Browse Forums Flooring & Floor Covering Re: Caution Porcelain Tiles 61May 12, 2011 9:03 pm I realise this is dragging up an old thread here but I'm after some advice. We have glazed porcelain tiles and all of them are covered in what I believe to be 'grout haze'. After the tiles were laid there was a layer of grout left smeared on the top. Considering the tiles were laid in January and we moved in five weeks ago that's a long time. We have washed and washed the floors with various types of mops and naturally the haze is still there. We've tried lightly scrubbing with scourer type things........no difference. I'm a little confused as to whether glazed porcelain tiles have some sort of wax coating or whether that's just unsealed porcelain. Is Nanoscrub the type of thing we should be trying? Is there anything that we need to be careful of when using it? Re: Caution Porcelain Tiles 63May 13, 2011 6:58 am catjim I realise this is dragging up an old thread here but I'm after some advice. We have glazed porcelain tiles and all of them are covered in what I believe to be 'grout haze'. After the tiles were laid there was a layer of grout left smeared on the top. Considering the tiles were laid in January and we moved in five weeks ago that's a long time. We have washed and washed the floors with various types of mops and naturally the haze is still there. We've tried lightly scrubbing with scourer type things........no difference. I'm a little confused as to whether glazed porcelain tiles have some sort of wax coating or whether that's just unsealed porcelain. Is Nanoscrub the type of thing we should be trying? Is there anything that we need to be careful of when using it? Hi You will need to use a acid based product to remove grout haze, try some vinegar 50/50 mix apply to the area and agitate with white scrubbing pad now dry with towel before the vinegar dries out this will remove the haze. You may have to leave the vinegar on there for 15 minutes to soften the haze first but do not let dry out keep applying. Once that is done you will need to rinse the floor with water. If you find that vinegar does not work you will need to find phosforic acid this will do the trick. Craig Re: Caution Porcelain Tiles 64May 13, 2011 9:26 am Thanks heaps for your help Craig. We'll give the vinegar a try. I presume it's cleaning vinegar we use and not just normal white vinegar? Do we need to be careful of the grout when using the vinegar? Re: Caution Porcelain Tiles 65May 13, 2011 3:05 pm Hi Actually it is normal vinegar not cleaning vinegar any vinegar. Craig Re: Caution Porcelain Tiles 67May 13, 2011 7:12 pm Yes, there is a cleaning vinegar as well as normal white vinegar. Not sure what the difference is. I bought some years ago as I heard it was good for rinsing out the pipes from the washing machine. Re: Caution Porcelain Tiles 68May 14, 2011 1:42 am Grout Perfect Hi Actually it is normal vinegar not cleaning vinegar any vinegar. Craig Re: Caution Porcelain Tiles 70May 14, 2011 9:01 am You can find cleaning vinegar in the cleaning aisle at the supermarket. Craig is saying to just use normal white vinegar though for grout haze Re: Caution Porcelain Tiles 72May 14, 2011 7:11 pm Lex Thanks, cj. And I think that buildingagain is saying otherwise Nah, just thought it was a bit ambiguous Re: Caution Porcelain Tiles 73May 15, 2011 1:02 pm Update on our grout haze. We went to the tile shop yesterday to order some spare tiles as we were only left with three spares. I mentioned the grout haze and said that a 50 / 50 vinegar mixture had been suggested. He didn't seem to think that it would do anything but said that the vinegar wouldn't do any harm so suggested that I just try it neat. Tried that on a few tiles and it worked a treat......haze virtually gone. I then tried the 50 / 50 mix and washed it over a section of tiles with a microfibre mop, leaving it quite wet. I left that on for a while and then went over it with just a wet microfibre cloth then roughly dried with a towel. It's not absolutely perfect but is soooooooooo much cleaner than before. I think another go will probably do it. I have hope now Re: Caution Porcelain Tiles 74May 16, 2011 7:24 am catjim Update on our grout haze. We went to the tile shop yesterday to order some spare tiles as we were only left with three spares. I