A private landlord got in touch recently to ask if there was anything that could be done to improve the tiles around the bath and shower in one of his rental properties in Swanwick just North of Ripley. There had been a long-term tenant living in the house who hadn’t maintained the area and as you can see from the photographs below the tiles were looking drab and the grout lines were heavily stained with grime, shampoo, and soap.
When renting property out a property it makes a lot of sense to give a bathroom a facelift to ensure it’s more attractive to future tenants, not only will it rent faster but it should also command a better price, after all no-one wants to rent a place with grotty tiles!
I arranged to visit to they property to determine a plan of action and provide a quote for the work. Whilst there I carried out a test clean and was able to reassure the landlord that it wouldn’t be a problem and I was confident that the tile and grout could be renovated to a very high standard.
Happy with the test clean and my quote my client gave the go ahead and asked for the work to be scheduled in ASAP so the search for a new tenant could begin.
Cleaning a Ceramic Tiled Shower Cubicle
I began by cleaning the grout lines with a generous application of Tile Doctor Duo Clean which is a fast and effective double action grout cleaner and mould remover. This product is designed for this purpose and comes with a trigger attachment so it can easily be sprayed onto the wall. The solution was then left for five minutes before being scrubbed into the wall tiles and grout with a scrubbing brush. This action brought out a lot of dirt and staining from the grout which was then rinsed off.
I then reviewed the wall tiles and concluded that even though they did look a lot cleaner there was some deep-seated staining in the grout that could not be shifted. I had planned for this though possibility though, given the original state of the grout it was clear to me from the start that the best solution would be to colour the grout with a White grout colourant and this had been factored into the quote.
For best results the grout needs to be further cleaned with a Pre-Treater which is a slightly acidic cleaner that prepares the grout and ensures a better bond with the colourant. This is applied to the grout and left for 5 minutes before being scrubbed in with the grout brush. It is then rinsed away with water and left to dry.
Before applying the grout colourant, I set about stripping out the silicone mastic sealant between the bathtub and wall tiles with a sharp knife; the sealant was heavily stained and damaged in places so very much in need of replacement. Once all the rubbish was swept out, I dried any remaining dampness from the grout and tiles.
Grout Colouring a Ceramic Tiled Shower Cubicle
This left the grout ready to be recoloured. I did this over the course of a few hours, using a White colourant from the Tile Doctor Grout Colourant range. White is just one of eleven colours available in the range and was chosen in this case to give the grout a really fresh look and to blend in with the White Ceramic tiles.
The application of Grout Colourant not only colours the grout joints – it also seals and rejuvenates them. It also dries quickly, so I could apply a second coat quite soon after the first, removing any excess as I went.
Once the restoration was finished, I resealed the shower base with fresh silicone mastic again in White to match the tile and grout. This last step finished the renovation and the result was quite a transformation.
The Landlord was delighted and so was the Letting Agent.
Whilst Tile Doctor products like Duo Clean will allow you to remove mold in most cases, however it won’t resolve the underlying problem which is a lack of ventilation. Leaving a window open during showering or leaving a door fully open afterwards can improve cross ventilation and help reduce the problem; rinsing down the tiles with cold water after use also helps.