MARBLELIFE® | Recommended Products for Ceramic & Porcelain Floors |

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Tile Floor
Before and After
Professional MARBLELIFE Service

DIRTY GROUT

Dirty Grout can be Frustrating. Appears darkened and dirty. If you are struggling to get it clean – review Stained-Grout – as what appears dirty may be fighting you because it is actually stained. MARBLELIFE Tile & Grout Cleaner for daily use and MARBLELIFE MAXOUT Grout Cleaner to tackle particularly stubborn dirty grout.

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DIRTY GROUT

There is a difference between CLEAN and CLEANABLE. CLEAN is the absence of oil and dirt. That does not mean that the surface will necessarily look clean but rather that it is free of oil and dirt. How can that be? Damaged surfaces often exhibit a similar appearance. In order to effectively clean grout, the grout should first be sealed so that the dirt and oil is restricted to the top surface, versus being allowed to enter the pores in your grout. Once in the pores, even the best cleaner is going to have issues, as the mechanics of agitation are blocked. This is like trying to clean a test tube with a sponge you simply cannot get down into the pore to address the dirt build-up. The result is a continued dull or dingy appearance. The surface can be clean but the interior is contributing glimpses of the dirt within the depths out of reach of your mop, sponge or brush.

Powerwashing can help as we utilize the force of the water to enter and flush the grout pore, but this is temporary, as the root cause has not been addressed. Great for the cleaning service who get re-occurring income, but not for the grout owner.

A permanent fix is available but requires a restoration service provider knowledgeable in what is happening here, how to clean and prepare the surface, how to reseal the surface to keep future dirt on the surface when you can easily remove it, and then doing so in a manner that will restore the uniform cleanable surface you are trully seeking.

DIRT – Dirt is generally an oil on the surface to which dust and dirt are clinging. We can address this with a daily cleaner that can attack and emulsify oils while also lifting and solubilizing dirt.
STAINING – will present as a “Dirty” appearance but tends to be very difficult to remove. Staining implies it has penetrated the surface. In the case of grout this is due to a failure of the GROUT’s SEAL. Most grout seals employ an acid sensitive sealer which when cleaned over time with vinegar or an acidic cleaner is broken down and removed, leaving the grout to absorb dirt solubilized by the cleaner and during the tile-and-grout cleaning process. This collects in the lower grout line, where it can enter the pores. The water then evaporates leaving behind a layer of dirt until the pore is filled. Very difficult to remove with standard cleaning as one cannot get into the pore to agitate with a mop or brush. Powerwashing can direct energy into the pore to agitate and lift out much of the dirt, but does nothing to correct the problem – an unsealed grout surface.

MARBLELIFE PRODUCTS

MARBLELIFE MAXOUT – Formulated not just to clean, but to break the water tension that often prevents water from entering and flushing pores. MAXOUT is designed specifically for that first clean on a dirty floor. You will be amazed how the product color changes to dirty grey as it works. On sanded grout, when done you will be able to see individual sand quartz glinting back. If you still see darkening, then you likely have unsealed grout and may need an additional service to flush deep into the pores, and then reseal to prevent dirt penetrating again.

MARBLELIFE FLOOR CLEANER CONCENTRATE or MARBLELIFE FLOOR CLEANER READY-TO-USE – Daily cleaning of tile and grout with MARBLELIFE FLOOR CLEANER CONCENTRATE will quickly emulsify oil and dirt making it easy to remove to your bucket with a damp mop. This product will also work to keep your mop water clean as it is engineered to drop the dirt to the bucket bottom so the mop water stays cleaner longer resulting in fewer mop bucket changes and a cleaner floor.

If you are frustrated because you cannot get your dirty grout clean OR you have cleaned it but it comes back routinely, OR you have tried numerous products without success, then you are probably dealing with unsealed grout, or grout that has been treated or cleaned with vinegar or an acidic cleaner that has destroyed the existing seal. In effect, the issue may be that you CANNOT get it clean until the root cause damage has been addressed. Have no fear we have solutions for this as well. Once addressed, you can have a CLEAN appearance and will find maintaining it is MUCH easier.

