Hard Surface

It has come to Connoisseur Carpet, Tile & Upholstery Cleaning’s attention that there is an industry-wide problem with modern  porcelain tiles manufactured from 2018 to present. Experts in the floor cleaning industry have identified that most porcelain tiles, especially the variety that mimic the appearance of stone or wood, are HIGHLY likely to be damaged […]

We remove and replace failed grout and caulking with custom color matched high performance grout, RTV Silicone and epoxy products Call for a free estimate and restore your grouted surface to like new!

Connoisseur owner Mike Pailliotet recently taught 24 fellow carpet cleaners from around the country how to improve their “Hard Surface” offerings in a 3 day class in Las Vegas at the IICRC Global Resource Center (the white house of carpet cleaning)…  

Two pictures are worth one word…. NO!                                                                         If you love the look of slate, please consider using a Porcelain look-a-like […]

Do yourself a big favor and read this enlightening article before purchasing “Quartz” type countertops. We have had excellent luck and performance with ours but not all brands and varieties perform the same when it comes to stains and cleanability. Do Engineered Quartz Countertops Stain?  

  Our process for Vinyl Flooring, whether it be plank, tile or sheet is extremely effective at removing years worth of mop residue, cooking oils, pet residues and just plain “life”….

I think the relatively simple tips in this video will work well most of the time. WARNING! Acetone is highly flammable, if you can not control flames, pilot lights, smokers or other sources you can substitute Dawn or Palmolive Dish washing detergent. Not quite as effective but MUCH safe.  

With our unique Epoxy Fortified Grout system we can custom color match virtually any floor, counter or tub/shower install and provide a near perfect fix for cracks, holes or missing grout. The Ultimate Wet Area Repair! ​Fixes Shower Floors and Tub Showers Replaces Caulk, Silicone and Sealants Fights Mildew and Mold Damage Use Any Color […]

I’d like to share this great website with you. The Microfiber mop heads are very high quality and 1/4 of the price of hardware and janitorial stores I really like this mop head for cleaning honed or rough surface stone, wood and vinyl floors. The “scrub strips ” work wonders at dislodging soil. http://www.directmopsales.com/MICROFIBERSCRUBBERPADS18GRAY_p/mscrb18.htm     […]

  Tile, Grout and Stone cleaning Santa Cruz, Aptos, Capitola, Scotts Valley, Carson Valley, Lake Tahoe@ Connoisseur

It appears that the laminate flooring this chain is selling emits a high level of formaldehyde, a known cancer causing chemical. The materials coming from Chinese manufacturing plants can be labeled as CARB compliant when they actually aren’t. 60 Minutes did a story on this and it’s the kind of thing people should be made […]

I found this video informative and interesting as I’m sure anyone who owns a granite counter will as well..        Santa Cruz home owners who need their Granite counters, floors or showerstalls professionally cleaned or sealed, please give us a call.

If a Labrador Retriever is a Carpet Cleaners best friend (nothing soils up a carpet faster than the oily coat of a Water Dog) then the old fashion method of cleaning tile, stone and concrete floors with a cotton string mop and a bucket of suds is truly a god send for professional hard surface […]

Please take a few seconds to watch us work our magic on this well loved Travertine floor in Aptos CA. Identify Sweep Protect surroundings Apply cleaning agent Let dwell Agitate Steam Clean contained rinse Detail edges and corners Power dry with 360º fans Apply penetrative sealer Buff when necessary. -optional polish or homing available.  

