Tampa Wood Floor Cleaning & Polishing of 100 Year Old Wood Floor

This 100 year old wood floor was in bad shape when we arrived. The floor wasn't a candidate for a full wood floor restoration due to its age and termite damage. The property owners didn't want to replace the floor so they called the Floor Cleaning Experts to provide a thorough wood floor cleaning, sealing, & polishing in Tampa.

We cleaned the wood floors with a solvent based wood floor cleaner and scrubbed the wood floor with a hogs hair pad to break the dirt and old finish from the wood floor.

Then we used a high speed floor buffer to bring up the shine.

Call Floor Cleaning Experts at 727-399-8803 for a free exact price quote.

Marble Scratch Removal & Travertine Marble Polishing in Tampa

This marble floor had scratches from the manufacturing process on the surface of the marble that required a full diamond restoration and marble polishing to remove scratches from the marble.

The Floor Cleaning Experts use a dual plenary grinding machine with either metal bonded diamond grinding disks for marble lippage removal and floor leveling or resin bonded diamond polishing disks for travertine marble polishing and marble scratch removal.

On this floor we used resin diamond polishing to remove the scratches. We started with 50 grit disks to grind out the marble scratches. Then polished the marble with 120, 220, 400, 800, 1800, 3600 grit resin marble polishing disks. This gave a deep consistent shine to the floor. All of the edges were polishing by hand .

We then used a high speed buffer with diamond embedded 3600 grit polishing pads to buff the floor to a high shine.

This floor not only had a high consistent shine but also had NO damage done to the custom wood cabinetry or stainless steel appliances.

We take a lot of pride in the work we do and take the time to get all the details right. If your travertine or marble floor needs marble scratch removal or marble polishing give us a call at 727-399-8803

How to Clean Grout Yourself When Money is Tight..

When times are tough and money is tight it is sometime necessary to try and tackle projects we would normally pay someone to do for us. One of those projects is cleaning tile and grout in your home.

How to clean grout yourself the easiest way: You will need a mop and bucket, a shop vac, a grout brush, a strong grout cleaner, and a grout restoration acid.

The hardest part of cleaning tile and grout yourself is rinsing the grout. Grout is very porous and dirt and detergent embed deep in the grout when the grout sealer breaks down. When the Floor Cleaning Experts clean tile and grout we use a truck mounted hot water extraction rinse that uses 1200 psi and 5.5 gallons of 250 degree water. You're going to need to use a little more elbow grease in rinsing the floor.

Fill your mop bucket with steaming hot water and add your strong grout cleaner into the mix. Dip your mop into the bucket of hot detergent and soak the mop. lift mop out of the bucket and let it drain off into the bucket. When it slows to a dribble put the mop in the center of the room and work out to the edges.

You want to mop the floor and spread the detergent solution evenly leaving the floor wet without pooling. You want to let the detergent work for you. Keep the tile and grout wet for 30 minutes allowing the detergent to do most of the work.

Now that the floor is soaking in the hot detergent its time for the fun to begin!! Grab your grout brush. A brush on a long wooden handle is mush easier and more effective then a hand brush. Brush the grout lines vigorously, this works the detergent into the grout by scrubbing off the top laying of soil.

Now its time to rinse the tile and grout cleaner from the floor. Get your shop vac and clean and refill the mop bucket with clean clear water. Repeat the process above but use more water. Slight pooling is OK in the center of the room. Now use the shop vac to suck up the dirty water. Now repeat the process and brush the grout when its wet to work the dirt and detergent up out of the grout. Keep repeating this process until it stops making dirty lines when brushed. It may take as many as 5-10 rinsings to get the floor clean and detergent free.

Now we are going to repeat the whole process above using a grout restoration acid cleaner. Please be very careful with this product around stainless steel and marble as it will etch those surfaces very quickly.

Now that you've that your done cleaning tile and grout its time for sealing tile and grout. Grout needs to be sealed with a penetrating sealer. Only specialty tile and grout like Mexican tile, saltillo tile, quarry tile, or porcelain tile should be sealed with a topical acrylic sealer.


If that's too much work for you the Floor Cleaning Experts will get your tile and grout looking like brand new freshly poured grout and seal it for you.