This can be addressed as follows:

MARBLELIFE SERVICE

STEP 1 - Powerwash with an oil emulsifying cleaner like MARBLELIFE FLOOR CLEANER CONCENTRATE to remove surface dirt and as much as possible from grout pores.

STEP 2 - Reseal pore. A clear seal will freeze the appearance which may not be perfect, so one wants a colorized sealer colored to match the original grout. This will restore a uniform appearance as it fills in and seals the grout line. This sealer needs to be acid resistant. MARBLELIFE COLORSEAL was expressly formulated to be acid resistant while also allowing us to color it to match existing grout or change its color.

STEP 3 - Reglaze the tile – if the tile is worn or matte MARBLELIFE can reglaze the tile surface to restore a new appearance, and do so with several benefits including anti-slip performance, anti-graffiti and mold resistance. You may not need these features but they are built into the MARBLELIFE TILELOK glazing system.

POST MARBLELIFE RESTORATIVE SERVICE CARE PRODUCTS – we guarantee you will have a clean uniform appearance, and will have a MUCH easier time maintaining a clean appearance as follows:

Clean with non-acidic, non-wax containing, non-oil containing degreaser and emulsying cleaners such as MARBLELIFE FLOOR CONCENTRATE CLEANER.

Once restored, maintaining a clean appearance IS EASY.
Stay away from cleaners that offer additional benefits such as
- Scented = deposits oils to the surface which trap dirt
- Shine = often means they have incorporated waxes to enhance reflectivity. Problem is that wax is deposited before the surface is cleaned trapping dirt over time, and requiring a professional service to remove.
- Acid = Your tile or granite may be acid safe, but unless your grout has been sealed with MARBLELIFE COLORSEAL it is likely not acid resistant. Penetrating sealers, silicone sealers, siloxane sealers are all acid sensitive.

Once restored, maintaining a clean appearance IS EASY.
Stay away from cleaners that offer additional benefits such as
- Scented = deposits oils to the surface which trap dirt
- Shine = often means they have incorporated waxes to enhance reflectivity. Problem is that wax is deposited before the surface is cleaned trapping dirt over time, and requiring a professional service to remove.
- Acid = Your tile or granite may be acid safe, but unless your grout has been sealed with MARBLELIFE COLORSEAL it is likely not acid resistant. Penetrating sealers, silicone sealers, siloxane sealers are all acid sensitive.

MARBLELIFE recommends using MARBLELIFE FLOOR CONCENTRATE CLEANER for your daily cleaning. It is wax free, oil free and acid free. Formulated as an exceptional degreasing and emulsifying cleaner to quickly and easily lift dirt and debris from the surface. Also formulated to move dirt out of your way when working with a mop bucket as it will drop dirt and emulsified oil out of solution to the bottom of the bucket to maintain your water as clean as possible. Glue a quarter to the bottom of the mop bucket and change the water as soon as you cannot see the quarter.

CLEANERS:

MARBLELIFE® Tile & Grout Floor Cleaner Concentrate 32oz Squeeze & Pour

Marblelife Tile & Grout Cleaner – Countertop & Floor Cleaners
Cleans Beautifully While Saving You 80% Over Ready-To-Use

Most Effective & Ecconomical
Supported by World’s Leading Stone Service Company
100% Satisfaction Guarantee Plus
Eco-Friendly & Made in America
Safe & Effective, No Harsh Chemicals or Odors and 100% Grout Safe

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MARBLELIFE MAXOUT CLEANER – PRE-MARBLELIFE COLORSEAL SERVICE CLEANER

Is formulated reduce water’s natural water tension to enable it to more easily enter grout pores and float out the dirt and oils that have penetrated. So effective that one can see the cleaner turn dark as it pulls up oils and dirt. Once done one can actually see sand crystals in sanded grout glint back. This is an effective pre-treatment prior to applying MARBLELIFE COLORSEAL.

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MARBLELIFE TILE & GROUT CLEANER – EVERYDAY MAINTENANCE CLEANER

Once properly sealed any dirt or oil is forced to remain on the surface where it can easily be removed with MARBLELIFE TILE & GROUT CLEANER which is formulate to emulsify oils, greases, and fats that serve to help stick dirt to your floor and surfaces. This is a superior cleaner formulated to clean without acids and without depositing any oils or waxes which can result in grout damage and staining.

