Deep cleaning grano tiles?

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rafiki
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Deep cleaning grano tiles?

Postby rafiki » Fri Mar 16, 2007 9:27 pm

An adjoining building we are taking over has been unused for many years and the flooring needs a lot of tlc. It is made up of thick grano tiles and needs deep-cleaning. A lot of elbow grease will be required I'm sure but are there some cleaning materials/chemicals that will make our job easier?
Brian.

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Postby Grouser » Sat Mar 17, 2007 12:04 pm

If it has cement stains there is an acid you can buy. can't remember the name offhand but they sell it in our local supermarket so it's a product that shouldn't be hard to track down. I think it is sulphuric acid and you would want to wear protective clothing and keep the room well ventilated when using it.
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Postby Sandramay » Sat Mar 17, 2007 12:49 pm

I think you could be referring to Agua Fuerte Grouser. I buy it from the old 100 peseta shops. It's useful for quite a few cleaning chores and excellent for de-scaling kettles, teapot etc. We were also told to put a bottle full in the pool when we first refill it..... but allow 12 hours before taking a plunge. :)
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hillybilly
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Postby hillybilly » Sat Mar 17, 2007 2:22 pm

The chemical for removing encrusted cement etc is Limpiador Quimico Desincrustante. Brulin is one make. Much stronger and therefore more hazardous to use than agua fuerte so protective gear needed.

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rafiki
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Postby rafiki » Sat Mar 17, 2007 2:59 pm

Thanks all. Yes, it is mainly ingrained cement dust. The acid sounds very hairy. How is it applied in this case? How long should it be left to work? Is it just mopped off afterwards?
Brian.

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Postby Grouser » Sat Mar 17, 2007 5:31 pm

Yes it was Agua Fuerte I was thinking of. You need to do small areas at a time. Pour the Fuerte on and it fizzes up on the surface. When the activity dies down (about 30 secs) scrub the tiles with water and a scrubbing brush and mop up. It did seem to attack the finish on the tiles and we needed to re-seal the surface afterwards. We used Blata Fix a tile sealant and waterproofer made by the Bla paint co.
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silver
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Postby silver » Mon Mar 19, 2007 9:34 am

grano tiles
what are grano tiles...do you mean the non ceramic tiles that are made up with lots of small stones???? if so don´t use Agua Fuerte on them...bleach would be better.
If you use agua fuerte make sure all the windows are open and don´t breath in the fumes....
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rafiki
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Postby rafiki » Mon Mar 19, 2007 9:41 am

Thanks for all the info.

Yes, Silver, that's the sort. Work is still going on in there so I can't do anything at the moment but I'll try bleach and a scrubbing brush first. The agua fuerta scares me rather so I'll use it only as a last resort and on a small patch first.
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silver
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Postby silver » Mon Mar 19, 2007 10:31 am

The agua fuerta scares me
its not that scarry..does get rid of cement.. (the reason not to use on these tiles as they are made with cement)..cleans grotty loos.. you just have to be carefull..it will burn you and clothes..so use plastic gloves..it has to be rinced quickly with water...and the fumes are dangerous too....but its widely used here...if the tiles are in a real mess..then the best solution would be to have them polished with a grinding machine...or paint over.
No muerdes la mano que te da de comer.


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