Tampa St Petersburg Tile & Grout Cleaning & Sealing Process

The Floor Cleaning Experts specialize in restoring tile and grout back to as clean as new.

We do this by cleaning tile and grout twice with two different types of cleaning detergents. The first grout restoration cleaning detergent breaks down greases and oils in the grout and is a strong alkaline grout cleaner. This is brushed into the grout with a grout brush and left to work for 15 to 30 minutes.

Rinsing the dirt and detergent from the grout is a very important part of the process. The Floor Cleaning Experts use powerful truck mounted hot water extractors that rinse the grout with 1200 psi hot water. This is done under a contained grout cleaning rinse tool that sprays the water on the tile & grout and creates a rinsing cyclone of water scrubbing the dirt and detergent from the tile and grout.

After all of the first detergent has been rinsed from the floor a tile and grout restoration acid cleaning agent is applied to the grout lines. The grout restoration acid restores the grout back to that new condition by dissolving a fine layer of grout to get to pristine new grout underneath.

Special grout cleaning tools are used to rinse hard to reach areas like corners and edges. This ensures the grout on the edges and in the corners is as clean as the rest of the floor. The tile and grout are then dried with microfiber mops and towels.

The Floor Cleaning Experts offers two types of grout sealer. A water based grout sealer that lasts between 3-5 years or Dry-Treat StainProof solvent sealer that permanently bonds with the grout and comes with a fifteen year warranty when applied by a Dry-Treat Authorized Applicator. The Floor Cleaning Experts have been a Dry-Treat Certified Applicator since 2005 and have permanently sealed over 100,000 feet of grout.

If you are tired of looking at dirty grout contact us and we will make your grout look like brand new again!

Tampa & St. Petersburg New VCT Floor Strip & Wax

This Tampa VCT (vinyl tile) floor was a new installation that needed to be stripped of the light factory coating, cleaned of construction debris and paint, then coated with six coats of wax. This job was complicated by the fact the client needed the floor on Saturday and the VCT was being installed Friday night with a full crew working in the building. Newly Installed VCT should be given between 4-24 hours to set up before stripping and waxing the VCT. We did our best with the conditions at hand and delivered the floor as shown 2 hours before opening.


To ensure the highest quality appearance and durability of the VCT floors we Strip and wax, we apply 2 coats of a urethane reinforced floor finish to seal the vinyl composite tiles and 4 coats of a high solids floor wax. We high speed polish the VCT every other coat. Lightly burnishing the VCT every other layer hardens the wax and increases the shine. This allows us to fix things by polishing off a layer and building it back up.


This picture is of the VCT floor after 1 month. There were foot prints in the wax because the AC guy walked on the VCT while it was still wet. We used a high speed floor buffer with diamond embedded polishing pads to polish out the foot prints.




The Floor Cleaning Experts can set up your new VCT floor or strip & wax your existing vinyl floor.

Call us for a free estimate.

Tampa Construction Clean up of Saltillo Tile also known as Mexican

When Saltillo tile is installed it is very dull and porous. It may come bare of any type of coating or it may have a light coating from the factory that will need to be stripped before waxing the Mexican or Saltillo tile and grout.

When the floor has been down during the construction process construction clean up can be complicated by paint, mortar, and drywall mud. The Saltillo tile and grout need a thorough cleaning before stripping and waxing the Mexican tile.

This Tampa construction clean up of Mexican tile involved cleaning drywall mud and paint from the Saltillo tile and grout,stripping the wax coating, and then waxing the Saltillo tile and grout with a urethane reinforced acrylic floor finish. This makes a hard coating over the soft sun baked clay of the Mexican tiles.

This Mexican tile floor was in the common areas of a busy apartment complex. After a years worth of traffic and abuse they are still in great condition with a consistent even shine.

The Floor Cleaning Experts cleans, polishes, and seals all types of floors. We clean Saltillo tile & grout, restore Saltillo and Mexican tile and grout, and strip and wax Saltillo tile and grout.

Tampa Onyx Floor Polishing and Sealing breaks our record for most expensive floor.

This Tampa onyx polishing job set the record for the most expensive floor we've ever cleaned, polished and sealed.

