I recently had a service come to clean my tile floors. They informed me that the alkaline wash they would use would not get the tile completely clean and that I needed a $75 acid wash in addition. They said that especially in kitchens, grease from the stove builds up on the tile. The acid wash is the best way to get rid of the grease. I said no thank you to the added fees and decided to try the acid wash myself.
I did a little research and found I had everything I needed to do an acid wash. Since we have a pool, I had muriatic acid on hand. I use it to clean our filter cartridge, so I always have a bottle laying around. If you don't have a bottle, it can be purchased at any pool supply store. Also I found that there are lower fume versions (like the one above) available. I can't speak for how well they work, but they would be safer.
I mixed the muriatic acid in a 3 to 1 ratio with water. Then I sponged it heavily on my tile and let it do its work for 5 minutes. Then, using plain water in my Hoover floor machine, I rinsed the floor and sucked up the acid wash. The floors and grout looked amazing. Mine were so bad, there are a few places where I need to do a second wash, but overall the tile looked great and there was no apparent harm to my floor machine. I did very little scrubbing and yet the tile was sparkling.
You have to have the house well ventilated as the acid puts out some nasty fumes. Do not try this without having the windows open and wearing rubber gloves is a good plan as well.
If you practice a little safety precautions, I think this is something that you can certainly do on your own and save a bunch in cleaning bills.
I mixed the muriatic acid in a 3 to 1 ratio with water. Then I sponged it heavily on my tile and let it do its work for 5 minutes. Then, using plain water in my Hoover floor machine, I rinsed the floor and sucked up the acid wash. The floors and grout looked amazing. Mine were so bad, there are a few places where I need to do a second wash, but overall the tile looked great and there was no apparent harm to my floor machine. I did very little scrubbing and yet the tile was sparkling.
You have to have the house well ventilated as the acid puts out some nasty fumes. Do not try this without having the windows open and wearing rubber gloves is a good plan as well.
If you practice a little safety precautions, I think this is something that you can certainly do on your own and save a bunch in cleaning bills.