Once MARBLELIFE COLORSEALED your floor is not just CLEANABLE again, but easily cleaned with MARBLELIFE TILE & GROUT CLEANER.

For larger areas consider MARBLELIFE FLOOR CLEANER which comes in a concentrate gallon capable of making 32 gallons of cleaner.

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Tile Floor
Before and After
Maxout

Stained Grout

Stained and dirty grout is a common problem. Virtually every grouted floor will eventually run into this problem, until they have been MARBLELIFE Colorsealed. This is characterized by a darkening of grout lines in high traffic areas, and can be observed as a difference between grout along walls, baseboards and walls versus high traffic floor areas. Good News - there is a specialty product solution that can take care of this for you.

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Stained Grout

Grout is naturally porous, unless it has been properly sealed. This assumes the installer can tell whether they have applied enough material to fill the open pore, or just to get the surface wet.

Once sealed, one must be careful not to introduce acidic cleaners which are capable or reversing the seal chemistry and allowing the seal to be washed away with each cleaning.

As a result, most grout seals have or will fail. Once can either re-seal or shift to a non-acid sensitive solution such as MARBLELIFE-Colorseal.

Once stained, grout needs to be cleaned to remove embedded dirt and oils. However, cleaning a stained grout line is like trying to clean the bottom of a test-tube with a sponge, it is very difficult to get into those tight spaces. As such, one needs to powerwash or introduce a surfactant based cleaner to reduce water tension to allow the cleaner to penetrate and float out dirt and oils.

Once removed the grout may be clean, but is still open. As such one must re-seal in some fashion to prevent a re-occurrence. Today, powerwashing grout is a good repeat maintenance business but does the customer a dis-service as it fails to remedy the root cause – unsealed grout.

MARBLELIFE COLORSEAL was developed to enable our craftsman to apply a solution that would halt this problem once and for all. Engineered to be impervious to acids, even if one were to continue to introduce an acid cleaner after sealing with MARBLELIFE COLORSEAL the product would remain intact preventing dirt from penetrating the grout surface.

MARBLELIFE then went a step further enabling the product to be colored to match the existing grout color OR to a preferred new color. (Yes, we can change white to black and black to white or any other color you may desire). This allows the installer to ensure that all grout surfaces have been fully sealed, as the color will shadow in areas of high porosity enabling our installers to ascertain which areas need additional material. When complete, a MARBLELIFE COLORSEAL floor will be better-than-new, with superior color uniformity, and an acid resistant seal that can stand-up to future cleaning – even it is with an acidic cleaner.

CLEANERS:

MARBLELIFE MAXOUT CLEANER – PRE-MARBLELIFE COLORSEAL SERVICE CLEANER

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MARBLELIFE TILE & GROUT CLEANER – EVERYDAY MAINTENANCE CLEANER

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Shower
Before and After
Mold and Mildew Remover

Red or Black Mold & Mildew stains

Mold spores are ever present, however they need a damp and preferably dark area with access to organic material to settle and grow. The stain observed is not the fungi itself but its waste product, still can be difficult to remove. Good News - there is a specialty product solution that can take care of this for you.

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Red or Black Mold & Mildew stains

Change the environment to improve drying or airflow can halt the re-appearance once cleaned and removed.

If mold is present remove mold and mildew stains with ease and without risk of damage to your surfaces with MARBLELIFE MOLD & MILDEW STAIN REMOVER

CLEANERS:

Mold & Mildew Cleaner 2x (2x Retail Strength)

Power through mold and mildew stains to restore a blemish free surface without damaging tile, grout or grout seal.

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Mold & Mildew Cleaner 6x (Professional Strength)

Power up the effort with the strongest cleaner on the market. Dilute it back as a concentrate or use as is to power through mold and mildew. Excellent for use in showers, driveway and patios.

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Glass Shower Door
Before and After
Soap Scum Remover

White Soap Scum on Glass

The chemicals that hold your soap together also help it to stick to your shower and tub walls and floor. White and soft in color. VERY difficult to remove by hand. Good News - there is a specialty product solution that can take care of this for you.

