How to clean dirty / stained tiles on covered but open patio

[johng]

2 hours ago, coppywriter said:

Karcher steam cleaner.

This one was appropriately expensive  ( notice the name )

[impulse]

7 minutes ago, johng said:

This one was appropriately expensive  ( notice the name )

 

 

A $500 solution to a $5 problem... 

 

Don't get me wrong, I'm envious.  And if there's enough $5, $10 and $20 projects to add up to $500, I want one, too.  But then I'd have to store it and keep it from disintegrating in the tropical humidity, keep track of all the bits and pieces and hoses and fittings, and piss people off by not letting them borrow it...

[HHTel]

1 hour ago, crazykopite said:

Purchase a pressure / power hose and give it a blast it will look like new once done should take no more than an hour or two

I've used a high pressure washer for years.  Never found anything on tiles and walls that can't be blasted away.

[johng]

10 minutes ago, impulse said:

A $500 solution to a $5 problem... 

I didn't buy it ...way too expensive...anyway  

the name "professional puzzi"  ...... "pussy"

 

13 minutes ago, impulse said:

piss people off by not letting them borrow it...

 LOL   I would let anyone borrow my "puzzi"  either   

[khunPer]

22 hours ago, weegee said:

Liquid Chlorine....straight from the bottle ....leave 5 mins and wash off thoroughly...job done.

Try in a small non-important area first, to see it if works right.

 

There might be other stuff that can clean, depending of the course of dirt. A kitchen cleaner that dissolves grease may sometimes work very well – again leave it for a short wile, and clean with tissue (roll) paper, a bit hard work sometimes – and in some cases I even found thinner (alcohol or turpentine based) and a piece of tissue can do a fine cleaning without damaging the tiles. If limestone a 50/50 solution of vinegar (cheap artificial 6% vinager works well) and dish washing liquid sprayed on, left for 5 to 15 minutes, and cleaned with tissue paper do a fine job, that will also work well in bathrooms (equally good as Coca Cole, it's the acid that does the job). Eventually can be used 1/3 vinegar, 1/3 dish washing liquid, and 1/3 water. Vinegar and baking soda is also good for cleaning (scrubbing).

 

Use rubber gloves to protect your hand/fingers if using chlorine, or kitchen cleaner, or vineger solutions.

[Acemaker]

23 hours ago, scorecard said:

 

Good question and to be honest there's nothing all that specific other than from the elements, walking dirt in from the garden / outside the house etc.

 

It's not soap residue because there's no activity using soap or detergents and It's not from overuse of soaps etc., by the maid to try to keep it clean. Although requested often she avoids any attempt to clean it, but to be fair maybe she has no idea how to clean it. She's usually  not frightened to ask, she knows that she can ask for anything in terms of products and equipment to do her work. 

 

 

 

               

[toenail]

I had the same problem with the row-house rental I moved in ( such neglect). I bought an acid based formula at Home Pro & used steal wool by hand to scrub the stains away. Sorry, but you need to use elbow grease on the stains. 

[Lacessit]

22 hours ago, impulse said:

 

Either way, the critical ingredient is the bleach.  If that doesn't work, the next step is to try muriatic acid (35% HCl = swimming pool acid) in the same way.  But that stuff is downright nasty to work with.

 

Depending on what composition the grouting of the tiles is, acid that concentrated could well end up degrading the grout to the point of loosening the tiles.

[xtrnuno41]

I guess they are rare in Thailand, but you can use a high pressure watercleaner.

They are from a 100 bar with a spray nozzle and not that really expensive, at least here in EU. From 60 euro's.

Many models varying in price. You can do walls , cars , bikes or what ever just with high pressure water.

Dont point it on your body or anyone else ! Ofcourse Karcher isnt the only branch.

you can also buy additional items, so you can even blast with sand. However sand will grind and your protective layer of the tiles will be gone. 

In Alibaba, for instance, you can order one, though not Karcher

[HHTel]

Not rare at all.  Can be bought in any HomePro and many other similar stores.

[scorecard]

3 hours ago, xtrnuno41 said:

I guess they are rare in Thailand, but you can use a high pressure watercleaner.

They are from a 100 bar with a spray nozzle and not that really expensive, at least here in EU. From 60 euro's.

Many models varying in price. You can do walls , cars , bikes or what ever just with high pressure water.

Dont point it on your body or anyone else ! Ofcourse Karcher isnt the only branch.

you can also buy additional items, so you can even blast with sand. However sand will grind and your protective layer of the tiles will be gone. 

In Alibaba, for instance, you can order one, though not Karcher

 

Readily available, many brands, many specifications, not expensive, from many outlets in Thailand, for many years.

 

I bought one about 4 years ago, 3 years ago I loaned it to my b-i-l who loaned it to a friend. B-i-l doesn't want to ask his friend to return it, that would not be polite. Gone. 

 

 

 

Edited April 14, 2018 by scorecard

[weegee]

13 minutes ago, scorecard said:

 

Readily available, many brands, many specifications, not expensive, from many outlets in Thailand, for many years.

 

I bought one about 4 years ago, 3 years ago I loaned it to my b-i-l who loaned it to a friend. B-i-l doesn't want to ask his friend to return it, that would not be polite. Gone. 

