Travertine Tile Transformation [Photo Contest]

The photo contest winner this month is Mike Jacob of Choice Carpet, Tile & Grout Cleaning in Hollister, CA for his travertine tile transformation. His company will receive a chemical prize package from Solutions by Steam Pros worth $250.

Mike describes this particular job: “We cleaned this travertine tile by first preconditioning with Express Lane from Chemspec with added oxygen into the prespray, and then we gave the tile some TLC. We scrubbed with a buffer and allowed a 20-minute dwell time. The trick is using the HydroForce SX15 with a 3,000-psi washer instead of a truckmount, which usually produces only 1,000 psi. There is no need to use the heat from the truck since the higher pressure doubles the cleaning power.”

For an opportunity to win a chemical prize package from Solutions by Steam Pros (worth $250), send your images and a brief 100-word description on how you obtained your results to managing editor Amanda Hosey at [email protected], or submit via Facebook Messenger at www.facebook.com/cleanfax. Contest rules available by request.

[infobox title=’DID YOU KNOW’][/infobox]

Hard water not only causes issues with cleaning equipment that manufacturers generally won’t cover, but also makes cleaning solutions less effective. The problems hard water causes also are exacerbated by higher levels of heat.

While powdered rinses are known to soften water, doing so is an expensive move that compromises cleaning power. A water softener, which easily can be added, costs on average 1/40 the cost of a powdered rinse.

*See “Water Quality and Cleaning Success” from the April 2017 issue of Cleanfax.