How to Clean Commercial Restroom Tile and Grout Floors in the UK

Tile and grout are common materials for commercial restroom floors in the UK due to their durability, attractiveness, and contribution to floor safety. These materials can withstand heavy foot traffic and are built to last for many years.

However, maintaining tile and grout floors can be a challenge. Understanding the best way to clean commercial restroom tile and grout floors can make maintenance faster and easier, as well as help to satisfy clients and customers. A well-maintained tile and grout floor can also improve the happiness of your work crew by ensuring optimal cleanliness, appearance, and safety.

Clean Restrooms are Good for Business in the UK

Dirty restrooms can lead to lost business in the UK. Surveys show that customers judge the quality of an establishment based on the cleanliness of its restrooms. This is true for restaurants, hotels, and other hospitality businesses, as well as supermarkets, car dealerships, and petrol stations. No matter the sector, a clean and fresh-smelling restroom instils confidence in consumers.

The Covid-19 pandemic has increased the focus on cleanliness, health, and safety, so even the slightest hint of a poorly maintained restroom can drive customers away. This is also true for employees, who may be hesitant to return to work in a shared restroom. Providing a spotless, sparkling, and clean-smelling space can help to ease these concerns.

The Challenges of Tile and Grout

Tile and grout are popular choices for wet areas like restrooms because they are waterproof and affordable. Builders can customize tile colours, sizes, finishes, and textures to create unique looks, making the combination a popular choice for those looking to make an impact in restroom décor.

The actual floor tile, whether porcelain or ceramic, is relatively easy to keep clean. Alkaline, acidic, or pH-neutral products effectively clean these dense and non-porous surfaces, and tiles can withstand scrubbing without getting scratched (just be sure to avoid using metal scrubbing products).

Grout, the flexible filler between the tiles, is more challenging. This material, a mixture of water, cement, and sand, is softer than tile and unexpectedly porous. Grout absorbs and holds onto moisture, dirt, and microbes, which can stain the grout, emit bad odors, and make restrooms look unpolished, unprofessional, and unpleasant.

Clean Restroom Smelly Floors in the UK

Sometimes a freshly mopped restroom in the UK will start to smell bad before the floor has even dried. This is because mopping fails to draw dirt and impurities out of the grout and, in fact, does the opposite.

Tile sits higher than the grout line, causing the material to act like a squeegee and pulling water out of the mop and depositing it directly into the grout lines. Cotton string mops are the worst offenders, but even newer technology like microfiber mops leave behind a lot of soil.

This dirty mop water, a combination of street soils, urine, and other contaminants on the restroom floor, feeds bacteria that have taken up residence in the porous grout. These bacteria multiply, create malodorous gas, and stain the grout, resulting in a smelly bathroom that a mop cannot handle.

Best Restroom Tile and Grout Cleaning Methods in the UK

Kaivac's no touch cleaning machine is the best proven cleaning method for restrooms in the USA and Europe. Its unique cleaning process effectively removes unwanted soils and bacteria every day, making it the ideal choice for maintaining clean, hygienic restrooms. Invest in Kaivac's no touch cleaning machine today and take the first step towards providing your facility with the highest level of cleanliness. Find out more here