This 432 ft entry lobby of a luxury Tampa condo was freshly installed green onyx floor with a brown marble trim. At $200 per square foot this client didn't think twice about paying to have it permanently sealed with Dry-Treat StainProof and polished. Dry-Treat StainProof comes with a 15 year warranty when applied by a Dry-Treat certified applicator.

The diamond marble polishing was complicated because the brown marble was very hard and the green onyx is very soft. The marble was hand polished with small marble restoration polishing pads. The onyx polishing was done using a 5X powder polish.

Onyx is a very soft stone and requires regular powder polishing to keep its luster.

The Floor Cleaning Experts provide onyx cleaning, onyx polishing, onyx sealing, and onyx restoration.

We seal specialty stone floors with Dry-Treat StainProof penetrating sealer. As a Certified Dry-Treat Applicator we can offer a 15 year warranty on all Dry-Treat StainProof applications.

Floor Cleaning Experts Service Overview for Carpet in Tampa St Petersburg Clearwater

Carpets: Carpets require regular maintenance to stay healthy and looking clean. Carpets are big filters and filter out the dust, pollen, and other airborne contaminants we don’t want to breathe. This keeps them from being redistributed into the air supply and keeps them out of our lungs and sinuses. But the carpets need to be kept clean for this to work. Once they get overloaded with soil they stop working. Billions of dollars have been spent to engineer carpet so it doesn’t look dirty. When your carpets look dirty it means they are REALLY dirty.

Vacuuming is the most important part of maintaining your carpets and keeping that clean healthy carpet lasting a long time. Change your vacuum bag when it gets 1/3 full and keep the belts and beater bar clean. Heavy traffic areas should be vacuumed daily with light traffic areas being vacuumed once or twice a week.

Vacuuming will remove 87% of the soils that build up in your carpets. To remove the rest you will need carpet cleaning. This can either be a dry foam maintenance cleaning or a truck mounted hot water extraction restoration cleaning.

Truck mounted hot water extraction is a restorative cleaning process that uses a 12 step thorough cleaning process to get the carpets restored back to as close to brand new condition as possible. Treating the carpets with a DuPont Stainmaster Teflon or 3m Scotch Guard treatment will restore the carpet's stain resistance and will make vacuuming more effective by making it harder for dust to stick to the carpet.

Encapsulating dry foam cleaning is a great way to keep carpets cleans. Encapsulating dry foam cleaning is a maintenance cleaning process that works with your regular vacuuming to keep your carpets clean between truck mounted hot water extraction cleanings. Encapsulating cleaners envelope the soils in the carpet and then dry to a hard brittle crystal that shatters and vacuums up out of your carpets.

How often you clean your carpet is going to vary based on usage. A family of 5 with a dog and 6 neighbor kids will need more frequent service then a retired family of 2.

Carpets need to be cleaned every year no matter how little traffic they have gotten or if they look dirty or not. Your annual carpet cleaning is like the oil change for your car. It will keep your investment looking good, smelling fresh, and a healthy filer for your indoor environment. Families with children or pets should have their carpets cleaned 2-4 times per year.

Never ever have dirty carpets again!! How? Maintenance! Hot water extraction cleaning is much more labor intensive then encapsulating dry foam cleaning and therefore more expensive. The best and most affordable way to keep your carpets clean is to get it clean with a 12 step thorough hot water extraction carpet cleaning and then keep it clean with encapsulating dry foam cleanings. With the Floor Cleaning Experts Never Have Dirty Carpets Again program you get four cleanings for the price of two hot water extraction cleanings. Plus you get a free emergency spot visit per year.

The Floor Cleaning Experts is an IICRC Certified Firm and has two IICRC Certified Master Textile Cleaners on staff to answer any questions you may have about your carpets care and maintenance.

Contact us at 727-399-8803.

Grout Cleaning and Sealing, Grout Staining, or Grout Replacement. Which is the best solution for your floor?

When I’m asked to about grout staining I always ask why. Most of the time the reason is that, either the customer doesn’t think the grout will get clean or that a darker color is the only way to make keeping it looking nice possible.

