Shower Tile and Grout renovation is a speciality of ours and has made us popular with landlords who understand properties are easier to rent when the bathrooms look fresh. This was the case with this shower cubicle at a rental property in Chorlton-cum-Hardy which is a popular suburb of Manchester south of Old Trafford.
The shower cubicle was in quite a state and well overdue a deep clean. You can see from the photographs that the shower tray was very dirty, the white ceramic wall tiles were grubby, the white grout had gone black and the silicone sealant had darkened with mould.
Cleaning a Grubby Shower Cubicle in Chorlton
Working in sections from top to bottom I began the cleaning process by treating the tile and grout with Tile Doctor Duo-Clean which a double action cleaning product. Duo-Clean is a recent addition to the Tile Doctor range and combines the properties of an effective tile and grout cleaner with a mould remover. It cleans and can remove mould and blackspot from grout and silicone, so an ideal product for cleaning up neglected shower cubicles.
The spray attachment mixes the product with air making it light and allowing it to easily stick to vertical surfaces where it can get to work breaking down dirt and mould. It was sprayed onto the wall tile and grout and then left to dwell for five minutes before being scrubbed in with a stiff brush. The area was subsequently rinsed with water to remove the soil. In some stubborn places, I didn’t achieve the desired result right away, so I repeated the cleaning process a couple of times before moving onto the next section. I can tell you a lot of elbow grease was expended on this particular cubicle, I even cleaned up the shower tray which had gone green with an accumulation of soap scum.
When the tile and grout was cleaned to the best of my abilities, I used a heat gun to dry the walls quickly. Next, I removed all the mouldy silicone around the shower tray with a sharp knife and then further dried the area.
Sealing Shower Grout
After everything was cleaned and dried, I sealed the grout using Tile Doctor Wall Tile and Grout Sealer Aerosol Spray. The tiles were glazed ceramic so won’t accept a sealer however the top layer of grout is porous which makes it vulnerable to dirt, grease, mould and limescale. Sealing will therefore ensure it keeps its appearance for longer and reduce the need for regular maintenance. Being a spray on sealer it’s very easy to apply, all you have to do is wipe it off the excess sealer from the adjacent tile afterwards.
When I had finished sealing the grout, I applied new, high quality and mould resistant silicone in White to match the tile and shower tray. With that, the restoration was complete.
The whole process took less than a day and although it was hard work both myself and the landlord were very pleased with the outcome. If you didn’t know any better, you would think it was a brand-new installation.
Covering Greater Manchester, Alex Logonzy is an agent of Tile Doctor, the largest Tile, Stone and Grout restorative cleaning network in the UK who have developed the products and techniques to handle a multitude of issues surrounding tile, stone and grout.