Frequently Asked Questions

Yes. Our company name is DIRTY GROUT®, which is also our specialty. DIRTY GROUT® is a registered Florida Department of State fictitious name (dba) and is a division of Smart Maid LLC, a Florida corporation. The DIRTY GROUT® name, logos and slogans are registered service marks and trademarks with all rights reserved. The company was founded in 2001 and is not a franchise.

Yes. We are fully licensed and insured, with business liability, workers' compensation and commercial vehicle coverage. Our certificates of insurance and business tax license are available for your review at any time and are present on every job site. We encourage customers to examine our documents.

Yes. All of our employees are full-time, drug screened, fully trained and uniformed. We do not subcontract any of our services and we do not use temporary day laborers.

No. We are often mistaken for a franchise because of our consistent logos, advertising, truck lettering, uniforms, the large area we service and our overall organized appearance, but DirtyGrout is not a franchise.

We service Sarasota, Charlotte, DeSoto, Lee and Collier Counties.

No. We have been in business since 2001 and have not had any complaints or judgments against us. We encourage customers to check with the Better Business Bureau or Florida Consumer Affairs to verify.

No. DirtyGrout is a licensed, insured and registered business, and we do not place advertising signs on public property or rights-of-way, which is a code violation. Signs like these are often posted by advertisers who are neither licensed nor registered. To see what our customers say about us, read our Google reviews and testimonials.

Yes. Estimates are free and without obligation. There are no hidden charges. Ever.

No. We do not require or accept deposits for any reason, and we do not accept partial payments during the course of performing services. You pay when the services are completed.

We currently accept check or cash.

Yes. We move furniture and rugs within reason at no additional charge. We will not move furniture that contains breakables inside or on top of it, we do not disassemble furniture, and we do not move anything that appears unstable. We also do not unplug electronics such as TVs, cable boxes, sound systems, speakers or computers. At your free estimate and when scheduling, we will discuss any furniture concerns with you.

In most cases we begin at the rooms farthest from our point of entry and work our way out. For your safety, your restriction of movement applies only to the immediate area (room) we are servicing.

We ask that you remove all small objects from any furniture that will be moved, empty any cabinets that will be moved if they contain breakables, and clear tiled closet floors of any items if they are to be serviced. We need access to wall electrical outlets during service, and we ask that you remove any air fresheners containing oils and store them in a safe place to avoid leakage.

Yes. Areas close to baseboard molding, carpet or wood flooring bordering tile are carefully cleaned by hand. Carpet and wood flooring bordering tile are also covered.

In most cases the cleaning agents we use will not harm appliances, but we do not take any risks, especially with stainless steel. We use pre-cut plastic coverings to cover appliances before the cleaning process.

In almost all cases, including grout re-coloring, you will be walking on your floors by the time we complete the service. If there are any restrictions we will advise you, but this is rare.

Yes. Our steam cleaning method is designed to be safe for your tile and grout. Unlike many competitors, we do not use any form of pressurized cleaning that can potentially damage your floors. Grout is porous and fragile, and pressurized cleaning can loosen or blow out the entire grout joint. Joints with a slight crack or separation between the grout and the tile edge are often the first to go. Pressurized cleaning is common with carpet cleaning firms that offer tile and grout cleaning as a secondary service, so always ask what cleaning method will be used on your floors. Your floors are an expensive asset to your home and should not be put at risk just to clean them.

There is a good chance that cured grout residue is trapped in the grain or texture of your tile. This residue is porous and attracts and holds dirt. It dates back to when the floor was grouted and sponged smooth, when not all of the grout was removed from the tile grain during final cleaning. The remedy is machine scrubbing of the tile surface with cleaning agents, which can remove some or most of this residue. Because it is cured cement, removing 100% of it may not be possible.

The most common cause of film is a build-up of cleaning agents from routine cleaning, much like soap scum in a shower. Your floor may even look darker because of it. The remedy is machine scrubbing (stripping) of the tile to remove the film and restore the finish and color. With each service we provide written cleaning instructions and suggestions to help you avoid this in the future.

We run into this situation often and have serviced hundreds of foreclosed homes with the same condition. Our process cleans, strips and sanitizes the tile, and brings whatever is causing the odor to the surface so it can be removed. The grout is cleaned of soil, bacteria and mold, and we pay special attention to the baseboards and the grout below them, which is often near where pets have accidents. After service your floors should be clean and no longer the source of the odor.

No. If you have matte finish tile, don't try to make it something it is not. Sealing tile surfaces applies mostly to porous natural stone or Mexican clay tile. Gloss sealer on ceramic or other non-porous tile will not bond properly and will lift, first in high-traffic areas and then where furniture is moved, such as kitchen chairs. After a short time the floors will darken and look dirty. The only remedy is complete tile and grout stripping, which costs a bit more than cleaning alone.