Problem Floors
It's not too uncommon for there to be more than one grout color in the same floor. If there has ever been any grout or tile repair work done, quite often the person doing the repair matches the grout color closely to what color is visible at the time. More times than not, they are matching to dirty grout. This occurs more often in natural stone installations, where smaller grout joints and non-sanded grout makes grout repair more common. After we remove all the dirt and sealers from the floor, you may be left with different colored grout. All these pictures were taken from the same floor.
The solution is to stain the discolored grout to closely match the original color of the grout. After the floor has beed stripped and cleaned of all dirt and previous sealers, the grout can be stained, and the floors can be re-sealed. Looks better than new !
Tape marks on saltillo tile floors are fairly common too. The problem with taping to saltillo floors, (or any other type of floor that has been sealed with a topical sealer) is that the bond between the tape and the sealer is often stronger than the bond between the sealer and the floor. When the tape is removed, the sealer is ripped from the floor as it remains stuck to the tape. In some cases, where stronger tape is used, the surface of the tile is also removed and will require stripping and or sanding to blend away the imperfection.
This situation is double trouble. The rosin paper was not only taped to the floor, but while it was in place, it became wet. The paper absorbed the water, but when it dried, it too became stuck to the floor. It essentially became one big piece of tape. This also can produce damage to the floors finish.
Soaking the tape with water before removing it may help, but that's no guarantee there will be no damage. The only real solution is to NOT apply ANY tape to your floors! If you must cover your floor, tape it to the baseboards.
These pictures reflect an installation gone bad. These tiles were soaked in water before installing them in an effort to keep the grout from absorbing into the tile during the grouting procedure. This process leaves too much moisture in the tile. These tiles were also sealed the same day they were grouted. This is a common occurance when the tile setters seal the tiles themselves. Saltillo, or any other porus tile, must be 100% free of moisture BEFORE sealing. Sometimes this may take a couple of weeks to be completely dry. The installer just wants to finish the job so he can get paid. That means your floor gets sealed before it's dry. This traps all that moisture in the tile. While this is an extreme case of trapped moisture, a lesser case will appear to have a cloudy, dull, or streaky appearance. The sealer will eventually start to peel off. The cost to have a floor completely stripped and re-sealed can be 3- 4 times that of the the cost to properly clean and seal the same floor from the beginning. Moisture damaged can also be caused by leaks, floods, cracks in your grout or in the understructure of the tile, or cleaning with chemical that are too strong for the sealer to withstand.
It is true that saltillo tiles need to be protected from dirty grout water, but this can be accomplished at a minimal cost to the installer by pre-sealing the entire floor area with penetrating sealer only, prior to grouting. If you are having saltillo or natural stone installed, make sure your installer has lots of experience with those types of floors. They are not the same as ceramic or porcelain tile. California Tile Sealers specializes in tile and natural stone cleaning, sealing and restoration ONLY. We do not do any installations. We leave that to the professionals.
Most baseboards are made from real wood or MDF. (medium density fiberboard) MDF is essentially shredded cardboard that is compressed under high pressure to form base and other molding. This material is extremely absorbent. After installation, base molding is painted with either semi or high gloss paint, which will protect it from moisture absorption. The problem is that the bottom of the molding, where it touches the floor, is left without protection. If the gap between the molding and the floor is not filled with caulking, water can get under it. Because the MDF is so absorbent, it will act like a wick, drawing moisture upwards. This will cause the MDF to swell and the finish to peel. As you can see, this base molding was protected with water resistant plastic tape, however; because of the gap, the molding was still damaged by moisture.
If your base molding is not caulked to the floor dont worry, this is a relatively simple process. A few tubes of white latex caulking and a Saturday afternoon will take care of it. If you have not yet installed your base molding, ask the installer to do the caulking for you. This will reduce the risk of moisture damage. As an added precaution, have them paint the bottoms of the molding too. Have this done at least a week prior to having your floors done. Real wood base molding is not as absorbent, and has less problems with moisture.
Travertine or other natural stone floors that have have been sealed with a clear topical sealer, is usually the result of a homeowner that didn't want to incur the expense of having their floors professionally diamond polished. Other times, a professional floor person is hired, but they are not familiar with the diamond polishing procedure. Both end up just applying a shiny sealer "over" the stone instead of making the stone itself shiny. This is a problem because most natural stone is too dense to allow this type of sealer to absorb "into" the surface, and merely sits "on " the surface. The sealer is very easily scratched off. Slate and flagstone are a couple exceptions to this rule. Once again, the cost to have the topical sealer stripped off and properly diamond polished is far greater than if it was done properly in the first place.
If you want your travertine or other natural stone floors more shiny, it makes more sense to have them diamond polished. The quality of the shine will be much "cleaner", and it will not scratch off. Then your floors can cand be properly sealed with the recommended type of sealer, (impregnator) which will allow the stone to breathe. In the long run, it is more cost effective, looks better, and it is better for your stone.
This is another somewhat common problem on floors sealed with a topical sealer. It is basically the same as the tape on the floor situation. The rubber backing becomes stuck to the floor over time. When the rug or mat is picked up, the sealer stays stuck to the rubber, and is ripped from the floor. In the case of a foam backer, the foam is ripped from the back of the carpet and is left on the floor. In either case, completely stripping the floor is the only way to remove the damage. In some cases, the black rubber bleeds it's color into the surface of the tile, and is very difficult to remove.
Try to avoid foam or rubber backed rugs or mats. If your rug or mat has a rubber or foam backing, place a cloth backer between the floor and the mat.
Both of these floors were sealed with a clear coat sealer the same day they were grouted. All of this work was performed by the tile installer. While a tile installer might have the newest, most technologically advanced tile saw or cutting tools, their cleaning and sealing equipment usually consists of a broom, maybe a mop, and some rags or sponges. What's clean to most tile installers, is not clean to California Tile Sealers. While the jobs shown below are no-brainers, even a slight amount of dirt or grout residue left on the tile prior to sealing, will inhibit the sealers ability to absorb into the surface properly. Once the sealer has been compromised, your floors are left looking bad and without proper protection.
The solution here is simple.... Have your floors installed by a professional installer, and have them cleaned and sealed by someone who specializes in cleaning and sealing. This will produce a much better result, and will save you the frustration and costs of stripping and re-sealing. California Tile Sealers specializes in tile and natural stone cleaning, sealing and restoration ONLY. We do not do any installations. We leave that to the professionals.
Tile spacers are small rubber X's the are designed to help tile installers get a consistant grout joint width. They come in different sizes to accommodate different size grout joints. They are supposed to be removed after the mortar is cured and before grouting. This is not the case here. This tile setter left the spacers in the grout joints. This caused the grout to come out where there was a spacer during the cleaning process. There is only a thin film of grout over the spacer instead of the grout going all the way down to the mortar. As you can see, there is no way to tell before cleaning whether or not the spacers were removed. You can only hope that the installer was competent.
I immediately reported this to the homeowner after the first area was cleaned, but there was nothing I could do to remedy the situation. I was told to continue, and the homeowner was going to have the original tile setter back to re-grout afterwards. If you are having tile installed at your home, make sure that your tile setter doesn't leave their spacers in the floor.