I normally recommend Oxyclean for cleaning grout, but you bring up a good point. Alkalines will strip sealers. That would include peroxide. Your best bet might be the ph neutral cleaners meant for stone.

I looked up the towelettes you referenced and they are acid free, alcohol free and bleach free, so I'm betting roobear is on the right tract with the peroxide solution, and if it were me, I'd give that a try.

Thanks for the replies. Maybe my use of the word "disinfect" was wrong--I mean for general washing of the floor and, since the floor is new, and grout freshly sealed, there are no stains that I need to get rid of (yet!). I guess I should be asking what people with tile floors use to *wash* or *clean* their floors with if they have sealed grout. BTW, my grout is a light beige colour (called Quartz).

My concern with trying a product to see if it strips the sealer is that since the sealer is invisible, the only way I know of that I will know if it stripped it, is that the grout will stain....then I'll have an issue, which I'm trying to avoid up-front by using the correct product. Maybe I'm over-thinking this but I didn't think it would be so hard to find such a product.

So for those with tiled floors and sealed grout, what do you use to wash your floors and have you had any issues with the grout?

Thanks!

Try reading through their own maintenance guide. They list all types of cleaning approaches, from stain, to light cleaning. Of course they recommend other Miracle products... ;-)

Here is a link that might be useful: Miracle 511 Care guide

I'm telling you-- peroxide is every bit as alkaline as ammonia, which is what's normally used to STRIP sealer.

I read the Miracle 511 Care Guide--thanks pepperidge farm but since I couldn't find a store that sells Miracle products close by (the Miracle 511 Impregnator sealer I used was left over from my parents' recent condo build) I decided to try Tile Labs (from HD) cleaner. It says it's safe for grout and tile. Since it's porcelain and not a delicate tile I figure I should be okay. Thanks for the replies.

I am not sure about the Tile Labs quality, would hope that the cleaner would be safe!

I have to track down some of the Mira Clean myself- I like that it comes in a concentrate- and then I can dilute it into a spray bottle- that makes it incredibly economical, so I will order it online if the local guys don't carry it. I too used the same sealer.

It may be safe for tile and grout. That wasn't the question. If it were, Oxyclean would be my answer. The question was what would be safe for the sealer. If that cleaner is not ph neutral, you'll be having problems with it eating the sealer. Just because it's made by a sealer company doesn't mean it's sealer safe. I found that out last week, reading up on the different cleaners that Stone Tech puts out. Some are acidic, while others are basic. But the ones they recommend for sealed stone (and that would be the same for sealed grout) are their ph neutral cleaners (as I've said in here for a long time).

I just looked it up, Bill's right, if you use any type of alkaline cleaner you'll strip the grout sealer-you have to use a neutral ph cleaner. It's weird because so many tile cleaners are alkaline -Good to know though, thanks Bill.

Bill, I guess I wrongly assumed that if the cleaner was made by the sealer company and said it was safe for grout that it would be okay. Thanks for pointing out my fuzzy logic! I haven't used it yet so I'll take it back.

So now that I know that I want a cleaner with a neutral pH, any ideas what *brands or names* of cleaners would fit the bill? Or is it just stone care companies (Bill mentioned Stone Tech) that make them? I've seen a proliferation of "natural" cleaners on the market but haven't noticed any that specify the pH which, thanks to the replies to this post, I've now learned is the important thing when cleaning sealed grout.

Here's the one I usually recommend, and you CAN buy it from the site I'm going to link to. If you read the features and benefits, you'll see second from the bottom of the list:

Three Revitalizer products: wipes (35), spray (24 oz.) and refill (gallon)
Mold & mildew resistant protector
Cleans everyday messes while reinforcing protection
Built-in sealer makes surfaces easier to clean
Neutral, gentle formula
Great for stone countertops and everywhere else

Here is a link that might be useful: Stone Tech Revitalizer

Bill- questions about it- the "built in sealer", (1) would this interfere with sealer applied already? I think Stonetech's are waterbased, I used Miracle which are solvent based.

(2)Would this affect the ability to reseal with the same product later? Would I have to strip it first either way?

(3)Are you not a fan of the Mira Clean #1? It says "non-acidic" and for daily use... doesn't say neutral... comments? I figured since I used the Miracle sealers, that their cleaner would be a good place to start.

PF-- Actually, it will work fine, and it IS ph neutral. If you go to the MSDS, under product description, you'll read the following at the end of the paragraph:

Mira Clean #1 is very effective as an ongoing maintenence cleaner for surfaces previously sealed with the appropriate Miracle Penetrating Sealer/ Impregnator. Mira Clean #1 will not harm the polish on polished stone surfaces.

