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Our Vapor Steam Cleaners clean tile and grout like
nothing else can! Using the latest technology, our
rugged, powerful grout cleaning machines do it all. As you
can see from the picture above grout cleaning is a snap with
a steam cleaner. Simply attach the detail grout
cleaning brush and start cleaning. You will never again have
to get on your hands and knees to scrub your grout! These
are not vacuums. They are truly powerful pure 'dry' steam
vapor cleaning machines.
Step One:
Order your own vapor steam cleaner. Once you have it simply
open the box, read the instructions and fill the steamer
with clean water. We recommend distilled water but you can
use clean tap water.
Step Two:
Plug your steamer in and turn it on. Allow it to heat up.
Once it is ready the green light will come on. This lets you
know it is ready to use. I assume everyone is with me so
far, it is truly that simple.
Step
Three:
Now simply plug the plug end of the hose into the front of
the unit (see image to your right), clip on the attachment
of your choice and start cleaning! It's that easy
CLEANING
GROUT
How do I clean my floor grout? We will go into greater
detail in just a moment. First lets just summarize the
steps. First, add clean water to the
steamer, plug it in and allow it to warm up. Attach the
hose and select your cleaning attachment. For grout use the
small detail brush. Simply work the tool up and down the grout joint
agitating the grout while the steam hits it. Once
done, simply dry mop or wipe up the excess moisture with a
small towel. It is that easy.
The attachments for grout: The cleaning attachment
best suited for floor grout cleaning is the detail
 brush. They
are the smallest of the brushes that come with your steamer
measuring about 1 inch in diameter.
There are three types of detail brushes to pick from. There
is
Nylon, Brass & Stainless Steel. The nylon is by far
the safest as it will not scratch most surfaces. The brass
is the next up in hardness. It is harder then the nylon but
softer and safer to work with then the steel. Last we have
the steel. This is the toughest of the brushes. It is great
for difficult situations like removing rust, cleaning gunk
off of grout lines as well as a whole host of other
applications.
Which grout detail cleaning brush is best for me? You may want to do some testing. Each brush has its
strong points. Before you dive in and
start scrubbing any surface it is always a good idea to test
in a inconspicuous area first. See how the brush affects the
surface. It is a good idea to start out using the
nylon brush. It is the safest to work with and it works. You
can learn more about the different brushes at the lower
portion of this page. Now, lets get cleaning!
Cleaning The Grout Line: Now that the steamer is warmed
up and your attachments plugged in you are ready. While
standing simply place the tip of the wand on the grout
joint, pull the steam trigger and begin working the brush
back and forth over the grout line as shown below.
 Your
goal is to agitate the soil on the grout while the super
heated steam first melts then
 blasts
the dirt away. Work your way up and down the grout line
until it is done. Now move on to the next grout line and
repeat. Once done you will notice there is some excess
moisture on the tile. Simply drop a rag or towel on the
floor and push it around with a broom to clean it up. You
may also use a moist mop. You are done. It is that easy! You
just cleaned your grout. Likely you will see that years of
dirt and grime have been blasted away. If you are doing a
large commercial job you may find an inexpensive shop vac is
useful. Since the steamer leaves very little water on the
floor you may need to splash extra water on the floor so
your shop vac has something to draw up into its canister.
Is It Clean? In most cases yes. Not only is it clean but
the super heated steam disinfects as it goes. If your grout
is very soiled it may need a second treatment. On the other
hand when grout is very dirty you can often see
immediate results as you clean. It is also important to know
that when grout gets wet it gets darker. This can
give the illusion that it is still dirty. In many
cases the new clean grout line
is disguised do to the fact it is still wet. You may have to
wait for the grout to fully dry before you can see how clean
the grout truly is. If you can't wait, try
taking a hair drier and focusing it on a few inches of grout
that you have just cleaned. In most cases the results are
truly beautiful.
How Long Does It Take? We often use the
VC4000 in our
commercial cleaning applications. We can typically do all
the grout joints for a 10 foot x 10
foot (100sq feet) kitchen floor with 12''x12'' tile in under 30
minutes and that is taking our time and doing a very good
job. Of course, how long it takes may vary depending upon how dirty the grout is and
how fast you work. If you are simply steam mopping the area
you can complete the same sized room in just a few minutes.
