# Stubborn grout haze



## AustinDB (Sep 11, 2006)

HO chose a ceramic floor tile against my recommendation. It’s a cheap tile and chipped easily. 

Grouted with Mapei Flexcolor CQ and in an air conditioned space and a clean rinse... so the dirty water didn’t dry on due to the heat. 

Hard to tell in the pictures, but there are spots here and there that aren’t coming up easily with a traditional urethane grout haze remover. The Nanoscrub does work with a tile scrub brush but not with a 3x8 white scrub pad. Lot of extra work! 

Any recommendations on how to get this up more quickly? First pass with the scrub brush gets 90% and second pass to clean it up. 

Final question, have you run across ceramics that are troublesome to clean or is this my fault?




















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## tjbnwi (Feb 24, 2009)

Probably your wash technique got you. 

CQ you need to change the water often and grout small areas. 

Keep working at it you’ll get it cleaned up. Try a citrus cleaner.

Tom


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## Big Johnson (Jun 2, 2017)

Magic eraser. Aka, melamine sponge.


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## Peter_C (Nov 26, 2014)

That tile looks prone to having grout and thinset stick to it. 

I typically use vinegar with warm water. There are lots of concoctions I have heard of though. 

Are you using one of these pads? That is what I have had good success with, but sometimes it takes some serious scrubbing, and sweating.


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## tjbnwi (Feb 24, 2009)

Test the magic eraser, I’ve seen them change surface sheen.

Tom


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## rblakes1 (Jan 8, 2015)

Peter_C said:


> That tile looks prone to having grout and thinset stick to it.
> 
> I typically use vinegar with warm water. There are lots of concoctions I have heard of though.
> 
> Are you using one of these pads? That is what I have had good success with, but sometimes it takes some serious scrubbing, and sweating.


You forgot cursing. There will be lots of cursing

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## AustinDB (Sep 11, 2006)

Peter_C said:


> That tile looks prone to having grout and thinset stick to it.
> 
> I typically use vinegar with warm water. There are lots of concoctions I have heard of though.
> 
> Are you using one of these pads? That is what I have had good success with, but sometimes it takes some serious scrubbing, and sweating.


that's the exact scrubber I have. just picked it up at Dal Tile.


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## Bull Trout (Dec 6, 2016)

I bet the "stuff" in the bottom drawer of your toolbox will cut through a good haze


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## AustinDB (Sep 11, 2006)

Bull Trout said:


> I bet the "stuff" in the bottom drawer of your toolbox will cut through a good haze


good one:thumbsup:


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## Peter_C (Nov 26, 2014)

AustinDB said:


> that's the exact scrubber I have. just picked it up at Dal Tile.


Scrub harder, flip it often, and replace the scuffy pad as needed :thumbsup:


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## Inner10 (Mar 12, 2009)

CQ is a ***** to get the tiles clean. You gotta wash the hell out of it to remove the haze before it sets. If it sets the best thing I found was a scotch brite pad or a turtle back sponge and scrub the bastard.


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## Robie (Feb 25, 2005)

I have a friend who does a lot of tiling.

He wipes a thin coat of haze remover on the top surface of his tiles before putting them down. Says it saves a lot of clean-up time.


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## rescraft (Nov 28, 2007)

Did you set that tile? First pic, grout line on the left looks off. 
Sometimes with less expensive tile, the sizes vary, and you have no choice. Split the difference.


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## AustinDB (Sep 11, 2006)

I figured out a system that works, hope it helps others.

Aqua Mix NanoScrub with a splash of water. Working a few tiles at a time. 










4” polisher on lowest speed (1000 rpm) with a green scotch pad cut to fit. Used a utility knife to cut it out. 










The water is to keep the slurry wet so the scotch pad can do its job. It’s like auto body work, if the compound gets too hot from application, it stops working. 

After application, lots of clean towels. Dirty towel gets the first pass then a cleaner towel to finish up. 

Tried five other processes before finding this one, which gets most of the haze off. 


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## Peter_C (Nov 26, 2014)

Next time don't leave the job until the haze is gone. Less work in the end. Micro-fiber cloths are great for performing the final cleaning before walking away too. I just buy the packs at Costco. Sometimes washing them, most of the time they are done for.


