White Residue On Tile Floor

According to the tile council of north america tcna grout mixed with too much water or cleaned too soon or cleaned with excess water can cause the polymer to migrate to the surface.

White residue on tile floor.

In addition the white line starts just where the pebble floor meets the perpendicular ceramic tile forming the door opening at the top of the floor pan. Avoid the use of vinegar on marble and granite as it can eat away at the stone finish. Here s a quick and easy test that can tell you whether the white residue on your stone is an accumulation of cosmetics soaps or cleaning products. This buildup can appear as a film over several tiles or white spots scattered around the floor.

Polymer additives are often added to grout to provide superior properties commonly improved chemical resistance reduced porosity improved flexibility and freeze thaw stability. The white residue is in fact is called efflorescence or in other words the natural salts and minerals found in natural stone and brick. This is a very common problem. When the water evaporates the salt remains on the floor and leaves white streaks.

What happens is that natural salts in the material are carried to the surface and deposited by water penetrating into the material and moving through the microscopic pores in the. Use a nylon pan scraper or a razor blade to carefully scrape the residue. If it can be easily removed then you are dealing with dried products on the stone. The key is to dilute the vinegar enough to hold its cleaning power but reduce the acidity that can cause damage to some types of flooring.

Less common than efflorescence is the white residue that can form on polymer modified grout if the grout is subjected to excessive moisture before the polymers coalesce. When the excess water evaporates the white polymer is exposed. In many cases but not all these polymers are white in color. White vinegar works well on practically any hard floor surface including all types of wood laminate linoleum and tile.