Cleaning your tile floors and walls -
Ceramic tile is unparalleled in the flooring industry for its durability. Properly installed and maintained, it could easily last the lifetime of your home. So how do we maintain it?
Tile is completely stain resistant; it does not absorb liquids, or odours. But depending on the surface of the tile you’ve chosen, dirt and spills may be left on the tile especially on those textured slate-like finishes.
Step One:
Sweep or vacuum your floor to remove any dust, hair, debris
Step Two:
Damp mop or if very dirty, get down on your hands and knees with a sponge or brush. Use a cleaning solution of warm water mixed with ammonia or a commercial cleaner such as Stonetech’s tile and stone cleaner (2 oz to 1 gallon for regular cleaning), mop your floor changing water often to ensure soil is not re-deposited.
Note: we do not recommend vinegar as it is an acid and can damage grout.
For shower walls and floors, you may wish to use a stronger cleaner (or less diluted version of the above) to remove soap scum.
I definitely recommend using a soft brush on the shower floor tiles to remove residue.
Step Three:
Rinse, squeegee walls, and allow to dry completely before using or walking on it.
If it is your grout that needs some attention, please see our blog ‘cleaning and caring for your grout’ for more information.
If you need extra help cleaning your tiles we are glad to do it for you - call me at the store to set up a free estimate - 905-892-5756
Gayle Baltjes-Chataway
Star Tile Centre
Need a mood change? Renovate!!
A home renovation need not be an entirely new kitchen or bathroom.
Some inexpensive minor changes will freshen up your décor and your mood!
Best suggestions:
- a fresh coat of paint will add new life to any room.
- or just paint a piece of furniture or vanity cabinet – add some new handles eh voila an entirely new look!
- add a tile backsplash to your kitchen or vanity – be creative, a little tile can have huge visual impact and add a whole new dimension to the room! Suddenly the room comes alive again!
- change accents – a couple new cushions or placemats can add a fresh palette of color and cheerfulness to your décor
- go for a new light fixture - modernize the room and change the ambience too with a dimmer switch
- what about a new faucet? There’s a huge selection today in every price range
- add an area rug – the perfect carpet will pull a room together and add warmth and comfort
Just because our present budget does not allow a drastic makeover is no reason to shy away from small changes that will refresh our rooms and satisfy our emotional wellbeing!
We are glad to do it for you - call me at the store to set up a free estimate - 905-892-5756
Gayle Baltjes-Chataway
Star Tile Centre
The importance of preparation -
Regardless which type of flooring you may be considering, every floor will require some kind of subfloor preparation. Every installation is unique and will have its own preparations but time spent on preparing your plywood or concrete for new flooring – be it tile, vinyl, laminate, wood, or carpet, is time well spent for your overall satisfaction with the finished job.
Roughness or uneven sub floors will telegraph through new vinyl floors, not allow hardwood or laminate to lay straight or fit together properly, result in raised tile edges and create time consuming installation challenges.
Ideally sub floor flatness is 3/16 of an inch in 10 feet or less. In most cases, in a renovation, the existing flooring needs to be removed before a new floor can be installed to what we call a ‘flooring ready” state which means the sub floor should be:
- clean
- smooth
- structurally sound
- level
- and dry
Before new flooring can be installed. A moisture test is a good idea especially if hardwood is being considered. Know if any sealers or paints have been installed on concrete floors; they may need to be removed or ground off before a tile or glue down hardwood installation to get proper bonding of mortar or adhesive to the concrete substrate.
Make sure the floor is solid ; take the time to screw plywood sub floors down along the joists. Grind off loose concrete and high spots.
A common saying in the floorcovering industry is : “the finished floor is only as good as the base or the subfloor is”. It directly affects the performance of the finished material you choose.
Many people think floating floors can be installed over anything and cover a myriad of challenges. In reality floating floors were not designed to cover a bad subfloor and will, in time, only magnify the problem if it is not corrected before installation.
There are many products and equipment available today to address the challenges of proper floor preparation. Do your homework, take the time to learn what needs to be done to prepare for your new investment, and you’ll be much happier with the end results.
Give us a call @ 905-892-5756 and we’ll assess your situation and provide a free estimate.
Gayle Baltjes-Chataway
How to replace a tile
Many of us have a cracked or chipped tile that we would really like to have repaired but are afraid of tackling it for fear of damaging the other tiles around it. If you were wise enough to keep a few leftover tiles, the job may be easier than you believe.
If you have patience, are reasonably handy and have the right tools - a grout scraper, pry bar, hammer, and safety glasses – you could consider doing it yourself.
