Grout Sealing

Keeping your tile floors clean over the years, and preserving that freshly cleaned look can be a struggle. Mopping and sweeping the floors can help, but over time the grout lines will begin to hold soils again and will tend to look dirty over time. Even after a thorough Tile Cleaning, the grout lines are left porous and unprotected to future soiling.

This is why, at Decker's Carpet Cleaning, we recommend following every tile and grout cleaning with professional grout sealing. Having your grout professionally cleaned and sealed every 3-5 years is not only a great long term solution to protect your investment in your tile floors, but also a great way to help keep your tile looking good between cleanings.

It is important to keep in mind that your tile floors must be freshly cleaned, or newly installed to apply a grout sealer. This is to ensure proper application of the sealer, and to make sure no soils are sealed in to the grout lines. If you are looking for a Tile Cleaning and sealing, you can read more about that on our Tile And Grout Cleaning page.

Sealing the grout lines after a tile cleaning is something that many people can overlook, or think is an unnecessary expense. This could not be further from the truth. It is not only better for the long term integrity of the floors, but can end up saving you money!

How It Works:

Grout is porous. This means that over time, it will hold dirt, grime, oil, soil, bacteria and all sorts of other gross stuff. Mopping the floor helps remove some of the surface soils, but allows wet soils to sink deeper into the grout lines. Any un-rinsed residue can attract soils and quickly cause the floor to appear stained.

Grout Sealer works by, essentially, making the grout lines less porous and stopping the penetration of dirt and soils into the grout lines. This makes it easier to mop up soils and spills, and helps yield better results with each professional cleaning. This process is done through the use of a clear, invisible sealer applied to the grout lines. In some cases, we may recommend a Grout Recoloring, aslo known as a color seal for more heavily soiled or permanently stained grout lines.

When looking to protect your tile floors, there are a lot of options available. We use Saiger's Super Sealer, a solvent-based protector with flourinated-polymer technology that does not affect the appearance or feel of your tile or grout. This sealer is clear and invisible, and is carefully applied to only the grout lines of your tile floors. This is because it is not necessary to seal the tiles themselves as they are not porous. This goes for ceramic and porcelain tiles. If you have travertine, or other natural stone tile floors, you can read more about cleaning and sealing natural stone here.

In contrast, there are many products you can buy in stores that use a different method to seal the tile and grout. Many of these sealers , which we refer to as "topical sealers" merely coat the tile and grout in a waxy substance that forms a barrier between the tile and the outside world. This method does give the tiles a certain "shine" to them, however they are damaging to the integrity of your tile floors. Over time, the dirt and soils will collect in the wax causing the appearance of stained grout lines and dirty tiles. This wax can begin to flake up through the traffic patterns of the house, leaving your tile floors looking patchy with dirt and soils. The wax cannot be removed through a standard tile cleaning and in many cases must be removed with a wax stripper before cleaning can begin. We do not recommend the use of topical sealers applied by yourself or by another tile cleaner for ceramic, porcelain, travertine, marble or any natural stone tiles.

We have been cleaning and sealing tile and grout since 2011 in the Kingwood and greater Houston area and have over 650 reviews from your neighbors. You can trust the skilled technicians at Decker's Carpet Cleaning to properly address any tile and grout sealing situation with the correct products and proven application methods. Call us today for a Free Estimate!.