grout will look like new. Mop up the dirty water, rinse the floor with clear water, then let the floor dry. You will be amazed at the difference.

Not all oxygen bleach powders are the same. The best ones contain the highest amount of active ingredient allowed by law. These same products use raw materials manufactured in the United States.

Many widely advertised brands of oxygen bleach contain ingredients made overseas, and they contain vast amounts of filler. The brands made with foreign components are often priced far below those made with U.S. ingredients.

Many of the ingredients typically used in foreign brands may be of questionable quality and purity. What's more, I have seen some of these brands of oxygen bleach powder mislabeled as "Made in the USA."

What they meant to say, perhaps, is that the foreign ingredients were packaged in the USA. In any case, let price be your compass when buying oxygen bleach.

We would be happy to come out and give you a free tile and grout clean and seal estimate. It does make a difference - more dramatic depending on the tile and grout color. DO NOT just get it cleaned --- you must get it sealed too or it is not worth doing. And I would highly doubt that sealing is included in that price so if you do decide to go with Doug's - I would get a WRITTEN estimate of cleaning and sealing so there are no surprises when the work is done.

Again, we would be happy to come out and give you a free written estimate. Just give my office a call at ###-###-#### or email me at ____@____.com company is Cornerstone Chem-Dry and I have owned nad operated it for 15 years.

Thanks
E.

Have you tried Dalworth or one of those companies? My sister used Dalworth and was very pleased.

E.,

Seriously, if you can afford it it's worth having someone else do it. It's stinky, I'll warn you. But it is absolutely worth it. I don't remember who we used or how much we paid but the whole house (3 bathrooms, 1 kitchen, 1 breakfast nook and 1 entry) was done in a couple of hours. It would've taken all day if I did it myself. I know we didn't pay more than $300, and probably it was much less than that.

I recently wanted to deep clean my tile floors as well. We purchased a Bissell ProHeat Carpet Cleaner. This also will allow you to clean tile floors. It did as good of a job (in 30 minutes) as I did 6 months ago scrubbing the floors and grout with a toothbrush (for 5 hours.) If you are going to spend the $$ you may want to invest in something you can use around the house.

We did it and let me tell you - it makes a HUGE difference. My house is only 3 years old, but with 2 kids, 2 dogs and 2 cats - you can imagine my floors take a beating.

My suggestion is to get at least 3 quotes to do it. We used Cornerstone ChemDry - http://www.chem-dry.net/cornerstone.tx

They were very professional and got ALL my tile - even the stuff in my pantry looks shiny and new!

I've wondered about those companies myself as well as some of the products advertised on TV. However, $.75 per sqaure foot plus tax is A LOT of money. I would at least investigate some of the do it yourself products. Some require no scrubbing, just wipe off supposedly. You might call them and ask about the chemicals in the product they use. Maybe it's available outright. I'm sure they won't tell you exactly their formula, but it could be something very common like hydrogen peroxide, etc. Good luck!

If you are thinking of hiring someone, you've probably nixed the idea of cleaning it yourself.
For $3 you can go to the laundry isle at WalMart and get a box "20 Mule Team Borax"
It is a green and yellow box. Should be near the bleach.
If you have'nt completly nixed the idea, try a small area of grount with a denture brush and the Borax mixed to a paste with water.
I use it on my tile floors. It takes some arm usage on your hands and knees but I figure if I can save the $$ and do it myself, then why not since I am home all day.
Just try it and see before you hire someone.

It is a great deodorizer as well. I use it in my laundry, toilets, and garbage cans. It gets the animal smell and smoke smell out of the clothes.
It also gets the coffee stains out of my sink. I have had dishes sitting overnight in the sink, so I just dump some down the drain and let it sit for awhile and then I run LOTS of water with the garbage disposal to get the smell out.
It also took out the ink marks on my daughters back pack.

Very Handy Stuff!!!

E., while I have not used Doug's Mighty Clean to clean tile, I have used them to clean our carpet. They were professional, showed up earlier than scheduled, and did a fantastic job. I am on the plan to have them come every 6 months - it is well worth the money! If they clean tile the way they clean carpet, they'll do a fantastic job for you.

it is the best thing I have ever done! After u should only clean with white vinigar & wAter. I have it done for every client that purchases a home from me!