How to clean cal from tiles

[Lavanda]

There must be something I can buy in Leroy Merlin or somewhere that gets rid of cal from newly installed tiles but what it is, I have no idea. The builders have gone and the bathroom looks lovely. They washed the walls before they went but once the walls dried I can see smears — lots — of chalky looking stuff that I assume is cal — the stuff the Spanish use that comes in sacks and they mix the white powder with water. I have cleaned the walls four times now and it's less noticeable but not gone. Anyone have any ideas, please?

[El Cid]

It’s not cal. That is what you get in kettles and water heaters. It’s tile grout. Try wire wool or you may find some special stuff in the ferretería. Agua Fuerte from Mercadona might help but that’s usually used for cal.

Sid

[Lavanda]

Ah! Thank you. I thought it was cal which is mined in a village called La Zarza two hours south from where I live and in the early last century men loaded sacks of the stuff on donkeys and they went south into Andalucia and sold it for people to paint their houses white. House painting used to be done during the same week and everyone painted their houses. I thought this stuff was similar as it’s so hard to clean and my builder refers to it as ‘cal’ but who knows.

[olive]

If it is just tile grout , use a handful of “ grass” ( probably esparto grass) to rub it off.

Sadly it comes in a great big roll from builders merchants. Nowadays you might be able to buy it in smaller quantities. You use it dry and can wipe it down afterwards.no danger of the grout in the joints being affected too much by the rubbing.

[chrissiehope]

When I've done tiling, I've used a sponge pad - like you might use for washing dishes. It has a sponge one one side, and a scrub pad on the other. It can take a bit of elbow grease, but works fine, & I'm sure Mercadona or similar will have them in the cleaning section, and fairly cheap. Get a pack of half a dozen or so so you can replace once the scrubber gets too 'damaged' !

[Lavanda]

Thanks all. Looks like elbow grease after all.