Lisa Breakspear explains the necessity of due diligence in wetroom installations
When installing tiles in a wetroom, getting the basics right in terms of protection and maintenance makes all the difference. Cleaning off installation residues, sealing porous materials and maintaining the surface properly will help retain the tiles’ aesthetic and performance features.
Porcelain, natural stone and glass mosaics are all popular choices and, in terms of grout, epoxy and cementitious formulations are most widely used. Whichever combination is specified, a good builder’s clean after installation is imperative. Leaving residues on a tile will compromise the aesthetic. In the case of a porous tile that needs to be sealed, this will affect the performance of the impregnator, preventing it from effectively sealing the porosity, and any dirt or grout left on the surface of the tile will be sealed in. It’s not uncommon to see sealed-in footprints on a floor and for the sealer to have to be stripped off, tiles cleaned and the protection re-applied; costly and time consuming. Installation residues can also affect the anti-slip properties of the tile and ongoing cleaning will be more difficult.
Specialist cleaning products are available to remove grout and installation residues and should be specified according to the type of grout used and the tile installed. This is especially important in the case of stone which can be sensitive to both acidic and alkaline cleaners. Bear in mind that cementitious grout is porous too; application of a grout protector will make ongoing cleaning easier and will prevent darkening of the joint when the tile is wet.
Once the initial clean is completed, and any porous materials have been sealed, you should also consider cleaning and maintenance. Recommending the correct regime post-installation can greatly reduce mistakes being made and, potentially, issues for the installer and manufacturer. Whether you’ve installed porous natural stone or sealed the grout joint, using a pH-neutral cleaning product will help ensure the longevity of the impregnator or grout protector. Specialist ready-to-use pH-neutral cleaning sprays are widely available and make cleaning tiles and grout joints easier.
All surfaces will also benefit from a periodic deep clean. This can be carried out with a pH-neutral cleaner at a stronger dilution or an alkaline cleaning product, depending on the tiles installed. These deep cleans will remove a build-up of organic dirt from the tile surface and the impregnator or grout sealer should then be re-applied to provide protection going forward.
