How to clean old, dirty grout without damaging marble tiles

Q: The white polished tile in my entrance hallway and half bath has grout between the tiles. It probably has never been cleaned. When I recently had my carpets washed, I asked what the company could do to clean the grout. I was informed that any product would harm or ruin the marble tiles. The now-gray grout is so ugly. Do you have any advice?
College Park
A: Acidic cleaners damage polished marble tile as well as grout, so stay away from those. However, mildly alkaline cleaners can be used for both materials. These include Spic and Span and Mr. Clean. To be sure a product is suitable, check the label or search the Web for the product name and the word “marble.”
Be sure to rinse thoroughly, or the cleaner may leave a sticky residue. The easiest way to do that? Use a shop vacuum to remove the soapy water. Then wipe the floor with clear water and vacuum up any residue. Rinse at least one more time.
Once the grout and floor are clean, apply a penetrating sealer to the grout — and to the stone tiles if they aren’t already sealed. To test, sprinkle on some water. If the water beads up, the tile and/or grout are sealed; if the water sinks into either material, it is not sealed or is in need of resealing. Miracle Sealants’ 511 Impregnator Sealer ($34 for a quart at Lowe’s) is an example of a penetrating sealer suitable for marble and grout.

US Decorative Tile Market

Decorative Tile analyzes the US decorative tile market. It offers historical demand data (2005, 2010 and 2015) plus forecasts (2020 and 2025) by product, application and market. The study also considers key market environment factors, assesses the industry structure, analyzes company market share and profiles 33 US industry players including Florim Ceramiche, Crossville, Internacional de Ceramica, Shaw Industries and Mohawk.


Building construction expenditures to drive decorative tile demand

Growth in building construction expenditures will drive advances for US demand in decorative tile through 2020. The residential market is expected to post faster gains than the nonresidential market, bolstered by healthy increases in housing completions and continued interest in kitchen and bathroom renovation projects. In the nonresidential market, rebounding institutional building expenditures and growth in office and commercial building spending will drive decorative tile demand gains.

More decorative tiles made in US by 2020

According to Decorative Tile, a new study from The Freedonia Group, foreign trade plays a crucial role in the US decorative tile industry. The majority of decorative tiles can be made more cheaply abroad due to low cost labor structures and better access to raw materials, and as a result four-fifths of US tile demand in 2015 was imported. Through 2020, however, imports' share of the market is expected to fall as foreign producers expand their decorative tile manufacturing capacity in the US in order to fulfill domestic orders more quickly and to create products specifically tailored to the tastes of US consumers.

TPT growth to spur porcelain tile gains

Freedonia projects that porcelain tile will register the fastest growth in area demand terms through 2020. The rise in popularity of thin porcelain tile (TPT) will especially bolster demand. TPT's larger size and light weight, as well as performance attributes including resistance to scratches and cracking, make it a popular choice in both residential and commercial markets.

Ceramic tile will continue to account for the largest share by far. Ceramic floor tiles remain the most popular type of tile in both residential and nonresidential applications because of its affordability and low maintenance requirements. However, ceramic tile will continue to lose market share going forward to higher value alternatives such as Rustic porcelain tile and stone tile.

Flooring to remain dominant application

Flooring is the predominant application for decorative tile, and demand is expected to grow faster than any other application through 2020. In the residential market, gains will be boosted by consumer interest in tile flooring in kitchens, bathrooms, dining rooms, and foyers, both in new housing and in renovation projects. Decorative tile flooring also appeals to construction professionals and building managers in the nonresidential market because of its durability, low maintenance requirements, and slip resistance.

Things to Consider When Buying LED Lighting

• Equivalent Wattage - While lumens are the new standard, it helps to have an easily recognizable guide. Comparing an LED bulb to an incandescent will give you a rough estimate of just how well it will light a room. As a very ballpark figure for LED wattages, 1/4 or 1/5 the incandescent wattage value is usually close to what you need.
• Lumens - Lumens directly measure just how much light the bulb gives out in total. On average, a 60-watt incandescent shines at 800 lumens, with roughly 50-100 lumens of difference above or below. The variance depends on manufacturer and age of the lamp. LED wall lamp is directly rated for their max lumen rating and last much longer without dimming of the bulb.
• Color Temperature - Your guide to how the light itself will look. Lower values are warmer, with 2700-3000K being a more incandescent "warm white" while higher temperatures like 5000K will deliver a very harsh "stark white" light.
• Driver Content - Because of their design, LEDs do not typically run on AC voltage. Many LEDs require some form of driver to convert the voltage from AC to DC for proper operation. The majority of socket-based LED lamps are self-driven, but you should always check before buying to make sure that you buy both an LED and a driver at the same time if it isn't self-driven.

Wall Printer

American Mural offers a state of the art way to print wall murals using specially developed and patented direct to wall printing technology. We do not create ordinary murals to decorate your walls. American Mural has created a new wall art mural solution for customers. Our specially designed and manufactured direct to wall printer can print any digital image onto almost any vertical surface, creating unique wall art murals. Without touching a wall, it blows micro drops of specially designed health safe in onto your wall, creating highly detailed digital image like any other inkjet printer.

Why are we different than other mural companies? The answer is, we create more innovative and creative murals with endless design solutions. Our advanced technology acts more like a human painter than a printer. So what does it do?

Our printer is an upgraded inkjet coder with an advanced printing head and specially designed support construction. Wall printer uses piezoelectric nozzle to create high quality image up to 1440dpi with a speed of up to 2 square meters per hour. Positioning X, Y and Z indicators help to track a printing head while moving along rails and keep accurate distance from the wall. Our murals become a part of your walls. They not like the typical decals you find online. You don’t need to stick anything to your wall. Our service is unique. Make a coffee and watch how we create a flawless piece of art on your wall.

We create an artwork up to your ideas, with our software we transform image into printable material for printer, we come to your home or business and it takes only 2-3 hours to finish a standard 2-3 square meter wall mural. Easy!