FloorTalk – for all the latest flooring fashions

 Reader Question:

“I am getting my ceramic tiles cleaned and the grout sealed and the professionals are using different methods:

1. High pressure washer w/chemical and a color sealer for the grout.

2. A truck mounted hot water extraction system (also used for carpets) and a grout sealant (tubing)

3. Hand scrubbing w/a grout sealant that claims is good for 5 yrs.

Which method is better to clean my ceramic tile?

The price per square foot is the same for the 3 professionals.

Thanks for your input!!”

Answer:

For this response, I turned to the professionals at The Grout Doctor. Here’s what they said:

Option #1 – In my experience high pressure is not good for grout.  It opens up the natural pores in the grout and allows the grout to collect more dirt, grime and grit.  The color sealer I cannot comment on without knowing the type used

Option #2 – Pretty much the same thing as option #1.  A high pressure truck mount extraction system can open up grouts natural pores as well.

Option #3 – This cleaning method is good and safe for the grout as long as the correct chemicals and dwell time are utilized.

At The Grout Doctor we used hand scrubbing with proper chemicals and dwell time.  Then would color seal with a 3 yr. guarantee.

The size of the grout joint can dramatically change the way your overall tile installation looks. It is important to use the right size grout line for technical reasons and also for aesthetic reasons. For example, if you are using a marble or natural stone tile and the grout joint is too large, it can make the marble look fake. Natural stone is cut with such precision that the typical rule for natural stone is to set the tiles with a 1/16″ grout line. When each tile is more uniform, you have the luxury of using a smaller grout line. When tiles are fired in a kiln, there is no guarantee of the precision and uniformity of the edges.

Often, the size of the grout line is left up to the interior designer or the tile contractor. With their experience, they generally know the appropriate size grout joint for each different tile. Larger grout lines are needed for tiles with less than perfect edges so sometimes you can ask for a certain size grout joint, but your tile contractor may recommend that it be a little larger for a more professional looking installation.

There is no right or wrong answer for what size your grout line should be, but below are some guidelines:

• Natural stone – 1/16″ or 1/8″
• Tile with a rectified edge – 1/16″ or 1/8″
• Regular tile – 3/16″, 1/4″ (safest bet) up to 3/8″ or 1/2″
• Saltillo or Mexican tile – 3/4″, 1″, 1 1/4″

Also, it is important to know that there are two different types of grout: sanded and unsanded. Sanded grout is used in joints that are 1/8″ or larger and unsanded grout (natural stone and glass mosaics) is used in joints that are 1/8″ or larger. Salitillo or Mexican tile has its own type of grout.

For advice on how to choose a grout color, click here.

Floor Talk! is celebrating its 1 year anniversary!

The mission of the floor Floor Talk! blog is to offer another valuable tool from the WFCA (World Floor Covering Association) that helps consumers make informed and smart choices when it comes to flooring.  Our goal is also to help those that have made flooring purchases learn more about what they have purchased as well as how to maintain their purchase.

Over the past year, Floor Talk! has offered:

• Answers to reader questions
• Maintenance tips and hints
• Advice on color trends for the year
• Findings from trade shows
• Green products and information

The most popular blogs of the past year have been:

• How to choose a grout color
• The right way to clean ceramic tile
• 2008 color trends
• The difference between vinyl and linoleum
• How to maintain hardwood flooring
• Exotic hardwood

We have thoroughly enjoyed finding the latest products to share with you, reporting on what’s hot and what’s not, sharing pictures of beautiful floors from around the world and more. We love hearing from you and writing about what you want to know -so keep the comments and questions coming!

Thanks for all of the support for a wonderful year and we look forward to another great one!

Have you had the opportunity to check out the Virtual Room Designer on the WFCA site? This tool currently allows you to choose a room: kitchen, bath, living room, dining room, bedroom or foyer that most resembles your room and you can change the floor covering from: ceramic tile, carpet, vinyl, hardwood, natural stone or laminate. From the comfort of your home or laptop, you have the power to see what large size tiles look like versus smaller size tiles, darker floors from lighter floors, wide hardwood planks to small hardwood planks and even change the direction of the flooring to see how you might like a patterned floor. This tool is very helpful when you can’t decide if a particular flooring style is for you or if you want to invest the extra money in a patterned floor.

The latest advancement that is coming soon to the Virtual Room Designer is the grout option. This option allows you not only to see what ceramic tile, porcelain tile or natural stone will look like in a room, but it can save you from making a HUGE grout mistake.

As a designer, I can tell you that crimes against grout are made daily. For example, some people think they need darker grout to hide dirt, when in fact all they need is grout sealer. This method will allow them to have stain protection while not sacrificing the look of the floor with the wrong color grout. Some people might think that a color like pink grout is needed to compliment the pink in their sofa – until they see it in the tile. With light colored tile and pink grout, the pink grout is all you usually end up seeing! Why go through the drama of the wrong colored grout when you can get an idea of what the final outcome will be right here.

If you haven’t tried the Virtual Room Designer, try it today. It’s free and can save you valuable time and money when it comes to making a flooring choice for your home. Stay tuned to the blog for an update when the grout option is available.

