This customer from Chorley asked me to call round to clean-up their kitchen wall tiles. The tiles were ceramic and formed the splashback behind the kitchen units, so they experienced a lot of splashing from the worktop. Those directly behind the sink and gas hob were subject to very heavy use and were quite badly soiled.
Rather than being glazed these Ceramic tiles had the sort of rough riven surface you find on slate which looked interesting but had the side effect of trapping dirt more easily. Installed with the kitchen over ten years ago my customer was now very unhappy with the state of the backsplash tiles and especially the grout which had darkened. They had tried everything to clean them up including lots of household cleaners, including Bleach and Flash to name a few, but nothing had helped. Grease and grime can be particularly difficult to remove especially from grout and most cleaners will not do the job.
I went to have a look at the problem myself and completed a test clean on a section of the tile and grout. By the time I had finished the grout looked white again the tiles much lighter in colour. Although I had only popped round to provide a quote for the work the customer was so happy with the result of the test clean it was agreed I complete the whole backsplash there and then.
Cleaning a Ceramic Tiled Kitchen Splashback
The method I used was to spray the tiles using neat Tile Doctor Remove and Go mixed with Tile Doctor Grout Clean-Up to create a very strong tile and grout cleaner. This was applied and allowed to soak in for a short while, then the tiles and grout were steam cleaned and hand scrubbed. I removed the now dirty cleaning residue with a wet vacuum and then wiped the tiles down. The effect was immediate. Ceramic tiles are sealed at the factory so there is no need to apply a sealant however its always worth sealing the grout which is easily done using a wall tile and grout aerosol sealer.
The method worked well, the tiles were lovely and clean, and the grout looked new. We had a great result which the customer was really happy with and left the following feedback.
“Fantastic job! Tiles look as though they are new. I am so happy with it”
Moving forward I suggested they ensured that spills were cleaned up immediately and that they used the Tile Doctor Aqua-Pro Cleaner to keep on top of the tile and grout cleaning. Although primarily sold for bathroom tile cleaning it works equally as well in the kitchen. This will prevent the built up they had experienced, but of course they now know where to find us, so can always let us know when they next need a deep clean!
Source: Cleaning of Ceramic Tiled Kitchen Splashback in South Lancashire