LESLIE: Corey in Iowa needs some help with grout cleaning. What’s your project?
COREY: My floor, my indoor floor when you walk inside from the entryway, is constantly getting dirty and anything I ever try to do, I always have to use a lot of effort and I was wondering how – the best way to clean it is with like a spray product or anything in that direction.
TOM: Sure. Well, there are two types of grout cleaning: there’s grout cleaner and grout stripper. You’ll find that the grout stripper products are a lot stronger; you can usually buy those in places that sell sort of commercial cleaning products. And the key here, Corey, is going to be a lot of work – I’m not going to kid you – getting it clean the first time. But then you want to add a silicone sealer to the grout lines; at least two or three coats.
COREY: OK.
TOM: And that will slow the buildup of any type of dirt and debris that happens after that. So, buy the grout stripper – not the grout cleaner – and then clean it really well and then seal the grout and that should last you quite a while.
COREY: What would be like a specific brand? Because I have a lot of traffic and it gets really dirty and so I’ve got to use a scrub brush and go at it a lot.
TOM: Right.
COREY: So, I was wondering if there’s a specific brand out there that would – because I’ve seen it where you spray it on there and 15 seconds later you pretty much just wipe it off with a cloth.
TOM: Yeah. That’s called time-lapse photography. (Leslie and Corey chuckle) Yeah, there are no miracle products like that, OK? I’m just telling you; just look for grout stripper, not grout cleaner, and you’ll be OK.
LESLIE: Mm-hmm. And a lot of them are commercial products. I know there’s one company called Aldon – A-l-d-o-n. There’s another one called Legge – it’s L-e-g-g-e. Head to more of a professional shop than a big-box store and they’ll be able to help you out with that.
COREY: Right. Alright. Fantastic.
Tom: Corey, thanks for calling us at 1-888-MONEY PIT.
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