After you have found a floor that you are interested in, click here to find a floor store in your area. Other helpful tools on the site include: Free Decorating Ideas, a quiz to help you determine what styles you like, a workbook to save all of your favorites in, a tool to help you determine how much flooring you will need and how to place your furniture, frequently asked questions and answers and many more helpful design tools!

Click here for more information of choosing grout colors and changing grout colors.

Have you inherited a floor with oddly colored grout? Is your grout too gross to deal with? Did you make a grout choice that was a disastrous design decision? Have you accidentally tried to clean your grout with bleach and bleached the color out? Good news! The tile is difficult and expensive to replace, but you can change the whole look of a tile floor with new grout.

If you think you might like the color, but can’t tell what it originally started as:

• First, try cleaning the grout with grout cleaner. (not bleach, grout cleaner!)
• If the grout doesn’t come clean, you can try a professional steam cleaning company to clean the grout.

If you inherited a color that is just too difficult to deal with:

• Clean the grout first.
• From here, you could chisel the old grout out and install new grout, but you run the risk of chipping the tile. Once you chip the tile, it cannot be repaired. It then has to be replaced, which means you run the risk of installing a new tile that doesn’t match the original shade. (more…)

Getting new floor covering can be a major change in your home and installing new floor covering is no easy task. This should be left to a professional! Whether you are tackling the project yourself or hiring a professional, these are tips you will want to be aware of. Being aware of these misconceptions can help you have a smoother installation.

GENERAL INSTALLATION MISCONCEPTIONS

1. Once the installation is complete, there is no need to save leftover material. Leftover material is needed in case of repairs. Having the original material will ensure that your repair will be the same shade / dye lot as the original installation.
2. The installer will arrive on time and be completed as originally promised. Often, the installer will run into situations at another jobsite that require more time and attentio. Just remember that if it were your house, you would want the installer to take their time for a quality installation.
3. Floors can be installed in any weather. Some types of flooring cannot be installed in extreme heat or cold.
4. Floors can be installed in any stage of new construction. Some builders for example, prefer that tile be installed under the kitchen cabinets. So, this would need to be done earlier in the process. Since it is durable to dirt and traffic, it can be installed earlier. Carpet, on the other hand needs to be one of the very last items to be installed so that it doesn’t get abused before you move in! (more…)

GENERAL

• Installing flooring is easy. It’s actually a difficult and lengthy process that should be done by a professional
• Dark floors will make a room look smaller. Dark floors will not make a room look smaller unless the walls and other surroundings are also dark
• If I order more of the same product a year from now, it will look exactly the same. Products are made in different conditions and environments and cannot be expected to look the same after time has passed.
• It’s cheaper to install a less expensive product first and replace later down the road.The cost of product remova, furniture removal and replacement can make this statement untrue.

CARPET

• All carpet padding is the same. There are different grades and qualities of carpet padding with different life expectancies and warranties.
• When carpet is replaced, the pad doesn’t need to be replaced. Carpet pad helps determine how well your carpet wears. If your carpet pad is worn, you will not get the most wearability out of your carpet.
• Wool carpet isn’t worth the money because it will wear out. Wool carpet is the most durable and long lasting carpet available.
• If the label says it has built in stain protection it is protected from everything and maintenance is not required. This is intended to be stain resistant – not stain proof. Regular maintenance is still required.
• Will not fade. Carpet can fade if exposed to direct sunlight.
• The thicker the carpet, the better the quality.This is not always true. Ask you local retailer for more information when comparing products.
• Carpet will look the same or darker than the sample when installed. Since carpet samples tend to be relatively small, they don’t always appear the same as the large rolls that are installed.

HARDWOOD

• All hardwood is the same hardness. Hardwood has varying degrees of hardness.
• Hardwood is not a good choice for people with allergies. Hardwood is a great choice for people with allergies if kept well maintained.
• All oak floors are the same or if a wood floor looks the same on top, it is the same.The construction of the hardwood is where the quality comes in, not what you see on the top.
• Will not fade. Like other flooring materials, direct sunlight can fade hardwood floors.
• All hardwood can be cleaned with Murphy’s Oil Soap. Pre-finished hardwoods should not be cleaned with Murphy’s Oil Soap.

LAMINATE

• All laminate floors sound hollow and click when you walk on them. With the proper underlayment, laminate floors will not sound hollow or click when you walk on them.
• You can’t hurt a laminate floor. While laminate floors are very durable, they can scratch and gouge with misuse.
• Hardwood is better for a home with large dogs because it is harder. Laminate flooring can be more scratch resistant than some hardwoods making it more suitable for a home with dogs.