What If I Still Have Some Stains On My Grout? Give
the area another treatment with the steamer. If for some
reason that doesn't work try the following cleaner. It is
important to vapor steam clean your grout before using the
following product. If you don't you may end up with blotchy
uneven result. The grout should be clean first.
OXYGEN
BLEACH
Once
your grout has been cleaned with one of our powerful, state
of the art vapor steam cleaners you are usually 100% done.
If needed you can steam your floor a second or third time
although this is unlikely to be necessary. If for some
reason you
still have some stubborn stains that just wont completely
come out we have an excellent product
that just may help you out. Before we go on we want to first
say it is important to have the grout clean first. The
following product is not a grease and grime cutter. It works
by attacking stain molecules, breaking them up and making
them seemingly vanish. It is the perfect treatment for after
you clean your grout. Further more, professional grout
cleaning services have been using this product for years.
Now it is available to you.
What
are we talking about? It is
Oxygen Bleach. By the way, don't let
the name fool you. There is NO chlorine bleach and NO acid
in this product. It uses the shocking power of microscopic oxygen bubbles. Simply mix our
unique powder formula into warm or hot tap water and spread
it on the floor. Allow it to sit from 20 to 50 minutes and
mop it off. In most cases it leaves your grout looking like
new. Of course, like anything else you will have to wait
until the grout is dry before you see the results.
The best
part is that it is safe around pets and humans alike. Well,
let try that again. The best part of is that it really
works! Hmm, let's try again. The best part of this product
is its incredibly low cost,
only a few pennies per square foot! As
you can see, there is virtually no down fall to this
product. Just don't eat it, put in your eyes, and
avoid open sores as it will sting. At its base is
concentrated hydrogen peroxide. Yes, that's the same stuff
your mom used on you for disinfecting minor cuts. THERE ARE NO
SMELLY OR HARMFUL FUMES! The
only 'vapor or "fumes" this product gives off is pure oxygen and
oxygen is
a good for you. Remember, nothing takes the place of a
good vapor steam cleaner when it comes to cleaning grout
but for stubborn grout stains, this is the product you've
been looking for.
OXYGEN
BLEACH
NOW AVAILABLE. We will have unique line of
Oxygen Bleach products. Unlike those cheap foreign made
Oxygen cleaners often seen on TV that can have purity levels
as low as 30% or 40%, our product is American made and is over 80% PURE! This product is also
useful on
decks, concrete, cloths, carpets and more. It is also color
safe. It is not safe on
silk or wool. Always test in an inconspicuous area before
applying. Sold in 2.5 Lbs. containers. They cover up to 1500
square feet per container. Prices are as low as $13.99 each
when you buy 3 or more. For more information or to order
click here.
Oxygen
Bleach
Powerful Grout Cleaner
MORE INFORMATION HERE
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GROUT CLEANING TIPS
These are just a few
ideas for assisting you in the cleaning process. None are
necessary as the steam cleaner has all the power need
for most floor grout cleaning situations.
For those in the cleaning business or those that just need
to clean a large area there are a few simple steps that can
speed up the cleaning process. Although none of the steps we
are about to list are necessary they may be just what you
need to make the cleaning go a bit faster.
TIP #1 FOR SPEEDING THINGS UP: For those that do not
want to use chemicals but do want so assistance in cleaning
you can pre moisten the area to be cleaned. Simply take a
mop and spread some water on the area to be cleaned and
allow it to sit for about 5 or 10 minutes. This simple act
of soaking the dirty grout may make the steamers work that
much easier and in effect, allow you to clean faster.
TIP #2 FOR SPEEDING THINGS UP: For those that want to
keep the chemicals down to a minimum but want a little extra
help try some liquid laundry detergent. Fill a bucket with
warm water and add about a half of a cap full of the liquid
detergent. Now take your mop and spread it around the area
to be cleaned. By pre-treating the area in this manor you
are allowing the detergent to break down some of the greases
before you use the steamer. Once you start steaming you
should find that the grout cleans not better, but faster.