The Floor Cleaning Experts have cleaned over 1,000,000 feet of grout since 2004 and one thing we’ve found is that grout cleaning can restore grout to original condition no matter how dirty and proper sealing can keep even bright white grout looking clean with proper care, there is only one good reason the change your grouts color and that is taste.

Changing your grout color can be done two ways: Grout staining or grout replacement. Grout staining is a lot less invasive then grout replacement but a lot less durable as well.

Grout Staining involves cleaning the tile and grout to clear the pores of the grout so the stain can penetrate. The grout stain is then painted into the grout lines and let to sink into the grout. The colored sealer only penetrates 1-3 millimeters into the grout and is vulnerable to harsh cleaners and direct sun light.

When a color stained grout floor gets dirty it can only be safely cleaned with mild detergents and a low pressure cleaning. Cleaning with a high heat high pressure system and restoration detergents can cause the color stain to lift out of the grout lines like strips of paint. Once this happens the grout needs to either have a grout stain reapplied or the color seal needs to be completely cleaned off.

Grout replacement involves cutting the old grout out of the grout joints and replacing it with freshly mixed new grout of the desired color. Properly sealed this will give you a long lasting easy to clean tile and grout floor. Any time you have it cleaned it will go back to looking like new.

If grout replacement is so good why do anything else. The mess is the short answer. All of the grout must be cut from the floor. The Floor Cleaning Experts uses multi-master with the vacuum attachment, but a lot of dust is still kicked up when regrouting a tile floor. Proper care needs to be exercised to ensure the dust doesn’t contaminate your air handling system.

So what is so bad about the grout you have now? Most people wanting to change grout color are doing it to make it easier to take care of. Keeping the color you have and restoring it to brand new with a full restoration grout cleaning and then sealing it properly will do that with a lot less money and headache the recoloring grout.

The key to keeping grout looking good is using a good sealer and applying it properly. The Floor Cleaning Experts uses a Flourochemical sealer that is good for 3-5 years and a solvent sealer that permanently seals the grout and comes with a 15 warranty.

If you still have questions feel free to call me at 727-399-8803.

New Video

It's my intent to put together a series of videos on some of the most challenging floor refinishing and floor cleaning solutions for problems faced by a home owner. In preparation, I put myself, and my cousin Bobby (who works with me at Floor Cleaning Experts) to do our first basic basic introductory video.

I learned much about my onscreen presence. Mostly I learned that I am better at work polishing your marble floors or making your grout look like new, or sandless refinishing your wood floors... and not being in front of the camera!

Regardless.. all humility aside.. enjoy the video, and I look forward to bringing you new videos that are more practical over time.


Tom.

Restoring Concrete Pavers in Tampa St Petersburg

Concrete pavers can be a real challenge to keep clean in the Tampa St Petersburg area. Concrete pavers are very porous and need to be sealed to keep water from carrying dirt down into the pavers. The problem is that pavers are used outside and that leaves them at the mercy of our hot Florida sun and heavy pounding rains.

If you've just installed new decorative concrete pavers at your home you need to make sure they are well sealed. Sealing helps keep water from drawing organic material into the pavers so that mold and mildew grow. It also keeps oil from penetrating into or adhering to the suface of the concrete pavers. A properly sealed paver will be easier to care for and look great for a longer time.

Pavers cannot be effectively sealed with an interior stone sealer as the UV from the sun and the pooling water will break it down very quickly. Concrete Pavers need to be sealed with either a solvent based acrylic topical sealer or a penetrating sealer with an UV inhibitor.

Floor Cleaning Experts offers a topical sealer that gives the concrete a shinny sealed look or a penetrating sealer that bonds to the molecular structure of the concrete permanently sealing the pavers with out changing the appearance of the concrete paver.

The topical sealer that the Floor Cleaning Experts uses is Euclid's Ever Clear Concrete Sealer. This product will withstand pooling water and direct sunlight but will need to be resealed every 2-4 years.

The penetrating sealer is Drytreat Stainproof sealer. This product penetrates deep into the concrete paver and bonds to the molecular structure of the paver. Nothing will break this sealer down. As a Drytreat Stainproof Certified Applicator the Floor Cleaning Experts can offer a 15 year manufactures warranty on Drytreat Stainproof. This permanently seals concrete pavers.