Firstly, be sure to wear safety goggles or glasses to protect your eyes from the tiny bits of grout and tile, then use the grout rake remove the grout around the four edges of the damaged tile. Be sure to remove all the grout down to the mortar bed.
Now you need to remove the tile itself. If you have a tile saw or grinder you can cut the tile in an X pattern down about ¼” deep, or use a hammer to smash the centre of the tile. Remove the tile using a chisel or pry bar and hammer from the centre out toward the edges. Break off small pieces at a time and carefully and slowly remove the tile shards. Once you have the tile removed, you will need to use a floor scraper to remove the adhesive under the tile down to the concrete or plywood substrate.
Now it’s time to install the replacement tile. Following the manufacturer’s instructions, mix the floor mortar, comb it into place using a ¼ square notched trowel. Set the new tile making sure it is level with the surrounding tiles. Let it set overnight then mix grout to match your existing, and apply to the joints.
Eh voila another job well done! If you do not have the time or do not feel you are up to the challenge of tackling it yourself, generally it takes an hour or so to replace each damaged tile, so you can hire a skilled tradesman to do the work for you. Here at Star Tile, we have a dozen full time tile setters, available to complete the work for you.
Give us a call 905-892-5756 and we’ll assess your situation and provide a free estimate for the repairs.
Gayle Baltjes-Chataway
Cleaning your carpets -
If you’re like me, this time of year seems to be especially challenging trying to grab my four legged friends for feet washing after a long walk, before they hit any of the carpets! Best of intentions but not always possible!
Thankfully with the quality of fibre going into carpets today, most times we can breath easily and know that it is just going to take some patience and a little effort to get them looking good as new again.
First thing to remember is to relax …never rub a stained area aggressively (carpets are heat set, the friction you create by your efforts may get the stain out but leave the carpet ‘fuzzy’ afterwards), simply blot the area first to absorb as much as possible, working from the outside in, then rinse thoroughly with clean water and blot again. With most of today’s fibres, stains will not penetrate the actual yarn of the carpet, so all we are doing is blotting up the liquid that is surrounding the fibres, gently blot down into the carpet removing the spill from the carpet, rinsing the individual fibres free of their undesirable stain coating.
Most stains will remove this way, a small drop of laundry detergent (no bleach) in your water will help dissolve some more difficult stains or visit our website www.startilecentre.com for specific advice many common household stains.
To address one of the most common questions, should your four legged friend have an accident, blot and rinse as above, then rinse with vinegar to neutralize the stain and deodorize the area without hurting your carpet.
Gayle Baltjes-Chataway
BEFORE
Tired of looking at your 1970's
bathroom? Or worse, your 1950's bathroom? Don’t have the budget or inclination to
remove all the old tile and start new? You have choices – Yes, you can actually
paint the tiles.
Though not a long term solution, at least it would get rid of
that Avocado Green you’ve grown so tired of! You will need to clean and lightly
sand the tile surface, apply a top quality primer, then roll on the paint. If the tiles are in a tub or shower area, and
your tiles are solidly installed (no signs of cracking tile or grout, mold or
mildew), you may be pleasantly surprised how inexpensive it is to simply tile
over the existing tile with new tile. If you are at all handy, new tiles can be
purchased for as little as $1.00 per square foot ($100.00 would buy all the
tiles you need to re-do a tub or shower area at this price). With a little
patience and the right tools, voila a whole new look that will last much longer
than paint, particularly in wet areas.
We are glad to do it for you - call me at the store to set up an estimate - 905-892-5756
AFTER
Gayle Baltjes-Chataway
Star Tile Centre
Things to know when purchasing grout -
According to Wikepedia, grout “is a construction material used to fill voids, and seal joints between tiles. Grout is generally composed of a mixture of water, cement, sand, often color tint, and sometimes fine gravel (if it is being used to fill the cores of cement blocks). It is applied as a thick emulsion and hardens over time, much like its close relative mortar.
Main varieties include: tiling grout (either urethane, cement-based, or epoxy), flooring grout, resin grout, non-shrink grout, structural grout, and thixotropic grout.
Structural grout is used in reinforced masonry to fill voids in masonry housing reinforcing steel, securing the steel in place and bonding it to the masonry. Non-shrink grout is used beneath metal bearing plates to ensure a consistent bearing surface between the plate and its substrate.
Tiling grout is used to fill the spaces between tiles or mosaics, and is often used to secure tile to its base.”
As most of us are really only concerned with choosing a grout colour that complements our tile and décor, how do we discern between the various products and pricing now available?