You will be able to cover more ground in the same amount of
time. You may also want to try some of the natural orange
clean, or citrus cleaning products on the market.
TIP #3 FOR SPEEDING THINGS UP: For tougher stains try
some Oxygen Bleach. This is a NON chlorine, non bleach
substance. It is made of hydrogen peroxide. When you mix
this powder with water it produces oxygen bubbles. This
product will greatly assist you in cleaning with your
steamer. Simply spread the water mix over the tile and let
sit for about 15 minutes before you start steaming.
TIP #4 FOR extremely dirty or "TRASHED" GROUT: For truly
tough situations the steamer will work just fine but if you
want to work faster and don't mind chemicals try calcium,
lime & rust remover made by ZEP and sold in Home Depot. This
stuff contains acid and should be handled with care. We only
recommend this method for professionals and proper breathing
apparatus should be worn. This is a powerful pre-treatment
for the grout cleaning business. It just may help you out in
a tough situation. Also try ZEP tub & tile cleaner. Always
test chemicals in an inconspicuous area before applying. Do
not use these chemicals on Marble or other natural stones.
It is up to you to read all manufactures labels and make
sound judgments based upon their recommendations.
TIP #5 FOR COMMERCIAL WORK: You may want to purchase an
inexpensive wet/dry shop vac. Although the steamers
put out VERY little water, less then one liter of water per
hour of continuous use. That is about 1/2 of a 2 liter
bottle of soda every hour. The technology is truly amazing.
To use a shop vac effectively you may have to actually pour
or spray some water on the tile after you clean it. The
vacuum needs this extra moisture to do a good job sucking up
the dirty water. We like to use a gallon jug of water and
splash it on the floor as we suck it up with the vac. Again,
you can use a simple mop or a few rags to soak up the
moisture but a shop vac will give your company a more
professional look and do a better job.
ABOUT BRUSHES
* NYLON BRUSH:
First lets look at the nylon detail brush. It is the
softest and safe on most surfaces. We always
lean toward
using nylon for that reason. It is great for tile,
grout, sinks and more. In most cases we use the nylon brush
when doing residential grout cleaning. We feel it is the
safest bet when it comes to protecting a customers tile. The
one draw backs to the nylon brush is that it wears out
faster and in some cases, doesn't clean the grout quite as
well. When you rub the nylon tip up and down a rough grout
joint it tends to eat away the brush. If you ever run out of
brushes simply give us a call to order some more.
* BRASS BRUSH:
Next lets look at the brass brush. Brass is a relatively soft
metal. It is good on surfaces that need a little more
scrubbing power then the nylon can offer. Its relatively soft
metal means it is less likely to harm surfaces then the hard
steel. Some of our students like to use the brass brush for
grout joints in showers. They feel it does a better job of
cleaning the un-sanded grout joints you often find in a
shower. This may be the case for
you as well.
* STAINLESS STEEL BRUSH:
Lastly we have the stainless steel detail brush. Combined
with the steam it is the most powerful of the brushes. This
brush should be formed to fit the grout
joint you are working on. While most tile may not be
affected, some tiles will scratch if you are using an
oversized brush. To do this simply grasp a brush firmly at
its base and using a pair of needle nose pliers grasp onto
one of the clusters of steel fibers where it meets the
plastic. Twist and pull the steel out using a circular
motion. For wide grout lines leave two tufts (bunches of
steel) at the top and two at the bottom of the brush as
shown to the right. For narrow grout joints just leave one
tuft of steel at the top and one at the bottom of the brush.
See illustration on right. The same can also be done for
the brass or nylon brush.
If you can safely use the
steel brush, it
is a good choice. It lasts longer and scrubs harder then the
other brushes. Just take care to test in an inconspicuous
area before you start cleaning. You want to make sure that
the brush is not removing grout and that it is not leaving
any marks or scratches on the tile. DO NOT use this brush
around marble or any other natural stone. Don't using on any
type of plastic or painted surface. Only use this on
ceramic tile grout, cement, rusty metal or your outdoor
grill or other surface you are confident about using it on.
Be sure to test first.
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Best
Warranty! 
