Snow Summer's List: Chemistry at Home

• Mildewed caulk and grout in tubs and showers often resist bleach and other cleaners.  Why?  Because the mildew is growing inside the caulk or grout !  The only way to fully eliminate it is to remove the old caulk and replace it with a mildew-resistant caulk designed for bathrooms.  Ditto for the grout, except you should replace it with a latex-fortified grout.  These newer grouts are much less porous than old style cement grouts and more strongly resist mildew!

• Sulfamic and phosphoric acids are the safest and most used acids used in solving tile and grout cleaning problems. These two acids have very specific mixing and application recommendations that must be followed to the letter.

   

  Regardless, thoroughly rinse the cleaned area, dry, and polish.

• Removing the grout

   

  The grout-removal process is simple, but messy. Before you start, remove everything from the bathroom you don't want full of grit, and tape a sheet of plastic over the doorway to separate the work area from the rest of the house.

   

  Cover the tub or shower with a drop cloth so that you don't grind the grit into the tub and damage the finish. Wear a dust mask and eye protection.

   

  Once the grout has been removed, clean up the debris. Using a solution of phosphoric acid, rinse the tiles (caution: wear rubber gloves and don't let the phosphoric acid get on the shower glass).

• Don't use acid just for cleaning the joints!! Acid should be used for one reason, and one reason only-- and that's cleaning excess grout haze off the face of the tile after initially grouting the tile, and even then that's only IF it's needed!! I can't remember the last time I used acid on a floor!!
   
   For giving your grout joints a good stiff cleaning, mix up a solution of oxyclean-- about double the concentration they suggest on the side of the container. Use a scrub brush to agitate the joints, and once you've scrubbed them down pretty well, use s shop-vac to suck up the dirty solution. Then do the same thing again, but with clear hot water. Again, suck it up with a shop-vac. You'll see a huge improvement. The reason for the sop-vac is that a mop will just push alot of the dirt back into the joints. The vacumn will pick it right up.
• oxyclean does work but you do have to agitate it and let it sit FOREVER.
   
   For white grout, i use diluted bleach and let dwell a few minutes.
• You must understand that none of the acids have any effect what-so-ever on soil or dirt (if you will) or any kind of stains or oils or any topical contaminate for that matter.
   
   The acids go after Portland cement. That's what they do. They are designed to attack the chemical makeup of Portland cement. Yes they may have a cleaning effect but at the same time what they are really doing is DESTROYING THE GROUT. They are lifting good grout to get to more grout and taking away the stain in the process.
   
   To think that these acids are some kind of a miracle drug to be used at the drop of a hat is a big mistake. It damages the grout and in some cases can damage the tile and in more cases can damage your health.
   
   HELL NO!! Don't use acid just for cleaning the grout joints.
• The phosphoric doesn't attack the cementious substance like muriatic does. It is much more mild. It is being sold as "tile grout cleaner".
• I hope this clears it up-you can start with a mild cleaner, such as vinegar to remove dirt and stains. Phosphoric acid can be used to remove stubborn stains. Hydrochloric or muriatic acid won't do any good whatsoever on dirt or stains.
• i would never use muriatic acid. but... if you use the phosphoric, still use a respirator.
• If you use acid too many times, you start to burn the grout joint, and sooner or later, the grout will begin to powder out.

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• The reason I "lobby" against the muriatic acid as a recommendation in the forums is because it's so destructive. If someone isn't fully versed in its use it's a dangerous proposition, especially for residential use, and even more importantly, when it's an already occupied residence. Just the fumes are enough to ruin most metal finishes, not to mention what they can do to pets, etc.. So I stand by what I said. Yes, muriatic acid will clean up most efflourescence problems. But at what cost, if the user doesn't know what they're doing?