Acid Washing Tile

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. 

Stained Glass Mosaic Stepping Stone

I took a class on how to make a stained glass mosaic stepping stone at our local stained glass store, Anything Goes With Glass. I had a Groupon so that I could afford the class. I took the class with a friend's daughter who is an amazing artist (no pressure for me!)

They provided a pre-cut stained glass focal for us. I chose a flower and they also provided a center glass stone for the project. This is how they get rid of their glass scrap pieces. They had all sorts of types of glass. I decided on an abstract pattern (the only one in the class who did this - I just didn't want to be compared to the artist next to me.) We selected glass and glued our pieces onto a concrete stepping stone. You have to be careful that none of the glass extends beyond the edges, otherwise when someone steps on it, it can crack and break off.

We went to lunch while the glue dried. When we returned it was time to grout. We were given black grout for the project. I was glad I chose primarily light-colored glass because it really pops with the dark grout. We were shown how to mix the grout to the consistency of thick frosting. We applied it to the glass with a grout float and spread it evenly across the glass. We then wiped the excess off with a damp rag. We got the final haze off the glass with an eraser (which works really great to shine up the glass).

I used grout sealer when I got home so that the stepping stone would be weatherproof. I was pleased with the final product. If you haven't tried mosaic, it is really fun and rewarding.