I have a significant amount of grout residue on my new slate tile. It is mostly along all the ridges within the tiles. Is there some cleaner that will make this easier than just scraping off? Can I power wash at a low setting?

 

Dear Jodi:

Can't you call back the installer and have them deal with their own mess?

If for some reason you can't call your setter back, I must warn you that it is not going to be an easy feat.

Power washing is not the kind of action that you want to take. Not only is the power-washing itself meaningless if not done with the right chemical, but the main point is that to have any hope to be able to remove that grout reside without scraping, the right chemical should be left soaking the residue for a long time, before brushing it off (hopefully). Considering that slate can be highly sensitive to pH active substances and could be adversely affected (etching) by some, test the cleaning product on a spare tile before going all out and do the job.

You have to try with a heavy-duty alkaline cleaner with chelates in its formula, rated “for natural stone”, like MB-3. Follow the directions printed on the bottle, but expand dramatically the soaking time, to up to 30 minutes or so.

Keeping your fingers crossed might also help!...

 

Now remember, it's never too early to think about the proper maintenance of your stone. The issue of what you'll be doing day in and day out to your stone is – as it should be intuitive – vastly more important than its sealing (if and when possible and/or advisable) and it's all too often neglected. As you can tell by reading many of this site's postings, you're not likely to get good information about routine care from your dealer or installer. Don't become another statistic! By logging into the Helpful Hints section of our website at:   http://www.mbstone.com/HH_promo/helpful_hints.htm , you will be able to get the short version of our maintenance guidelines at no charge. The full version of it – a 7-page document considered by many as an industry benchmark – is available in pay-per-download format in our Educational Literature section at:   http://www.mbstone.com/literature/literature.htm .  

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Ciao and good luck,

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