The reason I keep naming the Stone Tech cleaner is because in the last year, I've seen both Aquamix and Miracle products disappearing from retail shelves. About the only place you can usually find either one is at a tile showroom any more-- atleast around here. Even Dal's wharehouse, who used to carry all three, only carries Stone Tech in stock any more. The Stone Tech, as I said above, can be ordered right from that site, so that's why I send people there. As for Stone Tech's sealers being water based, I'm sure, that just as with Miracle, they have both water based sealers AND solvent based sealers, so wherever you heard that ST's sealers are all water based, they're mistaken. I know for sure the Impregnator Pro (Same as 511 Impregnator) and the Bulletproof (same as 511 Porous Plus) are both solvent based

Here is a link that might be useful: Mira Clean #1 NSDS PDF

Thanks again, Bill. Believe it or not I have bottle of Stone Tech Revitalizer that I bought 2 years ago when we did our travertine kitchen backsplash. I sealed it with ST's Impregnator Pro and bought the Revitalizer at the same time. The tile and grout, despite both being an ivory colour, have never needed anything more than a wipe with hot water on a microfibre cloth so I have the whole bottle of it. So I'll put it to good use now! Thanks so much--again.

I had some time this morning so out of curiosity I looked up Tile Lab's site and checked out the MSDS for their Grout and Tile Cleaner and their One Step Cleaner, Under "pH factor" they both were said to be "neutral" (whereas it listed their Heavy Duty Cleaner as 11 - 12). I checked the MSDS for Stone Tech's Revitalizer and it listed the pH as 5.5 - 6.5. (7 being neutral.) There was the comment on this thread about someone wondering about the quality of Tile Lab products. Are they of inferior quality? Tile Lab products are easier to source (available at HD) and the cleaner is considerably less costly than the Stone Tech one. Price isn't the motivating factor and I can access both but if both will do the job equally well, I'm not one to throw away money either. So should I still avoid using the Tile Lab cleaner?

I don't care for their sealers, but I don't think it would hurt anything to try their cleaner and see how it does.

I'd be curious as to why they listed the ph on the hd cleaner, but only called their others "neutral". I'm curious because of exactly what you did-- comparing Stone Tech's product to perfect neutral. One of the few things I remember from high school chemistry is that there's only one thing in this world that's a perfect 7 and that's distilled water, and even that MUST be distilled. Anything else will, at best be very slightly acidic or basic. As long as it's within 1 1/2- 2 points (5-9) it's still considered neutral.

I've been sort of going through the same thing with our honed travertine shower. Some mildew and pink growth here and there. We typically use the StoneTech cleaner, but I finally picked up a hydrogen peroxide cleaner (Betco) to get rid of the growth. Seems to do the trick w/o a lot of elbow grease. I also got the StoneTech Revitalizer to use as a followup.

I had to hunt and the only local place that carried the StoneTech stuff was a janitorial supply house.

thull, go to John Bridge's onsite store. You can order it there.

To clean tile floors I'd feel comfortable with something that actually mixed with water that I could mop up. Is there a product out there that mixes with water?

I just wouldn't feel like spraying this product and wiping it, would be getting all the dirt up. Sorry, it's the old way of thinking, I know. LOL

For general clean up, hot water should be fine. For most tile installations, the Oxyclean should be fine, when water alone is not enough. Your grout sealer's not going to disappear on you overnight by using it, being it would only be a once in a while thing. The only place I'd really worry about the sealer would be in a shower area. For something like that, I'd make sure what I'm using is ph neutral

After my post the other day I went and googled to find some low ph cleaners and came across a few "natural" ones not made by tile manufacturers. I ordered one and when it comes in I'll let y'all know how it is and what the ph is. I think they said it was between 5-7. The cleaner doesn't contain any caustic chemicals and cannot penetrate the material or the sealer. I'll keep you posted.

Brutuses--I'd be interested in knowing how it worked. What product is it and is it only available online? (I live in Canada and have had some unpleasant surprises [costwise] ordering online so am just wondering.) I too like to be able to "wash" the floors at least occationally although since both bathrooms are quite small using the spray bottle shouldn't be a big deal. Please do post what you find out. Thanks.

Many Hats-- if you check that link, You'll find they also sell it in up to gallon jugs.

Bill, I assume you're referring to the Mira Clean #1 link above. I did a bit of checking online and it looks like there is a building place in a city not too far from where I live that sells Miracle products so I'll have to give them a call. Your link says that the product only has a shelf life of one year so it'll have to buy accordingly. I used the ST Revitalizer this weekend and it's pretty easy to use in our smallest bathroom and seemed to clean the floor well without any steaking, unpleasant or chemically smell, etc. Thanks again!

In order to remove grout build up the the grout manufacturer reccomends scrubbing with a cleaner and nylon brush. I'm wondering if scrubbing the grout would remove the sealer?