 

 

 

I will bet he sold it to him....thats why !!.....

[KittenKong]

I had the whole yard surrounding my house tiled, obviously it was covered in dry cement and stuff when completed. I simply went over to my local builder's provider with a pic. of same and they handed me a container of suitable chemicle with instructions on how to apply?

That sounds different to the residue in the picture. Your residue is cement and you need something special to get it off (usually acidic) and that was presumably what they sold you. But that will dissolve the grout too.

The residue pictured looks identical to what I have: it is not cement residue, nor is it grout, nor is it in the grout. Mine forms on the edges of the tile just before the grout and seems to be just general dirt that has not been cleaned off properly and has built up and gone very hard over the years. It's odd though as I never had dirt build up in that way in Europe.

[KittenKong]

What is the actual difference between the blue and pink bottles?

Blue is for whites, pink is for coloureds. And the pink is perfumed.

Thai bleach is very expensive and very weak. In Europe I used to buy 500ml in a plastic tube for about 20B and it was many times stronger than the stuff they sell here. You had to water it down before use. Here you can use it out of the bottle.

[janclaes47]

22 minutes ago, KittenKong said:

Blue is for whites, pink is for coloureds. And the pink is perfumed.

Thai bleach is very expensive and very weak. In Europe I used to buy 500ml in a plastic tube for about 20B and it was many times stronger than the stuff they sell here. You had to water it down before use. Here you can use it out of the bottle.

Yes in Europe everything is so much better than in Thailand, especially chemicals that are heavily restricted in civilized countries.

 

Bleach in Thailand is 6%, and I don't think that any chlorine product is cheaper in the west than here.

 

https://chlorine.americanchemistry.com/Chlorine/BleachFAQs/

Chemically speaking, chlorine bleach is a water solution of sodium hypochlorite. Common household laundry bleach, used to whiten and disinfect laundry, is typically either 5.25 percent (“regular strength”) or 6 percent sodium hypochlorite (“ultra strength”). As a surface disinfectant, chlorine bleach is approved by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Agriculture for use in safe food production. It is also used to help prevent the spread of infections in homes, hospitals, nursing homes, schools and day care facilities.

[jacko45k]

On 13/04/2018 at 3:18 PM, weegee said:

Liquid Chlorine....straight from the bottle ....leave 5 mins and wash off thoroughly...job done.

Sounds like HG Brand bathroom mould spray available from HomePro and other home hardware stores. If the OP had a chlorine pool, ie chlorine granules, he can mix it up himself... carefully, protect eyes..

My Mrs got down on her ass and used a toothbrush, but beware of removing grout.

[impulse]

8 hours ago, KittenKong said:

It's odd though as I never had dirt build up in that way in Europe.

 

Scale buildup depends on how many PPM of dissolved solids are in the water, what kind they are, and how much water evaporates, leaving them behind.  If your water in Europe had lower PPM, you'd expect less scale buildup. 

 

It's mold, mildew and dirt that turns the scale (and the grout) black.  Tropical conditions are conducive to the mold and mildew.  I won't comment on the dirt that seems to drop out of the crappy air in burning season...except to suggest there is no burning season in Europe.

 

Edit:  On the flip side, and doing a little trolling here:  Acid rain will prevent the buildup of scale since the low pH (high acidity) of the rain dissolves the scale buildup...

 

Edited April 15, 2018 by impulse

[KittenKong]

Bleach in Thailand is 6%, and I don't think that any chlorine product is cheaper in the west than here.

The only sort of bleach I have ever seen here is the laundry bleach sold as "Haiter", as pictured in this thread. It is very weak and expensive. I used to buy bleach that was much stronger and much cheaper in Europe, but it was domestic cleaning bleach, not laundry bleach. Laundry bleach was also available there, at a higher price. So I am comparing EU cleaning bleach with Thai laundry bleach, as I have nothing else to compare it with here.

In fact I find that generally most manufactured items are both cheaper and better quality in Europe than they are here, but that's just one of the downsides to living here.

I have no idea how they sell bleach in the US, nor do I care.

[KittenKong]

Scale buildup depends on how many PPM of dissolved solids are in the water, what kind they are, and how much water evaporates, leaving them behind. If your water in Europe had lower PPM, you'd expect less scale buildup.

Our tap water in Europe was of course much cleaner than the water in my condo building here. But I dont think that's the reason. It's not limescale either: I know what that is and our water in Europe was much harder than it is here. But we did not have this problem there.
Maybe it's just the black soot (diesel smoke particles?) that collects on my balcony daily in spite of me living very near the sea, and that reacts and hardens over time. I also dont understand why it collects and goes hard on the edge of the tile, near the grout, but not on the grout or in the centre of the tile, as is visible in one of the OP's photos.
Strange.

[AboutThaim]

On 13/04/2018 at 3:18 PM, weegee said:

Liquid Chlorine....straight from the bottle ....leave 5 mins and wash off thoroughly...job done.

Be very careful with this.  I used it once in an enclosed room and could feel the gas affecting my lungs within minutes.

[weegee]

17 hours ago, AboutThaim said:

Be very careful with this.  I used it once in an enclosed room and could feel the gas affecting my lungs within minutes.

Of Course....but he is using it on tiles outside i thought.