TILE

• Any tile can be installed outside.Tiles have a rating system that indicate how much water is absorbed. This determines if they can go outside or not. Most porcelain tiles and natural stones are suited for exterior applications.
• Tile has to be sealed. Tiles that have glazes or are through body do not have to be sealed.
• Small tiles are the only tiles that should go into small rooms. Larger tiles are well suited for small rooms, just as well as small tiles, depending on the desired design intent.
• All tiles floors are cold.Tile floors with radiant heat systems installed can be very warm and comfortable!
• The finish cannot be worn off of tile. Ceramic tiles that have glazed finishes can wear off with excessive traffic. Check the wear rating to see how much traffic a tile floor is designed for.
• Any size tile can be installed on a shower floor. Tile showers have to slope to drain water so the tiles have to be small enough to accommodate the slope.
• You can’t hurt a tile floor. Dropping heavy objects on the corners of tile floors can chip or crack the tiles. Dragging furniture without furniture protectors across a floor can scratch the finish of tile floors.
• Is not a good choice because if I drop a glass on it, it will break.
• Larger size tiles make a room look smaller.Larger tiles in a small room can visually increase the size of a room. Turning the tiles on the diagonal can make the room appear even larger.
• Grout colors look darker than the sample when installed . The sample chip and the actual product will look different because of lighting, shading and dye lot differences.

NATURAL STONE

• Stone tiles like granite or travertine cannot stain. Natural stone that is not sealed can stain.
• You can’t hurt a stone floor. Stone is a very strong material, but it can be damaged with misuse like improper maintenance or dragging furniture across the floor without furniture protectors.
• Is not a good choice because if I drop a glass on it, it will break. If you drop a glass from most any standing height, is going to break anyway.
• All travertine is the same grade. You get what you pay for! There are varying degrees of quality in natural stone. Lower quality travertine has holes in the back that make it less stable than travertine pieces with less or no filler in the back.
• Every piece will look the same. The beauty of natural stone is that each piece can be completely different.
• Vinegar is the best cleaner to use. Vinegar will actually permanently etch stone floors and is not a desirable cleaner.

VINYL/RESILIENT

• Patterns with grooves catch dirt that is difficult to remove. With new technologies in place, floors with detailed patterns are just as easy to clean as floors with no patterns.
• Furniture doesn’t need protectors on the bottom. Unprotected furniture bottoms can permanently tear vinyl floors.
• All floor cleaners are the same. Using the wrong cleaner can do permanent damage to your floors and even void your warranty.

Choosing the right grout color can change the way your whole tile project looks. The grout color helps tie in each tile to appear as one complete floor. The function of grout is to protect the edges of the tile from being chipped or cracked. When trying to choose a grout color, it is helpful to look at the sample on all four corners of the tile, preferably in the space where the tile will be installed. It is also helpful to place several different colors near the sample you are considering. This can easily help rule out some colors while making some colors a clearer choice.

When choosing a grout color, there are several different approaches you can take.

Blend – Choosing a grout color that compliments or almost matches the tile will make the floor look more even and uniform overall. In this case, the grout almost disappears. The way I look at it is, you paid for the tile and not the grout, so let the tile stand out instead of the grout. Don’t worry if the color doesn’t match exactly. As long as it blends and is in the same family, you are ok.

Contrast – Contrasting grout is sometimes a desired look, but will make the floor appeared more checkerboard. This is unavoidable when intentionally choosing a checkerboard pattern tile. When using a multicolored mosaic tile, you can’t possibly choose one color. In this case, a contrasting grout can simply serve as a neutral background. Choosing a specific color could change the overall color appearance of the mosaic.

Accent -With today’s popular styles of tile, they are no longer a solid color. This can make choosing grout a little bit more challenging. Often, these tiles have a lot of range of color. In this case, any color grout that matches or blends with the family of colors in the tile will look great. Sometimes, there will be a more solid color along the edges of the tile. In this case, you can choose to highlight or accent that color by choosing a grout color similar to the color along the edge. This will make that border more visible. Most of the time, it is more desirable to choose a color with in the color ranges of the tile rather than the color on the edge of the tile.

Another way to accent with grout is to intentionally use a color that is not in the floor tile, but perhaps the wall color. For example, a black and white checkerboard floor can have a deep red grout to compliment red walls or red accents in the room.

Things to consider:

• White grout can be bleached and should mostly be used only with pure white tiles
• Light colored grouts should be sealed in heavy traffic areas
• Darker colored grout hides more dirt
• Dark grout can fade from sunlight and harsh cleaners
• Sealing grout can help protect the color as well as provide protection from mold and mildew
• Epoxy grout keeps stains from penetrating the grout, more so than a sealer and does not need to be reapplied. It’s great for countertops.
• Faded or discolored grout is not ruined. It can be re-stained.
• Different grouts are needed for different jobs. Unsanded grout is used for smaller grout joints such as natural stone joints. Sanded grout is used for normal and larger grout joints. Mexican tile or Saltillo has special grout for it’s larger than normal grout joints. Your flooring professional will guide you on what to use. For DIY projects, check the back of the bag for more specific instructions.
• Areas where a tiled surface meets a perpendicular surface should be caulked and not grouted. This may require you (not the tile setter) to recaulk annually in areas like the where the wall tile meets the bath tub or where the countertop meets the backsplash.
• It is always a good idea to keep grout from the original installation in case of repair. Grout from a later batch might not match exactly. If a repair happens and your new grout doesn’t match, remember you always have the option of staining the whole floor to a uniform color.

For more posts on grout, click here.