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White Soap Scum

The chemicals that hold your soap together also help it to stick to your shower and tub walls and floor. White and soft in color. VERY difficult to remove by hand.

The easiest way to remove is with a mild abrasive, however this can result in damage to the underlying surface. As such, MARBLELIFE developed an abrasive designed to be harder than soap but softer than the surface we are cleaning so it crumbles on contact.

MARBLELIFE Soap Scum Remover is both the solution and the cleaner. Once free-of-soap maintain using the appropriate surface MARBLELIFE cleaner.

CLEANERS:

Soap & Scum Remover

If you have a soap dish, you likely have soap scum. Soap Scum Remover is engineered to cut through soap without damaging tile to rapidly remove soap scum problems and restore a soap free surface. Actually fun to use. You can feel and hear when you are once again soap-free.

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Special service required to restore a "cleanable" surface

Water Fountain
Before and After
Professional MARBLELIFE Service

White Hard Water

White in color these are often shaped like water droplets on glass, however if allowed to go unaddressed will expand to form a crusty mass on the surface as seen in this example where the calcium has formed a blanket of white chalky build-up. Good news, this can be addressed.

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White Hard Water

White in color these are often shaped like water droplets on glass.

Created when “hard” calcium rich water is allowed to evaporate. These hard deposits require different treatments depending on the surface. Acids will dissolve them but will also dissolve marble, limestone and travertine making this an in appropriate removal process.

On Calcium based surfaces such as Marble, Limestone or Travertine – you will want a professional to remove without damaging the surface. On granite, metal or glass use lemon juice.

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Tile Floor
Before and After
Professional MARBLELIFE Service

Countertop Dull Spots

Dulling of countertop finish. This is generally uniform across the entire surface. Good News - This is addressable with a professional cleaning and a change in daily cleaner.

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Dull Spots Wax Build-Up

Wax build up from use of wax-containing common glass cleaners and kitchen cleaners. Cleaners will often incorporate a wax in order to fill in micro-abrasions and enhance shine on the belief that the American public equates “shiny” with “clean.” These are actually entirely unrelated. The wax is soft, attracts dirt, and dulls overtime, requiring additional cleaning and fresh wax to restore that clean appearance, when in fact, the wax is now the primary deterant to achieving a clean look, a clean surface and a cleanable surface.

Are generally caused by repeated use of wax containing or gloss enhancing cleaner. Over time wax build-up traps dirt, defracts light as it thickens to block the natural light reflection under the polished surface beneath it.

A professional will need to remove the wax and address any polishing needs your particular surface may need to restore a cleanable surface at which point a wax-free cleaner is recommended based on surface type MARBLELIFE offers cleaners for MARBLE & TRAVERTINE, GRANITE & QUARTZ, TILE & GROUT, WOOD and CONCRETE & TERRAZZO

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Tilelok application
Before and After
Professional MARBLELIFE Service

Dull spots (wear)

Ceramic tile may be hard but over time it will wear, and when it does it creates a dull dirty appearing finish. Once damaged no cleaner will restore a cleanable surface until addressed. GOOD NEWS! We can re-glaze your tile surface to restore its original appearance, and even enhance cleanability and anti-slip performance.

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Dull spots (wear)

Generally this is caused by micro-scratches and scratches worn into the tile surface that prevent it from reflecting light uniformly and properly, and serving as areas to capture and hold onto dirt, making the surface difficult to maintain in a cleanable manner.

This condition is often accompanied by stained grout that is also proving difficult to maintain or clean.

Restore or Replace the Tile. Historically, one has been told its time to replace the tile, or begin to wax the surface, creating a whole new set of potential problems and frustrations.

MARBLELIFE can restore these surfaces, and even update your finish to a clean, cleanable, uniform gloss appearance that requires no waxing and behaves like an original tile, but with superior anti-slip and anti-mold performance.

MARBLELIFE TileLoktm is typically combined with MARBLELIFE COLORSEAL to provide a better-than-new easy to maintain cleanable tile and grout surface.

