Tile & Grout Cleaning
Tile & Grout Cleaning Services in Raleigh, NC
Restorative cleaning for tile floors and showers in houses, townhomes, and condos across Raleigh and Wake County. Grout lines brought back to their original color, then sealed so mop water stays on the surface. Quoted by the square foot and confirmed before we start.
- Alkaline pre-treatment and spinner extraction
- Grout sealed with a penetrating sealer
- Stone-safe process for travertine, marble, and slate
- Dry to walk on in about an hour
Free quote in minutes
Get your price and a time slot
Same-week availability across most of the Triangle.
Overview
Why your grout is dark, and how we bring it back
Grout darkens for a simple reason. It is porous cement, and every time a floor is mopped, the mop water carries dissolved soil across the tile and leaves it in the lowest point, which is the grout line. The tile itself dries clean because it is glazed and sealed. The grout soaks up the dirty water and holds the soil once it dries. Repeat that a few hundred times and the grout in a Raleigh kitchen goes from the light gray it was installed in to something closer to brown, with the darkest lines running through the path between the sink, the stove, and the back door. Scrubbing by hand with a household cleaner rarely reverses it, because the soil is inside the grout, not on top of it.
Our tile and grout cleaning is designed to pull that soil back out. We start by applying an alkaline pre-treatment to the whole floor and letting it dwell, so it can loosen the grease and body oils that bind the dirt to the cement. Grout lines are then agitated with a rotary brush or a stiff hand brush, depending on the layout. The floor is rinsed with high-pressure hot water through a spinner tool, a covered rotary head that sprays and vacuums at the same time. The pressure flushes the loosened soil out of the grout and the vacuum recovers it immediately, so nothing splashes onto cabinets or baseboards. Corners and edges the spinner cannot reach are finished with a hand wand.
Once the floor is clean and dry, we recommend sealing the grout. A penetrating sealer soaks into the cement and fills the pores that absorbed the mop water in the first place. It does not change the look of the grout or leave a film on the tile. Sealed grout still needs mopping, but the soil stays on the surface where the mop can pick it up instead of sinking in. The floor has to be fully dry before the sealer goes on, so on most jobs we apply it at the end of the same visit after the extraction has flashed off. Showers and other areas that hold moisture longer are sealed on a short return visit. Keep the floor dry for the rest of the day so the sealer can cure.
Not every tile floor gets the same treatment. Ceramic and porcelain, which make up most of the floors in newer subdivisions in Apex, Holly Springs, and Wake Forest, tolerate the full alkaline process and high pressure. Natural stone is different. Travertine, marble, slate, and limestone are calcium-based or layered, and an acidic cleaner will etch the surface or dull the polish permanently. Those floors are cleaned with a pH-neutral stone cleaner, lower pressure, and softer brushes, and they are sealed with a stone-specific sealer afterward. The technician identifies the surface during the walkthrough and tests any cleaner in an inconspicuous spot first. If you are not sure what your floor is, send a photo with the form and we will tell you.
We clean tile in kitchens, bathrooms, showers, entryways, laundry rooms, and mudrooms, plus the long tiled hallways common in older homes inside the Raleigh Beltline. Entryways and mudrooms usually carry the most red clay, and showers carry soap scum and hard water film on top of the grout soil, so both are quoted with that in mind. Pricing is by the square foot, confirmed on the walkthrough before we start, and the sealer is a separate line item you can accept or decline. Most floors are dry to walk on about an hour after cleaning. Every job carries our seven-day satisfaction guarantee. If a section does not look right within seven days, contact us and we return and re-treat it at no charge.
What is included
What a tile and grout cleaning includes
Every tile job follows this sequence. Grout sealing is an optional add-on at the end, and natural stone floors get the pH-neutral version of the same steps.
Before we clean
- Walkthrough and surface identification (ceramic, porcelain, or natural stone)
- Price confirmed by the square foot before we start
- Floor swept and vacuumed to remove loose grit
- Baseboards, cabinet toe kicks, and adjacent flooring masked
- Alkaline or pH-neutral pre-treatment applied and allowed to dwell
- Grout lines agitated with a rotary or hand brush
The clean itself
- High-pressure hot water extraction with a spinner tool
- Edges, corners, and thresholds detailed with a hand wand
- Individual treatment of stubborn grease or rust spots
- Floor squeegeed and air movers placed
- Penetrating grout sealer applied once dry (optional add-on)
- Final walkthrough with you before we leave
Not part of the standard service
Some of these are separate services or optional add-ons; others are outside what we do. Ask when you book.
- Repair of cracked, crumbling, or missing grout
- Color sealing of permanently stained grout (quoted separately)
- Efflorescence removal, the white mineral haze pushed up from beneath the tile
- Stripping wax or acrylic finish from tile
- Regrouting or recaulking showers and tubs
See every step, and how a standard clean compares with a deep clean and pet treatment, on our process page.
When to book
When Raleigh homeowners book tile and grout cleaning
Grout that no longer matches
The grout by the back door is brown and the grout under the table is still gray. That contrast is soil, not age, and extraction brings the two back to the same color.
Before you list or after you close
Kitchen and bath tile photographs poorly when the grout is dark. Agents book us before listing photos, and new owners book us before the moving truck so the floors start clean.
Showers with soap scum and dark grout
Shower grout holds body oils, soap film, and mildew in a way hand scrubbing does not reach. We clean the floor and walls, then seal the grout once it has dried.