Essentially you need to ask yourself some questions to determine the best grout for your application.
1) Is stain resistant very important? This applies in particular to counters, behind cooktops, shower floors, exterior porches and small mosaics where we highly recommend you consider an epoxy grout.
2) Is it a darker colour that you prefer? Again for colour consistency, an epoxy grout is a better choice or newer grouts like Laticrete’s Permacolor which are more colour consistent than cement based grouts.
3) is it a heavy traffic area? The heavier the traffic area, the more we recommend choosing a higher performance grouting compound that will stand up to stains, vibrations, and perform well in the long term.
Sure grouts can be touched up over the years by using a grout rake to clean out any loose or discolored grout, then re-fill the joints with new grout, but who really wishes to be doing this? An additional $10.00 - $70.00 now for a better quality grouting material, will give you easy to clean, durable tile joints for years. Yes, the installation of an epoxy grout is best done by a tile professional, and it takes slightly longer to apply and clean up, but the end results of colour consistency are well worth it and will last far longer than traditional grouts.
To provide specific insight, one manufacturer, Laticrete makes three different types of grout which we call standard, premium, and epoxy, the same applies to the other major grout manufacturers Mapei and Flextile:
A) Standard - Laticrete 1500 Sanded Grout is a premium, factory prepared grout designed to be mixed with water. It is formulated from a blend of high strength Portland cement, graded aggregates, polymers, and color-fast pigments and provides a grout joint that is dense, hard and durable. For grout joint widths of 1/16" (1.5 mm) up to 3/8" (9 mm). Designed for exterior and interior use - ideal for both heavy duty use outdoors and for long lasting beauty indoors. Available in a range of exciting colors that should satisfy even the most discriminating tastes.
B) Premium - LATICRETE® PermaColor™ is a high performance, fast setting grout that provides a grout joint that is dense and hard. LATICRETE PermaColor Grout is color consistent. Mix only with water, ideal For Floors and Walls (Joint Widths of 1/16–1/2" [1.5 to 12 mm]). It inhibits Mold and Mildew with Microban®, has improved Stain Resistance For a Cement Based Grout, and is suitable for both interior and Exterior Applications, Residential and Commercial use.
C) Epoxy - LATICRETE SpectraLOCK PRO Premium Grout is a patented, high performance epoxy grout which offers excellent color uniformity, durability, stain protection, and beautiful, full grout joints in an easy-to-use, non-sag formula. LATICRETE SpectraLOCK PRO Premium Grout is designed for use on ceramic tile, glass tile and stone applications, both residential and commercial. It can be used both interior and exterior on floors and walls. Ideal for re-grouting applications, LATICRETE SpectraLOCK PRO Premium Grout is perfect for swimming pools, fountains and other wet area applications. It has improved non-sag formula for walls and floors, Uniform color—no blotchiness or shading and is easy to maintain, cleanable to the original color. It inhibits the growth of stain-causing mold and mildew in the grout joints with Microban® antimicrobial product protection, is Ideal for installations at wide temperature ranges, is Tough, durable, and crack resistant and outperforms cement based grout.
Gayle Baltjes-Chataway
Star Tile Centre
Cleaning and Caring for your grout
Don’t let years of food and grease stains on your grout get you down! It can easily be cleaned and looking like new again. What’s happened is un-sealed grout has been penetrated by surface materials often leaving it an unsightly mess
In most cases, old grout can be renewed with a good cleaning agent like Restore, from DuPont or a degreasing product, a stiff-bristle brush or commercial steam cleaner, and elbow grease. If using Restore, note that it is a concentrate, so depending on how dirty your grout is, you can dilute it to make it go farther. Usually areas getting the heaviest traffic – at entrances, in front of the stove or sink, will require the most concentrated use, and a milder mix can be used on the balance of the grout (and don’t forget the tiles themselves – it works great to get built-up dirt out of textured tile recesses as well!). Sponge on the Restore to the grout lines, leave for 3-5 minutes, allowing it to penetrate, then use a stiff brush to scrub the grout lines. Rinse well and do again if needed.
Depending on condition of your grout, some spot re-grouting may be necessary — a process that involves digging out and replacing cracked or crumbled areas. If you don’t have any leftover grout, dig out a small piece and bring it into us so we can try to match the colour for you.
In extreme cases, the only cure may be to re-grout or re-tile, but it is usually worth trying to clean the grout first.
We are glad to do it for you - call me at the store to set up an estimate - 905-892-5756
Gayle Baltjes-Chataway
Star Tile Centre
