Stone and Tile Care

By Dane Gregory

October 13, 2010

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One of the best ways to improve your company economy is to offer additional services to your customers, and one of the most profitable additional services is tile and stone care.

Many customers do not know enough about maintaining tile, stone and grout and are looking for professional help.

Upgrades in the tile care equipment manufacturing business give professionals more options than ever to choose tools that will cut time and improve the quality of the cleaning result.

Tools of the trade

One of the most common tools for tile care is the spinning jet tool for grout cleaning. Twin water jets spin under a plastic dome to allow pressure to blast out soil from tile, grout and stone surfaces.

The technology is also offered in a hand tool for walls and vertical surfaces. One of the biggest misconceptions about these tools is the pressure needed to accomplish the cleaning action.

Professionals are told to use a minimum of 800 to 1000 pounds per square inch (psi) to allow the jets to spin rapidly, causing the cleaning action to take place. The major problem with this information is for grout channels where the grout is weak, chipped or missing. Pressure that high will cause more grout to vacate the premises.

One option we explore in the IICRC Stone, Masonry and Tile (SMT) class is to think of your spinning jet tool as a cleaning tool, for when the grout is sturdy, and a rinsing tool for when the grout is compromised in any way.

Using more detergent based cleaning, along with appropriate agitation, can loosen up the embedded soils that can be flushed away, with much less pressure and keep the compromised grout in the channel where it belongs.

Beyond cleaning

Other new products that are real money-makers in the hard surface arena are the new abrasive pads to hone and polish stone surfaces.

Usually limited to softer stone, like limestone, travertine and marble, they can repair minor scratches and refresh dull areas on polished flooring materials, restoring the beauty of the stone.

These pads are the real deal. They make much less of a mess than abrasive powder, and do not need the same knowledge depth of the traditional diamond pads.

Carpet cleaning professionals can feel very comfortable with using these pads after a little practice, and can find ways to improve their financial position by removing minor scratches, etches and overall dull appearance.

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If you are looking for different ideas to foster better relationships with customers, contact Dane Gregory. He is a business consultant and trainer specializing in working with companies in the professional cleaning industry. He currently trains technicians in the use of cleaning protocols for stone, tile and masonry surfaces for IICRC certification. He also presents a consulting program for industry veterans as well as newcomers in the cleaning industry to help their company''s reach the next level of success. He can be contacted at dane.gregory@charter.net.