TileLok serves to re-glaze the ceramic surface filling in scratches and wear marks, and can even be used to upgrade a matte or semi-gloss finish to a gloss finish. The new finish is durable, scratch resistant, mold-resistant, and provides an anti-slip coefficient of friction centered within the Veteran Administrations recommended optimal range for a beautiful, cleanable, enhanced tile surface, without the cost, dust or loss-of-use of replacement and can be done in hours versus days.

MARBLEIFE COLORSEAL – addresses your grout by upgrading its seal to an acid-resistant colorable seal capable of restoring better color consistency than when the grout was originally put in with the added benefits of being resistant to acid attack consistenly cleanable grout line even if you do bring an acid cleaner onto the surface later.

IMAGES – Shriners Hospital Red Tile Before & Afters

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Granite Floor
Before and After
Professional MARBLELIFE Service

Slippery

Floor is slippery when walking across it.

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Slippery

Slip requires the presence of a moveable material in the form of oil or dust, on top of a surface that lacks sufficient roughness to resist movement.

Contrary to popular notions – a shiny surface is not necessarily slippery. That said, it is true that generally a smooth surface has a smaller coefficient of friction making it easier to slip when dust or water are present or introduced. That said, different materials have different coefficient of frictions as such the application of wax to a surface will often reduce its coefficient of friction making to more slippery. Similarly the introduction of oils to enhance gloss appearance will result in a more slippery surface.

Similarly, one can slip on what is considered a rough surface – A car traveling at speed can hydroplane on a road when the surface is wet. The water is the moveable media in this case.

As such, one can reducing slip by maintaining a dry, dust free-surface, by removing waxes, and resisting the use of oils to enhance appearance in preference to managing the surface characteristics directly.

Solutions will vary based on the particulars of your situation including surface type, surface modifications, cleaning strategies, sealing conditions and the presence of wax.

Change in floor finish, topical coatings or the introduction of non-skid media in the form of a coating or tape may all contribute to reduction, but are not suitable in all conditions.

It is recommended that you have a professional craftsman review the particulars of your situation to ascertain specific recommendations.

Products
When it comes to cleaning floors in a manner to reduce the incidence of slip it is generally safe to say that the most important consideration is establishing a frequency based on the expected introduction of dust and water to the surface. The frequency needed can be modified through the use of appropriate matting, selecting mats based on what is needed most and may require use of multiple types to address debris versus water.

Surface modifications should avoid the use of waxes which can modify coefficient of slip to be too high as well as too low.

Surface finishes can be a factor by increasing roughness of the surface.

There are no universal recommendations here as one needs to formulate a strategy consistent with one’s use and surroundings.

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If you are struggling to get back to clean, it is possible what looks like dirt may be damage and may require some special attention in the form of a specialty cleaner or a service. Mold, Soap Scum, and Cleaner-deposited-Waxes will generally require more attention than a daily cleaner will be able to provide. If you found your situation in the images above, you already know what is needed to restore a “cleanable” surface.

If you are already aware of the importance of using a non-damaging cleaner designed to clean without creating these common avoidable situations then you are looking for MARBLELIFE’s Tile & Grout Cleaner and Concentrates.

If neither applies – call MARBLELIFE – our trained professionals – have encountered it all before as the only company that provides specialty clean-and-restore services and has been formulating and deploying non-damaging cleaners for more than 30 years, we are uniquely qualified to address your “frustrations,” and to assist in returning you to a cleanable surface, and then helping you keep it there with the right cleaning solutions.

KNOW YOUR TERMS – this can facilitate selection of the correct tool or product.

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Know you terms – this can facilitate selection of the correct tool or product.

Cleaners are designed to remove everything from the surface without depositing waxes or oils.
Polishes are designed to smooth the surface in order to better reflect light. These are not coatings designed to lay on the surface but being softer than stone wear and fail, but rather a polish seeks to smooth the hard stone surface for maximum longevity.
Sealers (penetrating) are designed to fill in grout pores to prevent dirt and stain from penetrating, but not to lay on the surface (topical).
Specialty Cleaners are designed to address special situations which exist once, until we address it, so you can return to a cleanable surface. So Maxout is designed to lift dirt and oils out of pores. Soap Scum is engineered specifically to cut through soap or burnt on grime to restore a soap and grime free surface to a cleanable one.

MARBLELIFE products therefore use no acids, no waxes or oil deposits.