Your flooring is a significant part of your home. Regular maintenance and tile cleaning in Orlando is vital in ensuring the longevity of your tiles and grout, but even then, you may not always avoid a replacement down the road. Even so, it is clear that the sooner you detect problems, the better it is when it comes to making repairs, replacements, and getting ahead of spiraling costs.
It’s important to learn the basics of what to look out for when it comes to your grout and understand what grout failure is all about.
How Do You Tell If Grout Is Failing?
Although there can be issues that are not as obvious, there are tell-tale signs you can spot that can indicate a potential problem when it comes to your grout.
Mold In Grout Joints
For any longtime homeowner, seeing mold in your grout lines is not anything new. After all, certain areas, like bathrooms, are prone to intense moisture for prolonged times. You can see mold appear as black marks along the grout lines.
It is not just a visual eyesore, but mold can also lead to stuffiness in the surrounding area, and cause health impacts like sore throats, coughing, and irritation to the eyes.
When it comes to removing mold, you can depend on a specialized cleaner, or use a 50-50 mixture of white vinegar and water as a cleaning solution. Scrubbing after a few minutes should remove the mold.
Of course, it is best to prevent the mold from developing in the first place. Proper ventilation can reduce the moisture in the air, and wiping down grout lines and tiles with a dry towel when the room has been used will help.
However, the most pressing issue would be if mold recurs. This could be because moisture has made its way behind the tile and is encouraging the growth of mold from the inside. This will require some expert help.
Loose And Wiggling Tiles
When you are stepping on your tiles, the last thing you would expect is for them to feel loose. This can be dangerous for any high traffic area and loose tiles can be the result of subpar installation, movement, or worse, moisture in the sub-floor.
Bringing in an expert can help you determine the cause of the looseness. Getting the adhesive right will help, but sometimes, it can be due to moisture entering the substrate and causing the adhesive to break down. Such a failure of the grout can lead to even more significant problems down the line.
Deterioration Of Grout Joints
When you look at your grout lines, it should be secure and look whole. However, if you see cracking, crumbling, and deteriorating grout lines, then something is amiss. This could be due to improper installation, or a sign of deeper problems.
With the help of professionals, you will be able to find out what is going wrong with the grout lines for your tiles. It could be more than just issues arising from installing the grout and tiles incorrectly. Moisture could be seeping through the foundation, and causing damage to the area beneath the tiles.
Conclusion
For tiles to be safe for anyone walking over them, your grout needs to be in good condition. If you detect any problems like the ones we’ve mentioned, you definitely need to get them checked out as soon as possible. With expert advice and expertise, you should be able to understand the situation better and apply the right solutions.