The Case of the Porcelain Tile That Wouldn’t Come Clean
Hear this story read aloud.
A Morning at the Diner
The day started like most of my days do, with a stop at the diner. The coffee was hot, the pancakes were the size of hubcaps, and the Admiral was already holding court at the corner booth.
“You look like you’ve got a job that’s gonna ruin somebody’s day,” Flo said, setting down my cup.
“Porcelain tile that won’t come clean,” I told her.
The Admiral chuckled. “Maybe it’s just dirty, Stone Detective.”
I shook my head. “Already cleaned it six ways to Sunday, and it still looks filthy.”
The Job Site
After a quick breakfast and a refill for the road, I fired up the Woody wagon and headed out. The job was in a fancy office lobby where the owner swore they had tried every cleaner known to man. Sure enough, the floor had this dingy gray look to it, like it hadn’t been mopped in years.
I got down on my hands and knees and took a good look. This wasn’t just surface dirt. The porcelain was honed, and that meant it had thousands of little micro pits on the surface. Those tiny holes were doing a great job of trapping dirt. Regular mopping just pushed the dirt around and maybe packed it in a little tighter.
The Fix
I went back to the Woody, grabbed what I call my magic fix – some powdered abrasive cleaner and a floor buffer. I sprinkled some powder on the floor, worked it in with a white pad, and let the buffer do its magic. Presto changeo: After a few passes, I wiped it down with clean water. The difference was like night and day.
The owner’s jaw just about hit the floor. “We’ve spent thousands on chemicals and janitorial crews, and you cleaned it in ten minutes,” he said.
“Sometimes it’s not about stronger chemicals,” I told him. “It’s about using a little abrasion to knock that dirt out of the pits.”
By the time I wrapped up and packed my gear, the floor looked like it had just been installed. Another case closed.
Back at Flo’s
Back at Flo’s, the Admiral raised an eyebrow as I slid back onto my stool.
“Well?” he asked.
“Honed porcelain,” I said. “Micro pits full of dirt. Gave it a little scrub with powder, worked like a charm.”
Flo smirked as she poured me another cup. “So you just needed to give it a good scouring,” she said.
“Yep,” I said, taking a sip. “Sometimes the simplest tricks are the ones that work every time.”