mentioned the grout haze and said that a 50 / 50 vinegar mixture had been suggested. He didn't seem to think that it would do anything but said that the vinegar wouldn't do any harm so suggested that I just try it neat. Tried that on a few tiles and it worked a treat......haze virtually gone. I then tried the 50 / 50 mix and washed it over a section of tiles with a microfibre mop, leaving it quite wet. I left that on for a while and then went over it with just a wet microfibre cloth then roughly dried with a towel. It's not absolutely perfect but is soooooooooo much cleaner than before. I think another go will probably do it. I have hope now Thats great to hear, just remember to agitate before the vinega dries out than use a towel to remove the now susbended grout haze away. Once done you will need to rinse the floor thoroughly x 2 this will neutralise the grout as vinega being an acid can eat cementous grout if not rinsed out. When I say neutralise just plain water mopped on the grout will do the trick than towel dry. Craig Re: Caution Porcelain Tiles 75May 16, 2011 6:06 pm I had grout haze issues as well with my (then) newly laid porcelain tiles. I just mopped the whole area with vinegar solution, then hired a commercial grade floor polisher from Kennards and cleaned the area with Sure Seal porcelain cleaner. It's like thick cream....used a damp mop to smear them around (work in sections) then go over with the polisher. You'll end up with abit of dusty powder on the floor....dont worry just mop the entire area with the vinegar solution again and ALL GOOD!!! 12 March 2010 - Land titles received 3 April 2010 - Signed building contract 14 April 2010 - Prestart 28 April 2010 - Loan approved 30 June 2010 - Slab completed 27 August 2010 - Brickwork completed 22 September 2010 - Roofing completed 30 September 2010 - Internal walls plastered 12 October 2010 - Lock Up 19 November 2010 - PCI 26 November 2010 - Handover 29 December 2010 - Moved In https://forum.homeone.com.au/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=32584 Caution Porcelain Tiles 76May 16, 2011 6:54 pm aLLaNNa1 I had grout haze issues as well with my (then) newly laid porcelain tiles. I just mopped the whole area with vinegar solution, then hired a commercial grade floor polisher from Kennards and cleaned the area with Sure Seal porcelain cleaner. It's like thick cream....used a damp mop to smear them around (work in sections) then go over with the polisher. You'll end up with abit of dusty powder on the floor....dont worry just mop the entire area with the vinegar solution again and ALL GOOD!!! Hi All, We're also having real issues with hazy tiles at the moment... The tiles have been cleaned with vinegar and water several times but it just seems to spread the haze around. We had the tile people come out and they suggested cleaning with metho to get all the gunk of the floor and then machine buff... The builder said this had worked but now we went out again on the weekend and it looks like they have been mopped again and it's all hazy again... Any suggestions??? Thanx, Helena Re: Caution Porcelain Tiles 77May 16, 2011 8:01 pm Wow, this is a real issue ... never realised that grouting porcelain tiles would be a problem afterwards. Is this sure to happen to all polished porcelain tiles? And is it "normal"? My signature is distracting people from my wise posts ... Re: Caution Porcelain Tiles 78May 16, 2011 8:10 pm Hi Helena. Maybe try using a phosphoric acid based cleaner. Construction chemicals has a product called kemclean which works great on grout haze. You mix it with water to a ratio of about 1 part chemical to 3 parts water. Leave it on the tiles for about 5-10 minutes then mop off with clean water. You will need to keep changing your water until the product has all come off. We have used this on a few jobs including internal porcelain tiles and external tiles and it's amazing. It costs about $15/litre and covers about 10m2/ltr. Re: Caution Porcelain Tiles 79May 16, 2011 9:11 pm I believe that it is the tiler's job to remove grout haze effectively. Leaving grout haze would probably be an indication of them taking shortcuts. I would find it insulting for them to do a job and leave the problem behind for the customer to sort out! 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