its manufacturer to be used with a pressure washing and scrubbing machine to pro-duce significant restroom results. When it comes to restrooms, spray and vacuum cleaning equipment has proven ideal to keep problems at a minimum, Mc-Garvey says. Cleaners’ Extra Innings Kastel explains that workers at Oriole Park use spray and vacuum equipment to clean restrooms after every game. This can be a challenge for cleaners due to frequent back-to-back games or day games that follow night games. “Due to the time constraints, grout clean-ing becomes tough on a daily basis,” Kas-tel states. During baseball season, project tasks like tile and grout work are scheduled in between the Orioles’ homestands, approx-imately every other week. “The All-Star break comes midsummer and is usually longer than your normal road trip,” Kastel explains. “Most teams try to schedule some of their more arduous and time consuming projects during this break.” When the maintenance and janitorial workers at Oriole Park have the time, they utilize a portable extractor, and sometimes even a buffer, for restroom floor project cleaning. The extractor includes a high-pressure solution hose, three vacuum motors, a wa-ter hook up as well as a dump hose. Further, the machine has automatic wa-ter fill and chemical feed, so cleaner dilu-tion is easy and efficient. To return stained grout lines to their origi-nal color, workers here use a Green Seal-certified, biodegradable product that con-tains hydrogen peroxide. “After we dilute it properly, we let [it] sit for about five minutes before we begin to work on the tile,” Kastel says. Grout Problems: You’re Out The first cleaning step McGarvey recom-mends is ascertaining what is causing grout discoloration. If soil can be seen creeping up a wall in the grout lines, managers need look no further than the nearest custodian’s mop bucket, he says. Aside from a troublesome mop bucket, managers should try to figure out what soil has discolored the grout and where it origi-nates. To remove existing discoloration, an ap-propriate cleaning agent should be used to loosen the soil with proper agitation from a brush or a pressure washer using 1,000 PSI or less. Once the soil has been loosened, recov-ery should be accomplished with a good-quality wet vacuum. “Trying to mop up the dirty solution is merely going to start the soiling process again,” McGarvey reveals. Once grout is properly cleaned — or bet-ter yet when grout is new — it should be sealed with an impregnating sealer. McGarvey notes this sealer will not add “shine” to the floor as it typically will not bond much, if at all, with the tile. This treatment simply seals the grout making it less porous and harder for soil to develop a stronghold to the surface. “The process is to thoroughly clean and rinse the grout, allow it to dry, then apply the sealer with a pump sprayer, paint roller or lamb’s wool applicator,” McGarvey says. “Allow the product to sit for a minimum of five to 10 minutes, then squeegee away any excess product.” After roughly 30 minutes, a second appli-cation may be applied, and approximately one hour after completion, the floor can be opened to foot traffic. Actual wet cleaning should not resume on the floor for 48 hours. Finally, McGarvey concludes that floor finish should never be used on a tile floor in place of an impregnating sealer. Floor finish typically does not hold up in this environment and can be difficult to completely remove from the floor, espe-cially in the grout lines. Grout line maintenance and cleaning has traditionally proved to be a challenge for most cleaning crews. For heavy trafficked areas, the use of air movers and proper ventilation will help keep moisture, bacteria and contaminants from thriving in porous grout. CM URINE HAS TO GO. Urine is one of the toughest stains to clean and odors to remove, especially on porous grout. When uric acid crystals are left behind, moisture will reactivate them and the smell will return. Clorox® Urine Remover elimi-nates odor-causing uric acid crystals and stains. You can breathe easier. Find more restroom solutions at Cloroxprofessional.com SMART and TOUGH © 2013 Clorox Professional Products Company. NI-20377 FREE INFO: Reader Service 216 or CMMOnline.com/freeinfo www.cmmonline.com 15
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