Kirby Tile and Grout cleaner

[kirbysthebest]

Just got an email from Kirby about the new attachment, anyone seen or used one yet? I am wondering if this is an add on to the renovator system? with belt and brush, has to be motor driven.



Cleaning Tile Floors
just got a lot easier!




The new Kirby Tile & Grout kit brings the power of Kirby cleaning to tile floors.

The agony and time-consuming task of cleaning tile floors and their difficult-to-clean grout lines is part of the past. Now you can use our new rotating brush to get superb results in record time.

The specially-designed brush roll has three different lengths and thicknesses of bristles to clean recessed grout lines and the natural uneveness of many tile surfaces.


See the Hard Floor Cleaner in Person

Schedule a no-obligation in-home demonstration today

at http://www.kirby.com/how-to-buy/schedule-a-demo/


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NEW Kirby Tile & Grout Kit

Kit includes:
Brush Roll and Belt
Shield with absorbent Sponge
32oz Tile & Grout Cleaner
8oz Tile & Grout Pre-Treat

Tile & Grout Pre-Treat
Deep cleans without harsh chemicals
Great for stubborn grout stains
Apply and wipe, no residue left behind

Tile & Grout Cleaner
Advanced formula, will not harm adjacent wood or carpet surfaces during cleaning
Low foaming, effective cleaning
No residue or film left on tile surface

For use with all Kirby Generation series models.

Already a Kirby system owner?
You can purchase the new Tile & Grout Kit from your local independent Kirby Distributor, or by calling 1-800-437-7170.

There were pictures on the email, but they didn't copy over. Nothing showing on the website at this time.

 

[bagintheback]

I Got That Email As Well

Will this fit the Pre-G Series models? This could be great for cleaning grout. 

 

[kirbysthebest]

Don't think so. The email I received said " For use with all Kirby Generation series models."
I'm still thinking that it must fit the renovator system somehow.

 

[rjd313]

Tile and Grout Kit

Looking at the picture, it looks like it has a carpet fluffer shield type thing to make it fit the shampoo nozzle.

 

[vacuumman206]

I read this and I showed my dad, who has 6,200 sq.ft. of house in which 60% of the most used floor space on the 1st floor is tiled floors. If I don't need a renovator for my g5 to use this, I'll tell him to buy it and I know he will if we can just slap it on my G5 and go to work!

 

[kirbysthebest]

Mystery solved

Today's email explains it:



The new Kirby Tile & Grout kit brings the power of Kirby cleaning to tile floors.

Simply attach the specially-designed brush roll to the Kirby Shampoo System nozzle and attach the shampoo tank to the exhaust port.

The agony and time-consuming task of cleaning tile floors and their difficult-to-clean grout lines is part of the past. Now you can use our new rotating brush to get superb results in record time.

The specially-designed brush roll has three different lengths and thicknesses of bristles to clean recessed grout lines and the natural uneveness of many tile surfaces.

 

[sopranojam85]

Has anyone actually tried this accessory yet? I can't find any reviews whatsoever on this product, probably since it's so new still.

 

[caligula]

Tile and grout kit.

I don't have tile floors, but do have tile countertops in the kitchen, and the two bathrooms have tile walls. If this is anything like the turbo kit for the Heritage, it would be a fantastic addition to my arsenal of cleaning equipment. Please let me know.


 


Alex Taber. 

 

[caligula]

Kirby grout kit.

I just checked the Kirby company website and unfortunately, what I saw is only for floors. If they could make something like a zip brush, or the turbo sander designed for tile walls, I'd buy it in a heartbeat. As for the turbo sander, the scrubbing pad is great for the tile, but won't clean the grout, and that's what I need. If any of you hear anything different, let me know.


 


Alex Taber.


 


 

 

[sopranojam85]

Kirby's website has NO mention of this thing. They sell the tile and grout cleaner 32oz, but not the pre-treat. The tile and grout cleaner bottle does say "For use with the Kirby tile and grout brushroll" but that's it.

I'm amazed that Kirby is not pushing this more... This can REALLY sell the Kirby, in the days when people are ditching carpet for tile floors, or just really want a better way to clean tile. Can anyone post who has used this? Are there any directions?

Since it seems the rug renovator suds tray is not attached, then you can't attach the hose, right? My guess is, you spray the pre-treat... spray the cleaner... and scrub it in with the brush roll? Does anybody know what the directions for use are? How easy is it ..... really? And how well does it work? Grout is hell to clean, even when it's properly sealed.

 

[caligula]

Hi sopranojam85

Type in "The Kirby company," and it comes up, at least it did for me, that's where I learned that it's just the brush that fits to the rug renovator. There is a picture of the box, and different pictures of the unit on the machine. You can also go to "Kirby parts." Hope you find it.


 


Alex Taber

 

[sopranojam85]

I gave Kirby parts a call and found out that they don't sell this kit directly, and only allow resellers to sell it. They explained that you hand-spray the pre-treat, and hand-spray the cleaning solution, then buff/scrub it with the included brush roller, just as described above. No extra steps are required, as they claim this leaves behind no residue. Sounds nice.

