Frequently Asked Questions
Over the years we have been asked many tile and grout cleaning questions by our customers, some of which we have published here. If you did not get an answer to a question from one of our other pages maybe you will find it here. If not feel free to call us or E-mail us and we would be more than happy to answer it.
General Questions About "Dirty Grout"
YES, our Company name is DIRTY GROUT® which is our also our specialty. DIRTY GROUT® is a registered Florida Dept. Of State fictitious name or dba (doing business as) and is a division of Smart Maid LLC. a Florida Corporation.
The DIRTY GROUT® name, logos and all slogans are licensed and registered Service/Trademarks with all rights reserved. The DIRTY GROUT Company was founded in 2001 and is NOT a franchise.
YES, we are fully licensed and insured with the following coverages; Business Liability, Workmen’s Compensation and Commercial Vehicle policies.
Our Cerificates of Insurance and Business Tax License are available at any time for our customers review as well as present on every jobsite. We encourage customers to examine our documents.
YES, all of our employees are full time, drug screened, fully trained and uniformed. We do NOT sub-contract any of our services nor do we utilize any temporary daily laborers.
NO, we are often mistaken to be a franchise but we are NOT. Many people get this impression by our consistent use of our logos, advertising, truck lettering, uniforms, large area we service and overall organizational appearance.
We service all Sarasota, Charlotte, Desoto, Lee and Collier Counties.
NO! NO!, We have been in business since 2001 and have NOT had any complaints or judgements against us. We encourage our customers to check with Better Business Bureau or Florida Consumer Affairs to verify.
NO! NO! We are often mistaken to be these people who are advertising illegally on public property and right of ways. We have complained to these specific counties Code Enforcement Departments and have been told it is a CODE VIOLATION which is laxed in enforcement.
These advertisers are not licenced nor are they a registered business. We were further advised that public employees (Code Enforcement) personnel travel in county vehicles removing these signs daily and repeat the process the next day after the same advertisers place new signs overnight.
Another example of our tax dollars hard at work! We recently posed a question to the Code Enforcement personnel regarding this illegal and cheap advertising. We asked what action would be taken if we advertised in this manner? The answer we received was “WE WILL SUSPEND YOUR BUSINESS LICENSE”.
YES! We encourage our potential customers to request references and speak with some of our customers. As you can see on the right side of each page within our site you will find numerous verified customer reviews and ratings.
The ratings and reviews you see are from independent websites and not under our control. Our Customers have proven to be our best advertisement. 58% of our business comes from them.
NO, we do not require or accept deposits for any reason nor will we accept any partial payments during the course of performing services. We get get paid when the services are completed.
We currently accept check or cash.
YES, we do move furniture and rugs within reason and do not charge any additional fees. We will not move furniture that contains breakables inside or on top of. We do not disassemble any furniture in order to move it nor move anything that appears to be unstable in nature.
In addition we do not unplug any electronic equipment (example ; TV’s, Cable Boxes, Sound Surrounds systems, speakers, computers, etc.). At the time of your Free estimate and scheduling for service we will discuss with you any issues if any regarding furniture movement.
In most cases we will begin our services at the farthest rooms from our point of entry and work our way out. For your safety, your restriction of movement would apply only to the immediate area (room) we are servicing.
We ask that you please perform the following:
- Remove all small objects from any furniture that will be moved.
- Empty any cabinets that will be moved containing breakables.
- Clear your tiled closet floors of any items if they are to be serviced .
- We will need access to wall electric outlets during servicing and ask that you remove any air fresheners containing oils and store them in a safe place to avoid leakage.
Tile and Grout Cleaning Questions
YES, our methods have been proven the safest process in the industry. Unlike many of our competitors, we do NOT utilize any form of pressurized cleaning methods that can potentially damage your floors.
Grout is porous and extremely fragile material and can easily be damaged during pressurized cleaning. When the pressurized process is used it can loosen or blow out the entire grout joint. Often grout joints have a slight crack or separation between the grout and tile edge these will be the first to go.