Entryways after pollen and clay season
Spring pollen and red clay settle into entry and mudroom grout faster than anywhere else in the house. A late-spring clean resets those lines before summer humidity locks the soil in.
Why us
Why Raleigh trusts us with their tile
- 01
Extraction, not mopping
Mopping moves dirty water into the grout. Our spinner tool pushes hot water into the grout under pressure and vacuums it out in the same pass, so the soil leaves the floor instead of settling deeper.
- 02
Chemistry matched to the surface
Ceramic and porcelain get an alkaline cleaner that cuts grease. Travertine, marble, and slate get a pH-neutral stone cleaner and lower pressure, because acids and harsh alkalines etch stone permanently.
- 03
Sealed so it stays clean
A penetrating sealer fills the pores in the grout after cleaning. Future mop water stays on the surface, and the floor holds its color far longer than unsealed grout in the same kitchen.
- 04
Quoted before, not after
The price is measured by the square foot during the walkthrough and confirmed before any equipment comes in. Sealing and shower walls are line items you approve up front.
Reviews
What neighbors say after the first visit
“The kitchen grout went from gray-brown back to the off-white it was supposed to be. They sealed it afterward and mopping is noticeably easier now.”
“Three bedrooms and a hallway that had not been touched since we moved in. The traffic lanes are actually gone, not just lighter, and everything was dry by that evening.”
“Our older dog had a few accidents in the same corner and the smell came back every humid week. They treated the pad, not just the surface, and it has stayed gone through the whole summer.”
Service areas
Tile & Grout Cleaning across the Triangle
Local pages with neighborhood notes and answers to common questions for each area we serve.
On the map
Tile & Grout Cleaning across Raleigh and Wake County
Questions
Tile & Grout Cleaning questions
Most tile floors are dry to walk on in about an hour. The spinner tool recovers nearly all of the rinse water, and we squeegee and place an air mover on anything that is still damp. Showers and grout lines in low spots can take a little longer. If we are sealing the grout, we wait until the floor is fully dry first, then ask you to keep it dry for the rest of the day.
Most grout comes back to its original color or very close to it, because the darkening is soil that extraction can remove. There are limits. Grout that has been stained by dye, rust, or years of acidic cleaners may not fully lighten, and cracked or crumbling grout needs repair rather than cleaning. When that is the case we tell you on the walkthrough and can quote color sealing as an option.
Yes, with a different process. Natural stone is sensitive to acids and strong alkalines, which etch the surface and dull the finish. We use a pH-neutral stone cleaner, lower pressure, and softer brushes, and we test in an inconspicuous spot first. Stone floors are sealed with a stone-specific penetrating sealer afterward. Tell us the type of stone when you send the form, or send a photo if you are not sure.
We recommend it for almost every floor we clean. Freshly cleaned grout is open and porous, and sealing it while it is clean is the only way to keep the mop water out. The sealer goes on once the floor is fully dry, usually at the end of the same visit. Keep the floor dry for the rest of the day and avoid heavy foot traffic while it cures overnight.
Pricing is by the square foot and depends on the surface type, the width of the grout lines, and how much soil has built up. Grout sealing, shower walls, and natural stone are quoted as their own line items. Send the rooms and approximate sizes through the form and we will reply with a quote, and the technician confirms it on the walkthrough before starting.
Yes. Shower floors, walls, and niches are cleaned with the same pre-treatment and hand tools, with a focus on soap scum, body oil, and mildew in the grout. Because showers hold moisture longer, the sealer is applied on a short return visit once everything is dry. Cracked grout, failed caulk, and leaks behind the tile are repair work rather than cleaning, and we point them out if we see them.
Clear the floor of rugs, mats, trash cans, and anything small. We move light furniture such as kitchen chairs and bathroom stands and put them back when the floor is dry. Appliances, vanities, and heavy pieces stay in place and we clean up to them. If pets are in the house, plan to keep them off the floor for about an hour while it dries.
All of Raleigh, including North Raleigh, Midtown, downtown, and the neighborhoods inside and outside the Beltline, plus Cary, Apex, Morrisville, Wake Forest, Garner, Knightdale, Holly Springs, Fuquay-Varina, Durham, and Clayton. Each area has its own page with local notes. If you are just outside those boundaries, send your zip code with the form and we will confirm.
Every one to three years for floors, depending on traffic and how often they are mopped. Kitchen and entry grout wears through its sealer faster than a guest bath. Showers need it more often because hot water and cleaners break the sealer down. A simple check is to drip a little water on a grout line. If it beads up, the sealer is still working. If it soaks in and darkens the grout within a minute or two, it is time to clean and reseal.
Yes, with color sealing. A color seal is a pigmented, water-based coating that goes over clean, dry grout and gives every line a uniform color, whether that is the original shade or something new. It is the answer for grout that is permanently stained, blotchy from a bad installation, or a color you never liked. It also seals the grout against mop water the way a penetrating sealer does. Color sealing is quoted separately after the floor has been cleaned, and it takes an extra visit.
No. Cleaning removes soil from grout that is intact. It cannot fill a gap or bond a crumbling line back together, and high-pressure rinsing can loosen grout that is already failing, so we work carefully around those spots. If we find cracked, missing, or crumbling grout on the walkthrough, we show it to you and recommend having it regrouted before the floor is sealed. Once the repair has cured, we can come back and seal the whole floor so the new and old grout match.
Get your grout back to its original color
Tell us which rooms, the approximate square footage, and whether the tile is ceramic or stone. A quote and open time slots come back the same day.