Tile and Grout Cleaning Information & Procedures
Pricing and Income Potential
The pricing of tile and grout cleaning varies greatly depending on many things which include, but are not limited to, size of the job, steps needed to achieve desired results, size of tiles and amount of grout, soiling condition and type of tile or stone. Refer to the stone care sheet for more information regarding natural stone surfaces.
Below is a guideline for cleaning man-made ceramic or porcelain tile and grout. These are national averages and many markets command prices far higher than those shown here.
Commercial $0.35 to $0.65 per sq ft - Standard $0.45 to $1.50 per sq ft - Restorative *
Residential $0.55 to $1.50 per sq ft - Standard $0.65 to $1.75 per sq ft - Restorative *
Sealing Grout $0.55 to $1.50 per sq ft depending on the square footage, size of tile, and amount of grout or size of grout paths.
* Restorative cleaning typically requires additional equipment, chemical treatments or procedures on neglected floors to achieve desired results. These steps include, but are not limited to agitation, acidic chemical treatments or stain removal, etc. Tile is one of the fastest growing installed surfaces for home or office. Recent history has shown us a tremendous shift to tile and stone over traditional materials for floors, countertops and back splash or tub surrounds. Consumers typically perceive tile to be more durable and cleanable than these traditional materials in addition to offering a richer nicer look. The market for tile and grout cleaning is bigger now than it has ever been and is growing every day.
Up until now the methods to clean these floors meant using an old fashioned mop and bucket. Cleaning grout lines involved hours on your knees with a brush and even then results were poor at best. Rotary scrubbers also yielded poor results, cleaning only the surface of the tile and leaving the grout untouched and most of the dirty water still on the floor. These inefficient methods led to one of two scenarios, poor cleaning or no cleaning at all, both of which are very bad for the floor and grout in particular.
With the advancements in equipment, chemistry and procedures, cleaning tile and grout has never been easier or more profitable than it is right now. Using either a high pressure portable or your truck mount extractor, along with a few specially designed attachments for tile and grout cleaning, you can get amazing results in a very short time.
As most contractors already have a truck mount unit, they need only invest in a few tools to get started. With the average price of these services, these contractors recover any up front investment usually within the first couple of jobs.
Product List (Suggested items to perform this service)
SX-15, SX-12, Turbo Hybrid 12", 15" 17" Hard Surface Tools, Gekko & Turbo Hybid Tools For Walls, Counter Tops, Edges, Corners, & Coving, Grout Brush, Handle For Grout Brush Grout Wand, Viper Venom, Viper Renew, Everlast Renovate & Impact, Prochem Professional & Restoration Cleaning Products, Defoamer, Premium Grout & Stone Sealer Solvent Grout Sealer, General Purpose Sponge, Bucket 14 QT, Measuring Cup 8 Ounce Large Spotting Towel, Business Building Postcards (50) Business Building Brochures (50) Accelerated Tile & Grout Learning Module
Educational Resources
Hydroforce Accelerated Tile & Grout Cleaning Module IICRC Stone, Masonry and Tile Technician Class (SMT)
Marketing
It is imperative you explain, and even more importantly, demonstrate the value of professional tile and grout cleaning. Most people won’t simply accept a bid that is as high as this might be without seeing results first. Try to perform a demonstration wherever possible prior to giving a price.
• List tile cleaning services on all forms of media which include, but are not limited to van lettering, invoices and business cards, newsletters, yellow page ads and web sites. • Hand out Hydro-Force “Dirty Tile” tri-fold brochure to all customers. • Mail Hydro-Force “Do you think your Tile is Clean” postcard to all previous customers.
Other Opportunities for tile cleaning are everywhere. Market your new services to your current customers, restaurants, realtors, commercial buildings, insurance companies, tile and grout retailers/installers, malls and hospitals.
Many cleaners make the mistake of thinking/saying, “I don’t do that. Carpet has been good to me and that’s what I do best”. If this is you, it is important you have a mind shift. With the drastic increase in tile installations and the reduction of carpet, it’s no longer just an opportunity but an economic necessity. In addition, you typically get two to three times what you get to clean carpet, and many times it’s easier than cleaning carpet.
