[heritagecleaning]

I have to do a one-off of some badly neglected washrooms. All the tiles are black and grimy, as is the grout betweeen them.

Can anyone recommend a good product for the job or any cleaning tips?

Many thanks


Owen

[Bertie Boo]

I have to do a one-off of some badly neglected washrooms. All the tiles are black and grimy, as is the grout betweeen them.

Can anyone recommend a good product for the job or any cleaning tips?

Many thanks


Owen

Well i know what i would do (but then i can as i'm my own boss  )

Ventilate the room drastically, then clean with cream cleanser, rinse, and then get out the bleach... you must work in small patches but there is nothing else that is really gonna work on grout as it is matt and so very porus...

I know this answer is very un-politically correct so i'll go now...

Bertie

[dg-cleaning]

kim and aggie always bang on about bicarbonate soda and lemon juice for white tiles and dirty grout.

[Neil-MDC]

i have used a hand held steam  cleaner which works good, i bought it new for £35.

Neil

[Art]

Ventilate the room drastically, then clean with cream cleanser, rinse, and then get out the bleach... you must work in small patches but there is nothing else that is really gonna work on grout as it is matt and so very porus...

I know this answer is very un-politically correct so i'll go now...

Bertie

Bertie,if i was you i'd ditch the bleach. It's an insurance claim waiting to happen and if it gets accidently mixed with some other toilet cleaners you could end up with major problems.
Some insurance companies will not pay out if a claim has anything to do with bleach.

[Bertie Boo]

Ventilate the room drastically, then clean with cream cleanser, rinse, and then get out the bleach... you must work in small patches but there is nothing else that is really gonna work on grout as it is matt and so very porus...

I know this answer is very un-politically correct so i'll go now...

Bertie

Bertie,if i was you i'd ditch the bleach. It's an insurance claim waiting to happen and if it gets accidently mixed with some other toilet cleaners you could end up with major problems.
Some insurance companies will not pay out if a claim has anything to do with bleach.

Hi art

Yes, but i work alone, if i had staff then you can be sure that bleach would not exist in my cleaning bucket.

You are right though. I'd never let anyone else do it (other than the customer if they wanted too lol...)

Bertie

[Robert Parry]

Lone trader or worker, working with bleach, probably mixing it with other chems as well, accident or even death waiting to happen!

Being self employed does not excuse you from adhering to H & S Bertie ever!!!

Regards,

Rob

[Prestige1]

2 very good cleaners for this job is bleach and lime scale remover, but if you mix them you get chlorine gas, the stuff the Germans used in the first world war that collapses the lungs.

You won't go far wrong if you use "Bar keepers friend" it will do the job with a bit of Life guides lime scale remover.
good luck. Phil

[Bertie Boo]

Lone trader or worker, working with bleach, probably mixing it with other chems as well, accident or even death waiting to happen!

Being self employed does not excuse you from adhering to H & S Bertie ever!!!

Regards,

Rob

Rob

Do you mind drawing my attention to the bit where i suggested it was mixed with other cleaning products?

I do have the brains, the understanding, and the training, to know that bleach can cause too many problems if not used correctly or indeed accidently.

But when i clean for people i know where i've used it, where i've put it down afterwards, and know i havent mixed it. You can say what you want, i wont change my mind because as a product it is dirt (forgive the pun) cheap, it works, and it saves a hell of a lot of time.

Rest assured i am not the sort who squirts it about willy-nilly, and i can promise if ever i do have staff working with me it will be the first thing to go.

Cheers

Stephen

[The Great One]

Hi

Yep, bar keepers friend, excellent gear and cheap as chips, about £3.50 from the local hardware store.

It comes as a powder, bit of water, scourer, and leave for a couple of mins, wash off, maybe need to repeat, buff up with window cleaner and kitchen towel (soaks up and left over product and dirt)

I have salvaged many a bath, cooker and tiles with this great product.

Regards

Martin

Also Viakal, excellent kit, use it on student cleans religiously, never fails me.

[Robert Parry]

Stephen,

You stated that you would first clean the tiles with a cream cleanser, then rinse, then bleach.

You already mentioned that you would bin the bleach when you are in a position to employ people, is your health less of a concern to you than your staff's?

There are more effective products on the market, perhaps not as cheap, but certainly less harmful that you should consider, and I do wonder what training course still uses bleach in its chemical armoury, in my own personal experience, no course has advocated the use of bleach for the last 10 yrs.

The cleaning procedure would also differ between walls and floors, the type of tile involved, the real colour of the grouting etc.

Also Art is quite correct, lots of insurance policies state clearly that bleach is not to be used.

Regards,

Rob

[Bertie Boo]

Hi Rob

Sorry, i think you misunderstood me, when i say training this was my BICs stage one where the subject of mixing cleaning products (or importance of not doing so, and not specifically bleach) was discussed. There was no training that involved bleach.

But like i said before, it is my choice and its (part) of what i use. The reason i said i would not use it if i had staff was not for health reasons (though of course  if they DID mix it that would be serious) but because i would not trust anyone else to be as careful with it as i myself am (spillages etc).

It is a point i am willing to agree to differ on.

Bertie

[heritagecleaning]

Martin

Thanks for the advice, which was what I was after, not an argument about bleach which seems to have hijacked my thread!

Cheers


Owen

[Bertie Boo]

Martin

Whats the difference between an argument and a discussion on an internet forum?

Who knows? Who can tell?

Thing is, we dont have the luxury of seeing body language or hearing tone when posting messages, so it isnt fair to interpret things as negativly as we may THINK they are being meant. I didnt see this as an argument.

And i know you were looking for advice, which is why i took the time to offer you some at the start.

This isnt an argument either, i'm telling it like it is 

Cheers

Bertie

[The Great One]

Hi

Why is your post addressed to me?

I think you maybe meant to address Owen?

I just gave advice, if you don't agree with any advice I give over anything, that's fine, I only tell what I use on a daily basis on my EOT cleans and student lets (physically shivers!), for the past 4 years.

People have a choice to either use it or not.

Owen let us know how it all works out for you, whatever you use?

Regards

Martin

[Bertie Boo]

oops martin, yes, very sorry, i did mean Owen.

Good job (for me!) you could tell that.

Sorry again

Bertie

[heritagecleaning]

Thanks everyone

I have ordered some of the Bar Keepers Friend powder. I'll also take some de-scaler with me and some bleach too - I'll try it all and see what works best.

Personally I don't see the problem with bleach as long as you understand some of the basic chemistry behind cleaning / cleaning products. For anyone who's interested, here's the bleach and toilet cleaner problem:

NaOCl + 2HCl = NaCl + H2O + Cl2

Soduim Hypochlorite (bleach) + Hydrochloric acid (which is in toilet cleaner) = Salt + Water + Chlorine gas!


Cheers


Owen