What do you do when the sealer, did they seal it, breaks down and the pavers look dirty and stained? Call the Floor Cleaning Experts of course. We provide a full restoration cleaning of concrete pavers. The key to pavers is knowing what was on the paver originally. If it was coated with a topical we will need to strip the concrete pavers before cleaning.

Pavers need much more aggressive cleaners then we would ever think of using inside. Concrete paver restoration is one service I would strongly recommend leaving to the professionals.

Dry Carpet Cleaning or Truck Mounted Hot Water Extraction Cleaning?

I'm asked all the time, which is better, dry cleaning carpets or hot water extraction cleaning of carpets?The answer to this question depends on the type of carpet fiber being cleaned and the level of carpet restoration needed to return to a clean healthy carpet.

Truck mounted hot water extraction is a restorative carpet cleaning process. Encapsulating dry foam carpet cleaning is a maintenance carpet cleaning system. These two cleaning method used together are the most cost effective way to always have clean carpets.

When a carpet looks dirty it is very dirty. Millions of dollars have been spent on research to create carpet fibers that hide dirt as long as possible. Carpets should be cleaned not because they look dirty but because regular cleaning of your carpet is like changing the oil in your car. It removes the abrasive that wear the fibers causing the carpet to dull out.

Residential carpets that are visibly soiled or stained should be cleaned with the truck mounted hot water extraction method. This is a restorative carpet cleaning method and is the most thorough and costly type of cleaning.

Encapsulating dry foam carpet cleaning is a maintenance cleaning process that is faster and thus less expensive then hot water extraction cleaning. Most commercial carpets respond better to the encapsulating dry foam carpet cleaning process then to the truck mounted hot water extraction cleaning.

It is possible to never have dirty carpets again. With the right maintenance your carpets can stay clean all the time cost effectively.

The first step is to get the carpets as clean as possible and then protected with a very good protector like Scotch Guard or Dupont Teflon.

The Floor Cleaning Experts full restoration carpet cleaning is a 12 step process following the standards set by the IICRC. Pre-Inspection, pre-vacuum, furniture moving, pre-condition & spot treatments, Pre-grooming, truck mount extraction, neutralize, post spot treatments, Teflon carpet protector, speed dry, post groom, and post inspection. We offer this complete service for one price with no additional charges. This will get the carpet as clean as it can get.

Once the carpet has been restored to a clean and healthy state it can be kept there by servicing your vacuum and using it regularly. Vacuuming regularly with a clean strong vacuum is the best way to keep damaging abrasive dirt from building up in your carpets.

Encapsulating dry foam carpet cleaning is a great way to keep your carpets clean after they have been restored. Dry foam cleaning is very efficient and effective when combined with regular vacuuming with a well serviced strong vacuum cleaner.

The encapsulating detergent absorb the dirt and detergent residue and then drys to a hard brittle crystal when it drys. This crystal shatters under traffic and vacuuming and the dirt and detergent residue are removed with the vacuum. Dry foam cleaning is fast and less then half the price of hot water extraction cleaning but is a maintenance cleaning process so it needs to be done regularly with the frequency depending on the carpets traffic.

The Floor Cleaning Experts has a Never Ever Have Dirty Carpets Again program. This annual service agreement includes 1 truck mounted hot water extraction cleaning, 3 encapsulating dry foam maintenance cleanings, and 2 emergency spot cleanings per year for less then a dollar per foot.

Travertine Floor Maintenance and Restoration

Travetine marble is formed in mineral springs and is a very porous stone. The travertine marble has viens running through it that are filled with an epoxy before grinding and polishing the travertine tiles. The travertine tiles can be flat and unpolished or can have a satin shine. Travertine marble is softer then most marble but is also less sensitive to acid etching and easy to polish.

Due to is porous nature, it is very important that travertine marble be sealed. When the sealer starts breaking down and the floor starts getting worn travertine becomes harder and harder to keep looking nice. A simple cleaning will not restore travertine to a more serviceable condition. It needs to be cleaned, polished, and sealed.

