Browse Forums Flooring & Floor Covering 1 Jan 10, 2014 5:16 am The carpet cleaner came and insisted on doing a demo for tile cleaning. I said I didn't need the tiles cleaned, I'm too busy, I'm not going the tiles cleaned. He insisted the thin grout lines were dirty, and asked where would I like to have the demo? I picked one spot, he chose another. He said I have a ceramic tile. Without asking me or showing me the bottle first, he poured undiluted phosphoric acid onto the grout between four tiles and up and down. It was thick and gel like. I was somewhat horrified. He then followed quickly with with undiluted degreaser. At some point after the first pour, the liquid fizzed and formed a low white foam. He spread it and wiped it.
I started to see mild discolouraton. I was more worried at first that the surface seemed different or the polish had been taken off. I stood up and walked back to take a better look and told him of my concern. He said it was the walls or shadow. It was hard to tell at first, as there is a lot of reflection as well. The tiles are very close to white. I went to the spare tiles and found out they are unglazed porcelain, not ceramic (new house - I didn't know). I kept trying to block off the sunlight (he moved the floor mat I used away because it was near his hose), swept away some dust, turned on more lights, tried to look at it with a torch (the only one I had was the light from my phone) and compared it with a new tile, but it wasn't until he left, and I found the right spot to look at it, and the light was at the right angle that I could see it is discoloured and what I thought was a reflection wasn't. It is obvious now that I've seen it. It is also very obvious in a photo and the local tile shop people saw it immediately, but they don't know how to fix it. Is there any way to reverse/buff out the discolouration? The floor tiles are partly under a wall. They are also in a prominent spot, near the entry of the into the living and dining room, above a step where you would look at the floor. If they are replaced, will it be obvious? (I have enough spare tiles from the original batch.) This is so bad of the cleaning company to force this demo. The carpet guy was incredibly nice but if he really was, he wouldn't have falsely assured me that nothing was wrong several times, dismissed my concerns as light and shadow and asked me to sign the receipt. The director of the company has not called me despite saying he would, and a manager has said that he (the director) doesn't believe it can happen and wants to come down to have a look next week. Re: Any help for discoloured unglazed porcelain tiles? 2Jan 10, 2014 5:29 am Now that I think about it, the worst thing is I said to him I would not use anything harsh to clean the floor. I have a "noodle" mop, which I would have used with water. I said at most I may use some diluted vinegar or baking soda (after doing some research first). He said that would be the wrong to use. I asked why -- he said vinegar is acid and baking soda is basic, and "when you mix the two... what would happen?" I said phosphoric acid is acidic and degreaser is alkaline, and he couldn't give me a proper answer, and changed the topic. Also, when I told him these are actually porcelain tiles, he said, "Yeah, that's why I said", and I said, "No, you said they were ceramic." Re: Any help for discoloured unglazed porcelain tiles? 3Jan 13, 2014 8:18 am Sue them/him. a friend of mine had almost the exact same thing happen and took legal action. They came to the party with cost and pulled up and replaced her kitchen floor. Re: Any help for discoloured unglazed porcelain tiles? 4Feb 13, 2014 1:07 pm Have you tried using an alkaline cleaning solution and see if that helps as the acid may need to be neutralized. It is rare to see phos acid discolour a matt finish porcelain tile but it can happen which I have never seen, maybe he used an different type of acid. What gets me is why he used an acid for a test demo in the first place. We always use an alkaline solution never an acid. Acids are to remove mineral build up or to remove grout haze. Alkaline solutions are great for removing soils and oils form surfaces and it is obvious he does not know what he is doing. Hope things work out. I would check to see if they are insured so if you have to replace they can pay for it. hmmm id assume youll get hit with the "natural product therefore variation in colour etc" excuse. How bad are we talking? One could argue that if none of the displays or… 3 2454 i had the my concreters concrete right up to the fence. I have pits all along my path, so the water tends to drain away from the house and into the pits. There's only one… 7 12774 A question. Im in Queensland and building a new home. We managed to reach practical completion 6 weeks ago but we haven't heard any date for handover yet. Who should we… 0 5807 |