I was cleaning a carpet yesterday, when the client asked me to check out her ceramic tile. In the past I had done two jobs with my OP machine, grout brush, shop vac, and vipor venom. I was not happy with the results. On the last job the kickstand on my OP machine broke and I got completly frustrated and vowed not to clean tile until I bought the right equipment.

She mentioned that she had tried cleaning it multiple times and couldn't get the grime out of the tile and grout. She didn't care if the grout remained black, she just wanted to see I could remove the soil from the tile. I had purchased some of this QCT accidentally a few months back. I pulled this QCT of the truck, put it in a spray bottle undiluted and let it dwell for 10 minutes. This stuff has Hydrogen Peroxide and D-Limonene. I brushed the grout lines with my grout brush. The grime on the grout lines just melted off, went over the tile with the OP machine and tile brush attachment and the tiles cleaned nicely.. She and I were amazed  . Of course she didn't want a 3x3 section of the tile to look clean and the rest dirty so we scheduled a tile cleaning job. I guess I'm cleaning tile again  .
I was thinking about sealing it with Clean Crafts product Easy Seal. Any comments or words of wisdom would be appreciated. Thanks

I've never tried that product but used Hydramaster products in the past with good results.

Not sure about the sealer you want to use. I sounds more like a finish. Is that what she wants? I would use an impregnating sealer. That would be something that works like Dupont or Scotchgard but isn't seen. There are many sources for those including the big box stores if you need something in a hurry.

Thank Mike. I'll check it out. So you prefer the no gloss, anti-slip sealers?

Just checking, but you know you're only sealing the grout line, right?

The ceramic tile has a fired-on coating already.

Hydramaster makes a nice grout line sealer.

About QCT

Thats an interesting product. They say the PH=3 but also say its safe on Marble and natural stone.
As far as I know an acid will etch most natural stone except granite and you have to be carefull
to keep this stuff away from metals (will also etch).
Any fumes? They dont say. If you use this again let us know how it works out, I may get some.

About the sealer
Yeah, that stuff doesnt sound right.

A grout sealer shouldnt have "finish" to it. It should be a penetrating sealer that doesnt alter
the appearance of the grout. Mikes right, your not sealing the tile if its ceramic or porcelain.

Go to HD or lowes and pick up some Aqua mix penetrating sealer.
Thats all you need and you wont have to pay shipping.

Joe

mauricio,

If you read the label on grout sealer it'll say that standing water must be removed then give it an
hour. I dont agree with that and I think its more of a marketing thing to get people to use the product
and not have to wait untill its fully dry.

Dry grout will suck up the sealer like no tomorrow compared to wet grout.
So my ansewer is yes the grout should be totally dry but that means an extra trip to custy's house and
less profit so its not done often.

Good Luck
Joe

i dont do no where near the amount of T&G cleaning as some of you other folks do but i can say,
the easy seal from cleancraft is definately a sealer, and yes, the glossy finish does fade after a while.
its a good product as far as i can tell but then again, other then stuff i used to seal my own grout, i never used any other sealer, so its difficult for me to compare.

i used the sealer on 2 jobs. one i sealed an hour after i cleaned, the other the day after i cleaned.
the one the day after, seemed to absorb more sealer so i'd have to say its much better to be sure its totally totally dry before application, as joe mc said.
or go the route mike c suggested with that magic wand stuff.

That gives you time to learn about sealer.

Maybe next time you can add that on.  

Looks like you got decent results.

4.5 hours does seem like a long time for that amount of tile though. Was it all one open area?

Spinners are usually faster but you still need to set and prep the job.