The first step to creating a easy to maintain and beautiful travertine marble floor is getting the floor flat and level. The Floor Cleaning Experts provides full stone Restoration services. Lippage removal or leveling of the floor makes dust mopping and wet mopping easier and make the travertine have more shine and uniformity.

Due to the soft nature of travertine marble and the veins filled with epoxy it is necessary to fill holes or voids in the travertine marble. These are filled with an epoxy and then ground and polished to blend into the stone.

When the stone is level and any voids are filled and smoothed out its time to diamond hone the travertine marble this brings a nice satin shine from the stone. Powder polishing the travertine marble blends the shine and makes it deeper.

Polishing travertine makes it less porous and easier to clean but it doesn't seal and protect the travertine marble. A penetrating sealer will keep water from penetrating the tile and will keep oils from sticking to the surface. Then Floor Cleaning Experts is a Drytreat Stainproof Certified Applicator. Drytreat Stainproof has a 15 year warranty.

What can you do to help your springtime allergies?

This has been a very brutal spring for oak pollen. You could see it settling like a fine mist at times. When there is that much pollen in the air it will invade the home even if you don't open your windows. It comes in with every opening of the door and step of your foot.

If you have hard floors and no rugs it will be more difficult to capture and remove the pollen. Carpet and rugs capture the particle that fall on them and hold them until your trusty vacuum comes to take them away. Dry vacuuming with a new bag and clean heppa filter is your best way to clean pollen from carpets and furniture.

If you are sensitive to pollen or suffer from frequent allergies you should vacuum daily and have your carpets cleaned every 3-6 months. Carpet, rugs, draperies, and cloth furniture act as filters. When dust and pollen fall on the fabric they stick to the fabric instead of getting redistributed in the air with every passing breeze. But these filters need to be cleaned.

A thorough truck mounted hot water extraction cleaning of your carpets and a thorough cleaning of your furniture every 3-6 months will keep allergens under control.

Applying a flourochemical treatment like Scotch Guard or Dupont Teflon will help make vacuuming much more effective and should be applied once per year. This keeps the very small pollen particles from sticking to the carpet like static cling. So the Scotch guard changes static cling to static push which makes vacuuming much more effective.

Properly maintained carpets and rug can help you moderate your allergies and provide you at least one safe haven when the pollen falls like snow.

Again, the most important thing you can do to help your allergies now is to take your vacuum outside and clean it and replace the bag with a new one. Then vacuum every piece of fabric and all rugs and air vents. Then replace your AC filters.

If your allergies knock you low the Floor Cleaning Experts provide a very thorough vacuuming, carpet cleaning, and upholstery cleaning that will leave you breathing deeply again.

Cleaning Satillo or Mexican Tile

When your saltillo or Mexican tile and grout stop responding to your mop bucket and brush it may be time to strip the floor down and clean it. Then, after it dries, rebuild the finish.

The floor needs to be completely empty for stipping and waxing saltillo tile. Base boards and delicate surfases need to be protected. The stripper disolves the wax in the tile creating a slippery slurry that needs to be rinsed from the floor. Stripping mexican tile is the most challenging job that the Floor Cleaning Experts does. Most old saltillo tile and grout floors have multiple layers of wax from many different era's. Some of the finishes used in the 70's are VERY hard to break down and require a special stripper.

Once the Mexican tile and grout have been stripped completely free of wax or sealer it is cleaned just like normal tile and gout.

Saltillo or Mexican tile is a sun backed clay tile that is not fire hardened. This leaves the tile soft and very porous. Sealing satillo or Mexican tile is very important as is how you seal it.

The first thing you need to decide is whether to coat the tile and grout with an acrylic topical sealer or a penetrating flourochemical sealer. Floors inside can be decided solely on preference. Shinny finish that needs to be redone every 3-5 years but is easy to keep clean or the natural texture of the stone with a penetrating sealer that lasts much longer but isn't as easy to keep clean due to the course texture of satillo tile.

Outdoors acrylic finishes really get abused by the sun and rain and need either a solvent based acrylic sealer or a UV resistant penetrating sealer. The Drytreat StainProof penetrating sealer bonds to the molecular structure of the tile and permanently seals the tile with the flat texture. And comes with a 15 year warranty when applied by a certified applicator like the Floor Cleaning Experts.