What I am now wondering is, can you accomplish the same thing with an older Kirby's Miracle Head buffer nozzle? I know it's no the same brush, but anyway, more on that later in the Vintage forum. I found this interesting.

 

[sopranojam85]

Finally tried it out...

I finally tried this out today. I ordered it from GoodVac.com. It came with 1 sheet of paper inside with directions. This paper looked like an 8th generation photocopy, and was impossible to read. The box had directions printed on the outside, which helped. But neither the box nor the paper had any illustrations on how to assemble it. I could have at least used a diagram of which part was what. Anyway, it came together via common sense and trial and error.

My tiles weren't that dirty, just surface filth from Christmas cooking. I didn't use the pre-treat spray, but only used the regular cleaning spray. I did it in one section at a time, spraying, then scrubbing with the machine. After it was all done, some lint was on the sponge filter, and the sponge applicator on the bottom was saturated with dirty water. This cleaned out easily. I rinsed the brush roll and set it on a towel to let it try out overnight. Overall, it worked quite well. The tile is about as clean, if not cleaner, than if I had used pure elbow grease with a traditional mop.

I can't yet evaluate the performance of the pre-treat. My grout is new, and is not that dirty. I sealed my grout with Miracle 511 just a few days after moving in to this house, and I intend to add a second coat soon. That should hopefully keep the grout from getting too saturated.

So far so good. But I score this an "F" on packaging and included instructions, and on Kirby's total lack of support for this device, referring to resellers completely.

 

[sopranojam85]

I tried using the Tile and Grout cleaner again a few days ago. I'm discovering some quirks with the system, and potential pitfalls.

The first oddity is that zero water is used. The entire cleaning power comes from the solution that you spray in the floor. Pros and cons, of course. For any actual dirt on the tiles, you will need to use a relatively heavy amount of spray, and then let the spray sit for at least a few minutes to break up that dirt.

Next, I noticed that the system left behind little tiny puddles of solution, sometimes on the forward motion, sometimes on the backward motion. It looks as though that little tiny sponge on the bottom of the system is just getting saturated, and since there's really nowhere else for the excess solution to go, it sometimes gets squeezed out onto the floor. One way to get around this is to pause after cleaning ... oh I don't know 50 square feet or so, tilt the machine on its side, remove the sponge thing, rinse it out and pat it dry, reinstall it.

One final quirk is that the cleaning solution does, in fact, leave behind a considerable amount of filmy residue. You really can't see it unless the sunlight is shining on the floor just right, but it's there. I mean... really I had my doubts about how effective this would be, but I was willing to give it a shot.

So in conclusion, I'm less than thrilled with this system. It may work for dirty grout lines, but my grout is not yet that dirty. The pre-treat is only meant for grout lines. I am only using the tile cleaning solution.

I will keep trying this over the next few months, and will
1.) use a bit more cleaning solution, maybe redue how fine the mist of the spray is.
2.) Try letting the spray soak for a couple of minutes before scrubbing
3.) Let the scrubber move more slowly over the tile
4.) Remove/rinse the sponge periodically during use.

All in all, this is NOT a user-friendly solution, and even for someone like me who knows how to operate a Kirby, it takes a lot of trial and error to make this work the way I want it to.. I'm still getting there.

 

[super-sweeper]

Kirby bottles,

To plain! even up to recent years, just a couple months back, the bottles were still nice! the Shampoo bottle had a family sitting in their living room, with their child playing on the floor. Good text and graphics. I kept the bottle, And hope this simplistic trash fails to replace it!

 

[jeschbac]

My review

I tried the new Tile & grout cleaner two weeks ago. I'm sure that other than a quick mop, this area had never been deep cleaned before. It does look lots better, but I will probably repeat the process to get even more stuff out of the grout lines. I do have several suggestions, and I hope Kirby reads this site from time to time.
1. Use the machine in a number of different angles since grout lines (and even tile) is not always very even. In other words, work from south to north, then north to south, etc to maximize the amount of brush reaching the grout.
2. It is VERY necessary to rinse the tile after this treatment!!!!! There is no place for the liquid soap residue to go and it was plenty filthy. No way I wanted that drying on the floor!
3. The directions could be better written, but I didn't have trouble assembling it.
4. The shampooer tank seems to be used only to trigger the safety switch. Certainly there was no residue deposited in the tank during use.

 

[sopranojam85]

Yeah Jeschbac, the tank is only there to trigger the safety switch, and to catch any lint, dirt, or other debris that gets vacuumed up in the process, which is then caught by the sponge filter.

With all the lugging, lifting, configuring, rinsing, futzing that you have to do to use this system, you approach diminishing returns. You really need to rinse the tile afterwards. I think next time, I'll just use my Rubbermaid Reveal mop to rinse, putting only water in the Reveal mop's tank.

 

[tolivac]

What it gets down to--this device just converts your Kirby Sentria into a wet type floor machine!

 

[Tony]

Tile cleaner

The Kirby Avalir's shampooer does not only do carpets but it does tile, cleans grout, laminate lonolium, hard woods. I work for them and it is an amazing addition to the kirby itself. it cleans, buffs and polishes. It is a must have for all homes. Now it does everything except clean your kids and cook your meals.