Ceramic tile and grout floors are a beautiful addition to your home. They give a very contemporary look while being very functional and durable. It is a good idea to consider sealing the grout lines to protect your investment. Because grout is so porous, it can quickly become dirty and harbor bacteria that can lead to odors. Grout sealing makes make maintaining the floor much easier and can extend the life of the floor.

How Grout Sealer Works

Grout sealers come in a liquid form and are applied to the floor and grout lines. Because the ceramic tile is non-porous, the seal is easily removed, leaving the product behind in the grout lines. As it dries, the grout sealer fills in the pours where dirt and soils would normally become trapped. Once the grout sealing is complete and the product is dry, it will have formed into a solid. This keeps dirt on the surface of the grout, making it easy to remove with regular cleaning. Grouted floors should be re-sealed every few years to ensure that they are protected.

Grout Sealing Cautions

It is important to use a grout sealer that is designed specifically for this type of floor. By using the wrong type of floor sealer can affect the floors appearance long term and even result in having the grout replaced. Even the correct grout sealer products need to be applied by a professional. The application is equally important to getting the best results possible.

Prior to applying the grout sealer, it is very important that the tile and grout be as clean as possible. Failure to effectively remove dirt and soil, will result in trapping it below the sealer, which can cause the grout to appear dirty and shorten the life of the sealer itself.

Tri-State Floor Service’s grout sealing experts use professional grade cleaners and specialty equipment that deep clean dirt from deep within the grout lines that leaves the grout ready for sealing.

For a free expert evaluation and estimate on grout floor cleaning and sealing, please contact Tri-State Floor Service at info(at)tri-statefloorservice.com 

Ugly or Worn Out Carpet?

Replacing carpet can be expensive. It is rare that carpet is allowed to actually wear out. Most of the time, it is replaced because it has become too difficult to clean, and just looks bad. Carpet will hold a lot of dirt. In fact, it has been found that the carpeting gains weight  in a commercial building. Typically when removed, carpet can weigh 3 times it’s original weight or more within 5 years after being installed. This caused by improper carpet cleaning.

The Effectiveness of Carpet Cleaning

When cleaned with traditional wet methods, the dirt is forced down into the backing of carpet. While the majority of the water is vacuumed out, the dirt remains. Each session of carpet cleaning adds a layer of packed dirt into the carpet pile. Even if you are shown dirty water from the cleaning machine, there is still a lot of dirt in the carpet. It takes very little soil to make water appear very dirty.

Once the “cleaned” carpet has dried, the soil left behind becomes brittle. This abrasive  dirt then wears away at the carpet fibers, shearing them off at the base. This is why you will often find a lot of lose fibers in your vacuuming after the carpets have been cleaned.

Regular Carpet Maintenance

Using low moisture carpet cleaning methods, it is easier to clean carpet on a regular schedule. These methods allow the floor to be dry in minutes rather than hours. Opening up more opportunities for carpeted areas to be cleaned. This becomes a maintenance procedure rather than a restoration. Carpets that are maintained properly will last for many years.

Low moisture cleaning also removes the dirt from the carpet without flooding the dirt to the backing. Without the soil packed in, down deep, the carpet fibers are not damaged to the point of breaking, extending the life of your carpet.

Tri-State Floor Service offers low moisture carpet cleaning for all types of facilities, commercial and residential. To learn more about maintaining your carpet and to get a quote on regular carpet service, contact us at info(@)tri-statefloorservice.com 

Tile and grout cleaning can be challenging when faced with removing years of grease and grime build up. More than just unsightly appearance, dirty tile and grout can cause a floor to be slippery and can be the cause of offensive restroom odors. Because the uneven surface of these floors, it can be extremely difficult to keep them clean unless you have the proper know how and equipment to maintain them.

Why Is Grout Cleaning So Difficult?

Grout that is placed in between ceramic tile is a very porous surface. It is basically very find sand that is held together with cement. The areas between the grains of sand hold dirt and can grow bacteria. Without regular deep grout cleaning, this dirt becomes trapped and cannot be removed with traditional mopping. The dirt and soils can be removed when a chemical designed to release specific soils is used to liquefy them and then removed with a vacuum system.

Ceramic Tile Cleaning

Cleaning ceramic tile is also challenging. The typically course surface is designed to improve traction but this texture also traps soils. Once the texture has filled up with dirt and soils, it the surface is then smooth. This makes the floor slippery. Because the types of soils can vary, depending on the environment, they are often difficult to clean. The strands of a regular string mop cannot grab dirt that has become trapped and will just smear around the floor. It is also deposited into the grout lines, adding to the soil build up.

Restoring Tile and Grout

Tri-State Floor Service has specialized equipment and techniques for tile and grout cleaning that can make a big difference with these floors. Using years of experience to identify soil types and conditions, we are able to quickly restore tile and grout to a safe, great looking floor surface. Our deep cleaning methods erase years of soil buildup, allowing the floor to be much easier to maintain.

To learn more about our tile and grout cleaning as well as our other services including restroom cleaning, marble and natural stone polishing and low moisture carpet cleaning, please contact us at info(at)tri-statefloorservice.com.