Glad to hear it came clean


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## rrk (Apr 22, 2012)

this works also

https://www.amazon.com/Aqua-Mix-Sul...eywords=efflorescence+remover#customerReviews


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## B.D.R. (May 22, 2007)

rrk said:


> this works also
> 
> 
> 
> https://www.amazon.com/Aqua-Mix-Sul...eywords=efflorescence+remover#customerReviews





Does it work on the urethane grout ?


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## Frenchy93 (Mar 4, 2016)

I don't want to insult your work.. But are they not more worried about the tile joints that don't even come close to lining up?


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## TNTRenovate (Aug 19, 2010)

A glass cleaner with ammonia works on urethane.


B.D.R. said:


> Does it work on the urethane grout ?
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## B.D.R. (May 22, 2007)

TNTSERVICES said:


> A glass cleaner with ammonia works on urethane.
> 
> Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk




That is good to know. 
But,I wouldn’t think that the sulphamic acid would work on it. 


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## rblakes1 (Jan 8, 2015)

Frenchy93 said:


> I don't want to insult your work.. But are they not more worried about the tile joints that don't even come close to lining up?


He mentioned they chose a cheap tile, probably one of those 99 cents/ sq ft. ones. There have been a couple times I've had to install those over the years, and their inconsistent, slightly trapezoidal shape makes straight lines impossible.

Just gotta do the best you can sometimes

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## Big Johnson (Jun 2, 2017)

rblakes1 said:


> He mentioned they chose a cheap tile, probably one of those 99 cents/ sq ft. ones. There have been a couple times I've had to install those over the years, and their inconsistent, slightly trapezoidal shape makes straight lines impossible.
> 
> Just gotta do the best you can sometimes
> 
> Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk



That’s what I figured too. I would have warned them and then if they didn’t return the tile I would have passed on the job, but not everyone has that luxury. I didn’t 5-6 years ago.


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## Master's Mark Builders (May 26, 2021)

AustinDB said:


> HO chose a ceramic floor tile against my recommendation. It’s a cheap tile and chipped easily.
> 
> Grouted with Mapei Flexcolor CQ and in an air conditioned space and a clean rinse... so the dirty water didn’t dry on due to the heat.
> 
> ...


so


AustinDB said:


> HO chose a ceramic floor tile against my recommendation. It’s a cheap tile and chipped easily.
> 
> Grouted with Mapei Flexcolor CQ and in an air conditioned space and a clean rinse... so the dirty water didn’t dry on due to the heat.
> 
> ...


I HAVE FOUND THE SOLUTION,
same issue using the cq and didn't get it washed off well enough,


AustinDB said:


> HO chose a ceramic floor tile against my recommendation. It’s a cheap tile and chipped easily.
> 
> Grouted with Mapei Flexcolor CQ and in an air conditioned space and a clean rinse... so the dirty water didn’t dry on due to the heat.
> 
> ...


sorry to revive an old thread, however I found a product that works well, miracle 511 tile cleaner. it was a lot easier than using a haze remover. smells like windex.


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## angus242 (Oct 20, 2007)

Master's Mark Builders said:


> sorry to revive an old thread, however I found a product that works well, miracle 511 tile cleaner. it was a lot easier than using a haze remover. smells like windex.


It might have worked in your situation however, you can't know the potential cons by using a product for a situation it's _not_ designed for.

If you're installing a problem tile like painted white or high gloss, try using a grout release _before_ grouting. It helps tremendously. As for Flexcolor CQ and TruColor, they _both_ have products made for them (by their manufacturers) that are designed for removing haze. They both work and work well. 

I've installed hundreds of buckets of both grouts and I've gotten haze at times. More so with TruColor than CQ. Blaze works very well for Bostik stuff and the epoxy haze remover from Mapei works on CQ. They are both _very_ simple to use.

However, the most important part of using premixed grouts that can haze quickly is to _read the manufacturer's instructions and follow them to avoid the haze in the first place_. I've had great results many times without the extra step because I use the proper tools and methods. That's what you want to shoot for!


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