Commercial Kitchen Tile – Take care of your grout!

Commercial kitchen tile, if you manage or own a restaurant, you most likely know that the back of the house is a tough environment to keep maintained and clean. Flooring takes a pounding, not just from foot traffic, but heavy equipment, moisture, grease and food elements.  Having high quality commercial kitchen tile is a must!

Many restaurant kitchen and bar areas use quarry tile or other forms of tile. These materials provide a durable and safe environment for staff and customers but also require attention to ensure they are maintained properly and can endure the harsh elements they are exposed to.

One of the best ways to ensure the durability of tile is to properly maintain the grout. Generally, using pressure washers, water hoses, and harsh chemicals will decrease the life span of grout and lower the grout line. Once the grout line is lowered, it increases the amount of debris, food, and moisture it collects. In addition, these elements attract flies, pests, and will cause foul odors that are never welcome in a kitchen.

To protect your tile and grout, try to avoid contamination with cleansers used in other parts of the kitchen or bar. These cleaners will leave behind residue that will accelerate the breakdown of your grout. Ceramic tile cleaners are the best option to handle daily cleaning of the tile.

At some point, it will be necessary to remove old grout and replace the grout lines. Busy restaurants find this is necessary 1 to 2 times per year. Once the grout becomes compromised, the damage will seep into the actual tiles making the repairs more costly. Many times the flooring cracks and missing tiles are overlooked until health inspectors issue a violation. Regular inspections of not only the tiles, but paying attention to low grout lines can avoid this.

When installing or replacing tiles, ensure that abrasive tile is used. It offers the most effective non-slip characteristics and because of the manufacturing temperatures, it is a very dense material that stands up well in a commercial kitchen/bar environment.

Regularly inspecting and maintaining your quarry kitchen tile will ensure a long life with minimal need for extra maintenance. Make sure to replace compromised grout lines immediately to avoid further damage to tiles.

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