Restroom Cleaning Impacts Your Business

For businesses, especially those that serve the public, restroom cleaning has a big impact on how the business is perceived. Studies have shown that in the service industry, as many as 70% of customers judge the overall cleanliness of a restaurant or hotel on how clean the public restrooms are.

To this point, it is necessary for all businesses to be aware of the condition of their public restrooms. Relying on untrained and unequipped staff to manage this key area of public perception can quickly damage the reputation of the entire organization.

As an answer to this issue, Tri-State Floor Service provides an easy solution. Using state of the art restroom cleaning and sanitation technology, your public restrooms can amplify your organizations commitment to their customers.

Attacking Restroom Odors At The Source

The most common reason that a restroom is viewed as unclean is the presence of foul odors. The sense of smell is a powerful influence for many people and an offensive smelling restroom can trump all other senses. Because we address the source of restroom odors with routine, detailed restroom cleaning of  tile and grouted floors, partitions and fixtures and other hard to clean areas, the odor causing bacteria is eliminated. When this combined with our eco-friendly, green cleaning practices and products, your restrooms are always maintained with a “freshly cleaned” appearance.

Removing The Risk

Your business is focused on what it does best, your business. Don’t let the image of your company be tarnished by poor restroom cleaning. Rely on Tri-State Floor Service to expertly maintain your restrooms. It is our business and we would be proud to help you.

More Than Just Restroom Cleaning

Tri-State Floor Service also provides a wide variety of other cleaning services such as low moisture carpet maintenance, marble and natural stone polishing, tile and grout restoration as well as hardwood floor refinishing and maintenance. You can request a free evaluation of your cleaning needs at info(at)tri-statefloorservice.com.

When it comes to cleaning carpet, there are many methods to choose from. While traditionally carpet cleaning is typically thought to require a lot of water, the fact is, low moisture carpet cleaning methods are more effective and can actually extend the life of your carpet.

Chasing The Dirt In Carpets

When dirt settles in carpet, it comes to rest in the top third of the carpet pile. Even on low pile or indoor outdoor carpet, the majority of soil becomes trapped in the weave before reaching the backing. This is why regular vacuuming is so important when it comes to preventative carpet care. But when water is introduced, gravity pushes dirt and soils downward and creates mud. The water is then followed by a vacuum process to remove the dirty water. Granted, a lot of the dirty water is removed, there is still a lot of water left in the carpet to air dry. If you have ever looked at the water that has been recovered by a carpet cleaning machine, surely you noticed that it is very dirty, proving that the cleaning was effective. The problem lies in the fact that the water that remains in the carpet is just as dirty. The water will evaporate, but the dirt, now packed into the backing, stays behind. This moist dirt or mud, can lead to foul odors, re-soiling and even mold.

Why Low Moisture Carpet Cleaning Is Better

With low moisture methods of cleaning carpet, the process makes much more sense. Because the dirt is in the upper portion of the carpet pile, the low moisture carpet cleaning equipment removes the dirt without forcing it down into the carpet.  Using a very limited amount of specialized solutions, the low moisture carpet cleaning traps the soils in the carpet pile and allows them to be removed without the need to flush them out with water. This process leaves your carpets clean and dry. You can even walk on them immediately!   Best of all, the process can be done on a regular basis to make sure your carpets always look their best.

At Tri-State Floor Care, we are experts in low moisture carpet cleaning. We look forward to showing you how having carpets cleaned no longer needs to be an intrusive event and that there is never a need to settle for dirty carpet.

Contact us at info(at)tri-statesfloorservice.com or by calling  215-840-1440 to receive a free estimate on maintaining the carpeting in your home or business.

American business’ use large amounts of water to operate. It has been found that a normal commercial facility can use as much as 400 gallons of water each day for every 5 employees. As utility cost rise, reducing water use is near the top of the list for green building goals in most organizations.

The restroom is the largest consumer of indoor water. Toilets and urinals alone can account for more than 25 percent of water use. As business’ look at options for expanding green building initiatives, finding ways to reduce water consumption just make sense.

Just a few steps to reduce water consumption can make a big difference. A business can quickly recognize lower utility costs, improved facility cleanliness and less maintenance expense. Most commercial urinals use between .5 to 2.5 gallons per flush. Add to this the expense that comes with maintaining fixtures, it becomes obvious there are considerable saving to realized. While the movement toward waterless urinals has gained industry attention, they are often not maintained properly, resulting in odor and appearance issues.

One way we have found quickly reduce water use is with the Smart Restroom System. This restroom maintenance system can quickly be installed on most commercial urinals. The program can return a saving between $200 to $600 savings in water usage and maintenance cost each year, per urinal. In a large office building this can equate to thousands of dollars each year.

The Smart Restroom System eliminates the need to flush urinals after use. At the heart of the system is the SmartValve. An easy to install replacement for the standard flush handle on most urinals, the SmartValve is a lockable device that eliminates the need for flushing when combined with the SmartScreen. The SmartScreen is a Highly engineered and formulated urinal screen with an integral block that counteracts odors at their source. This technology will save you money and reduce water use when compared to water free urinal maintenance. See the results one school found here.

To learn more about the Betco SmartValve and how it can save you money, reduce water use and add to your green building plan, please contact Tri-States Floor Care at info(at)tri-statesfloorservice.com.