This type of pressurized cleaning is common with carpet cleaning firms that offer tile and grout cleaning as a secondary service. Always ask what type cleaning method will be used on your floors. Your floors are an expensive asset to your home and should not be put at risk just to clean them.
YES, during our cleaning process all areas close to baseboard molding carpet or wood flooring bordering tile will be carefully cleaned by hand. Carpet and wood flooring bordering tile will also be covered.
YES, any flooring areas whether they be carpet, wood or other material that we must cross, will be covered with plastic runners prior to the cleaning process. Regardless of the distance between rooms it is our standard policy NOT to walk on any floor we are not servicing without protection.
In most cases the cleaning agents we use will not harm appliances but we do not take any risks especially in the case of stainless steel. We have pre-cut plastic coverings which will be used to cover appliances before the cleaning process.
In almost all cases including grout re-coloring you will be walking on your floors by the time we complete the service. If there are any resrictions we will advise you, but this is rare.
There is a good chance that within tile tile grain/texture you may have some cured grout residue. This residue is porous and will attract and hold dirt.
This condition dates back to when the floor was grouted and sponged to smooth and level the grout. Afterwhich not all the grout was removed from the tile grain during final cleaning and is now trapped in the grain.
The Solution
The remedy is chemical machine scrubbing of the tile surface during which some or most of this residue will be removed. This residue is cured cement and 100% may not be removed.
You may have the same problem as the customer in the above question. Please refer back to the previous question and answer.
The most common reason for the film is a build up of cleaning agents that have been used during routine cleaning. This build up is like soap scum in your shower.
Your floor may even appear darker because of this film. The remedy is chemical machine scrubbing (stripping) of the tile to remove the film and restore the tiles finish and color.
With each service we perform we will furnish written cleaning instructions and suggestions to avoid this condition in the future.
We are running into this situation very frequently and have serviced hundreds of foreclosed homes this year in the same condition. Our cleaning process will clean, strip and sanitize the tiles. The tiles will be restored to the condition they were when they came out of the box.
Our grout cleaning process will bring whatever is creating the odors to the surface and it will be removed. In addition the grout will be completely sanitized of all soiling, bacteria and mold. With this condition we pay special attention to the baseboards and the grout below them which is often near where pets have their accidents.
Rest assured after servicing your floors they will be clean and sanitized and no longer the source for the odors.
This is a common question and the answer is NO. If you have a matte finish tile don’t try to make it something it is not, you will be sorry. Sealing tile surfaces applies more to natural stone or Mexican clay tiles which are porous.
If you apply gloss sealer to ceramic or other none porous tiles it will not bond properly and will lift in some areas. The first areas that will show signs of lifting will be the high traffic areas. Next any areas in which furniture is moved such as kitchen chairs which will show scuff, scrapes and wear.
The final disaster is after a short time the floors will begin to darken and look dirty. Visit our photo gallery to see a good example of what sealing tiles can look like both before and after stripping.
The only remedy for this situation is complete tile and grout stripping which is a bit more expensive than just cleaning the tile.
What you have is called residual grout haze. The dusty looking film is cured grout that was not totally removed after the floor was grouted.
As explained earlier grout is cement and often not easily removed. We conduct this type service often (stripping of grout haze) for homeowners, tile installers and builders.
Care should be taken as to the type of chemical used in removing this haze. We often hear that the floor requires “acid washing”. Depending on the type of acid used you can damage and or permanently change the color of the grout.
We accomplish this service without the use of any acids on a regular basis without harm to the grout or tile. We have even seen grout damaged by the use of vinegar. For example we have seen white grout permanently discolored to yellow and dark browns turning white.
This was caused by utilizing strong acids and or not thoroughly rinsing (neutralizing) the acid. We have even seen where the grout became soft to the point that you could scrape it out with your fingernail.