Are All Tile and Grout Floors the Same?

There are a wide variety of types of tile and grout floors. Most of them are serviced the same as ceramic tile and grout. There are a few that require special care. These are porous textured tile floors that will generally have a finish applied to them.

The most common are the satillo or Mexican tile, flagstone, quarry tile, and sometimes even porcelain tile. When a topical coating is applied to these floors it must be maintained on a regular basis. When the coating starts looking bad or breaking down you will need to strip the floor of the existing coating and then rebuild the floors finish. This is the most problematic processes we perform. Sometimes it strips easy and other times you have to try 4 different strippers to find one the works. This is an area the Floor Cleaning Experts excels in. Simply because I'm to stubborn to let a floor finish beat me.

After the tile and grout have been completely stripped of wax and sealer, it needs to be either re coated with an acrylic topical sealer or with a penetrating sealer. If there is difficulty removing ALL traces of old finish from the surface re coating the service is the best option. The old sealer will bond to the new sealer and fade from view. Usually, at the next stripping all the old sealer will come off bonded to the new sealer.

When choosing a topical coating you must first look at the floors environment. Is it indoors or out doors? Does it get direct sunlight or pooling water.

If the floor is indoors, a water based acrylic coating will be used. This is a much easier to work with product and gives great performance indoors but will not stand up outside.

Outside or in direct sunlight a water based acrylic will not hold up, A solvent based acrylic is much more durable and can withstand a lot of punishment. But this product is very hard to work with and requires the proper safety equipment and VERY thorough preparation. Your only going to get one chance to get it right and mistakes are hard to fix with these sealers.

If the floor stripped to a pristine state, a penetrating sealer can provide excellent protection and a significantly lower cost of ownership. If you use the right product the right way.

Saltillo or Mexican tile, quarry tile, flagstone, and porcelain tile and grout are porous. Some more so then others. The saltillo and Mexican tile are the most absorbent and require a lot of sealer to fill the tile. These product work from inside the tile to increase surface tension so that water can't penetrate and oils won't adhere.

Sealing is a fine line between not enough sealer to fill the tile and grout and too much so you have a sticky mess to clean up.

The Floor Cleaning Experts uses Drytreat Stainproof to seal grout, porous tile, Mexican tile, and porcelain tile. StainProof penetrates into the tile and permanently bonds to the molecular structure of the tile or grout. This permanently seals the tile and grout. The Floor Cleaning Experts is a Drytreat Authorized Applicator. This allows us to give our clients a 15 year warranty on their grout sealer.

Mopping Tile and Grout the Right Way.

Using microfiber mopping regularly will keep bucket mopping your tile and grout to a minimum. But eventually you will need to break out the mop and bucket to clean your tile and grout.

When cleaning dirty grout and tile you start with clean hot water with a neutral floor detergent mixed EXACTLY to label directions. More IS NOT better. If it says 2 oz per gallon and you have a 3 gallon bucket you use 6 oz. If you add more you just make it harder to rinse.

The floor should be either vacuumed or gone over with a dry microfiber mop to get up loose dirt. Better to get it when its dry then after its turned to mud. Its important to be thorough getting the dry dirt up as it will want to seep into the grout when you mop.

The Proper Way to Mop: Dip the mop completely in the mop bucket then raise the mop out of the bucket, holding it over the bucket until it slows to a drip. Then put the mop on the center of the floor and work it slowly to the edges. You should leave the area wet for a little while to let the detergent work. If the grout is very dirty you can use a brush to raise the dirt that has penetrated into the grout.

Now wring out the mop and mop up the detergent. Rinsing often is important to keep the mop absorbing and not spreading dirt. Twisting the mop head in the wringer before wringing will get your mop the driest. The dryer the mop is the more it will absorb. Once you've completely dried the floor you have completed step one.

Now go change the bucket for clean hot water and repeat the mopping process. This clearwater rinse will help your tile and grout stay clean longer by eliminating residue buildup.

Daily Tile and Grout Cleaning Made Easy.

