Commercial properties often overlook the importance of bathrooms. A messy bathroom can reflect poorly on both the professionalism and professionalism of property managers as well as tenants. Particularly important for commercial retail areas is a clean and tidy bathroom. Customers are less likely to return to shops or commercial properties that have unsanitary, unclean, or visually unappealing bathrooms.
Commercial restrooms often have grout and tile floors that are subject to a lot use. These can cause stains to appear on the tiles and discolor the grout lines. It is important to clean them properly so that stains are not allowed to set in the grout and tile. This will give your commercial property’s bathrooms that professional look you expect.
It can be difficult to maintain a bathroom’s grout and tile floors. Let’s take an in-depth look at what you can do to maintain the restroom floors on commercial properties.
What Makes Tile & Grout Restroom Floors So Difficult to Clean & Maintain
Because they are both waterproof and affordable, contractors and commercial property developers prefer commercial tile and grout cleaner flooring for their bathrooms. They are also ideal for flooring in wet areas such as bathrooms. They are versatile and can be customized by designers and developers to change the colors, textures, and sizes of tiles and the final sheen. These tiles are great for accentuating the visual styling of a property and can withstand the test of time.
Most floor tiles are either ceramic or porcelain. It might seem easy to clean the tile with pH-neutral, acidic or alkaline floor cleaners. These products essentially remove any debris and dirt from tile’s non-porous surface. Floor tiles can also withstand scrubbing without becoming scratched. This allows them to keep their desired finish for a long period of time without having to be stripped or refinished.
Commercial restroom tiles aren’t invincible. They can be stained by lax cleaning or maintenance. These stains are difficult to remove without professional cleaning products and commercial-grade equipment.
Grout is more difficult to clean and maintain that ceramic or porcelain bathroom floor tiles. Grout acts as a flexible filler between the floor tiles. Grout can be as thin as a pencil line or as thick as a finger. Most commercial restroom floors are grouted with a mixture of cement, water, and a special kind of sand.
Even after being hardened, grout can be significantly more porous than tile and is much softer than tile. Bathroom floor grout is able to hold and retain moisture, dirt, and other unwanted microbes. If left unchecked, these impurities can cause floor grout to stain and trap microbes. This can cause your commercial property’s restrooms to look unprofessional and unappealing in a very short time.
Cleansing Restrooms to Prevent Smelly Flooring
The problem with bathroom floors is their smell. This can happen even before the floor dries completely. Because most mops cannot draw dirt and other impurities from grout, this is a problem. This is especially true if the floor remains wet for too long. This allows odorous and unpleasant-smelling microbes to get into the porous grout. It is lower than the floor tiles that are less permeable.
Dirty mop water can make this worse. It holds dirt, grime, urine, street soils and any other substances on the floor. This essentially feeds bacteria that gives off bad odors in the bathroom. The presence of bacteria and other grime can cause grout to discolor over time.
What is the Best Way to Clean Bathroom Tile & Grout
When cleaning grout and tile floors in commercial restrooms, it is helpful to have a plan. It starts with a daily routine for cleaning the floors. To prevent the buildup of stains, mildew and odors, it is a good idea to scrub grout lines at least once per week. When using cleaning chemicals, make sure you follow the manufacturer’s instructions.
- Step 1: Spread a properly diluted solution on the floor. Let it sit for three to five mins.
- Step 2: Use a stiff brush to scrub grout and tiles.
- Step 3: Use a commercial-grade dry/wet vacuum to remove all traces of cleaning solution.
- Step 4: Rinse the floor using clean water, and then dry it.
For daily cleanings, it is best to use a pH neutral chemical such as an alkaline that has been specifically designed for grout scrubbing. You can switch to an acid-based cleaner if the grout in your bathrooms needs more. It is important to note that acid-based cleaning products are not recommended for natural stone floors like limestone marble or travertine tiles as they can cause damage to the natural finish of stone tiles.
A combination of hydrogen peroxide and baking soda can be used to make an “All-Natural” DIY solution.
Use a No-Touch Cleaning Method for Tile & Grout Restroom Flooring
A special “No Touch” method can be used to clean commercial bathroom tile and grout floors. This is why you will need a special No-Touch Restroom Cleaning Machine. This machine is designed to be quick and use less chemicals. It is expensive to purchase the machine and train your staff how to use it properly.
The technician will first apply a small amount of a special, no-touch cleaning chemical over the entire bathroom and allow it to sit on the grout and tile for a few moments. The technician then sprays the grout with freshwater at high pressure. For stubborn stains or soils, a special grout brush with built-in can be used. The technician then vacuums up the cleaning solution and collects soil and pathogens in a recovery tank.