The best tool for any maintenance job is the one that makes it the easiest. When you make something easy it gets done more often. This in turn makes it easier still. For hard floors like tile and grout, marble, travertine, terrazzo, vinyl composite tile or VCT, and wood floor the right tool is the Microfiber Mop System. This flat bar mop is very effective at dry dusting and can clean a greasy floor with just water. I know it sounds too good to be true, but it is.

Microfiber is made from a very fine blend of polyester and nylon. When the fibers rub against each other they create a static charge that draws dust too it. This will pull dust almost as well as a vacuum with MUCH less effort. Just remember to change out the heads when they load up with soil.

the microfibers are triangular shaped and cut and lift greases and oils with out detergents when the mops are used wet. Just wet the mop head and wring it out. Then use a trigger sprayer full of water to mist the area you are going to clean and then mop with the microfiber. Again, just change out the heads as they get dirty. I like to have one head for every 100-300 feet I'm cleaning

When your microfiber mops get dirty just throw them in the washer. Just do not fabric softener or wash with terry cloth towels.

Also try microfiber towels for dusting and general household cleaning chores and start reducing the amount of detergents you use.

The Floor Cleaning Experts gives a free microfiber mop set to customers that sign up for our on-line news letter and have us come out and do work for them.

Why Seal Grout From the Floor Cleaning Experts Tampa St Petersburg Clearwater

I'm always asked, Why does my grout get dirty so fast? Why can't I keep in clean? The answer is always the same: Your grout wasn't sealed or the sealer has broken down due to time, sun light, or chemical action.

Grout is a concrete sponge. Its strength comes from the capillaries that form when it cures. This is also what makes it so hard to keep clean. When the floor is mopped the water suspends dirt and detergent and then seeps into the capillaries drawing the dirt and detergent deep into the grout. Once it gets that deep it takes a lot of scrubbing and rinsing to get it out.

There are two main types of sealers: Topical and Penetrating. Grout should be sealed with a penetrating sealer. The sealer changes the chemistry of the grout, increasing the surface tension so that water thinks its too big of a bubble to squeeze into the capillaries of the grout. It also keeps grease and oil from sticking to the surface. This makes the grout water resistant not water proof. Pooling water, water with a chemical surfactant (reduces surface tension), and pressure will push water through a penetrating sealer.

Most penetrating grout sealers fill the pours of the grout and break down under UV light, strong detergents, and time. These Flouro-chemical sealers generally last 3-5 years.

Drytreat Makes a penetrating sealer that actually bonds to the molecular structure of the grout and permanently seals the grout. This product comes with a 15 year warranty.

For more information on sealing grout contact the Floor Cleaning Experts 727-399-8803

We Clean Grout Like New in Tampa St. Petersburg Clearwater Here is How.

The Floor Cleaning Experts provide a FULL restoration grout cleaning in Tampa and St. Petersburg. The Floor Cleaning Experts does this by cleaning the tile and grout twice, first with a detergent that breaks down the every day dirt and grime that builds up in the grout this is brushed into the grout lines with a grout brush then very thoroughly rinsed using a powerful truck mounted hot water extraction machine. This pressure washes your grout under a contained cleaning head. The water is spayed down and then immediately sucked up. This provides a very thorough rinsing of the grout with steaming hot water.

The tile and grout are then cleaned with an acid grout restoration detergent that dissolves any inorganic soils, like hard water deposits, and takes off a very fine layer of the surface grout so that we get to fresh new clean and restored grout underneath. This is brushed in, neutralized, and then rinsed. This will get the grout back to the grouts original color and consistency.

The Floor Cleaning Experts then seal the grout with a penetrating sealer. It fills the pores of the grout and changes the grouts chemistry so that it repels water and resists the adhesion of oils.

The Floor Cleaning Experts of St. Petersburg and Tampa and Clearwater.

The Floor Cleaning Experts provides full restoration of tile and grout that gets the grout looking like brand new freshly poured grout. We get the grout this clean by cleaning the grout twice with two different types of detergents using a very powerful truck mounted hot water extraction cleaning machine.

The Floor Cleaning Experts restore lost luster and vitality to natural stone floors from a basic cleaning to powder polishing stone floors or a full restorative diamond polishing for stone floors. Floor Cleaning Experts can service all floor cleaning and restoration needs.