We were honored to be chosen to clean the “new” wood court for our local D league Basketball team. The development team for the Golden State Warriors are actually using a 20+ year old floor that has been refurbished with new water base/Green polyurethane.  After just one season  the floor was getting dirtier than the […]

Santa Cruz county is just loaded with 1970’s tile counters. We service close to 1000 homes a year and all too often we see a situation like in the photos below where the homeowner has let the food and grim level build up in the grout line to the point of being a serious health […]

      *disclaimer, do not use Vinegar or any other acid cleaning products around calcium based stones such as Marble, Limestone or Travertine

These Scotts Valley home owners where fed up with their own not so professional attempts to get their beautiful tile floor cleaned. They had all the “as seen on TV” gadgets, all the industrial power shazamwow cleaners from every tile and hardware stone in town and all too many weekends wasted trying to do it themselves..   […]

Connoisseur is proud to offer polishing and restoration of natural stone to all of Santa Cruz county. Dull, scratched, etch or just plain worn, Marble, Travertine, Limestone or Granite surfaces can be very frustrating. There is virtually nothing that Santa Cruz home owners can do to restore the shine themselves and with no local service […]

You may love it’s slip resistance and how your guests (and pesky mother in law) will think you have “real” natural (and more expensive) stone and you’ll certainly love how you cant stain or etch it but….. You will absolutely HATE how hard it is to keep clean. Look at all these pits and pours.. Dirt, mop water, spilled […]

  Here are some photos taken of a recent Saltillo floor we stripped and resealed in Aptos.       Removing the topical finish of this type of floor is VERY time consuming and messy. As the finished starts to break down, red mud develops and can splash the walls. In this case we had a unfinished kitchen to work with so the […]

  Here is out time proven recommendation on how to best maintain your tile, stone, vinyl and wood floors Using this system you’ll never smear dirty mop water around or leave a soil attracting film behind.  First you’ll need to pick up a gallon of a Neutral pH No Rinse Floor Cleaner such as Lemon Clean. It’s […]

Most Santa Cruz home owners will tell you that living on a Travertine floor is much like living on white carpet. This soft porous stone absorbs every days soils both dry and wet much like a Berber/loop does, everything sticks to the surface and stares at you right in the eye. and mopping just makes […]

This home owner wanted the grout around her pebble mosaic to go with her new granite slab fire place.. As you can see the wrong color was used and the contrast was way to strong.. So we Color corrected the grout with out removing it with a durable acrylic/concrete based color seal in Kahlua Cream.. […]

Connoisseur is offering professional wood floor cleaning in Santa Cruz, Aptos, Capitola, Watsonville, Scotts Valley, Felton, Los Gatos and Saratoga

The “Nick” theater here in Santa Cruz called us recently about their stained grout situation in their lobby. Just six months old and already permanently stained. That is what happens when the grout (very porous!) does not get sealed after instillation. Staining from drink spills, mud and dirty mop water and the like will darken […]

If you have the time, knees, good lower back and plenty of patience, yes you can get your dirty grout clean-er.. DIY Grout Cleaning Video or if you have a better things to do, just call Santa Cruz ‘s favorite Professional Tile, Stone and Grout cleaner to take care of your cleaning project in a […]

Then its time to switch over to Glycerin Bar Soap! Regular white bar soap is the number one offender and contributor to soap scum build up in tile and natural stone shower stalls and tub enclosures. The animal fats used in manufacturing white bar soap also contributes to mold growth in the cracks and cervices […]

Connoisseur uses a 4-step process to revitalize your floor surfaces. This process not only restores your floors to their original beauty, but with its fungicides, bactericides and mildicides built into the Grout Perfect Color Seal formulation it insures sanitation for many years. 1.A non-toxic neutral cleaning solution is applied to the grout lines and worked into […]

If you own any sort of hard floors that is. Tile, Stone, Wood, Vinyl, Concrete, Laminates.. Any and all hard floor surfaces will come and stay cleaner with this fine little machine. Wash, vacuum and dry all non-carpeted hard surfaces with the Hoover FloorMate . Seven scrubbing brushes cover a 15-inch cleaning path, and the […]

Natural Slate, Flagstone, Travertine, some Limestone and some Marble all have “hidden” deep color that need man made help or more specifically, us at Connoisseur to help bring out.. Enhancing penetrative sealers provide protection against oil and water based soils, dirt, grime, mold as well as providing a wet look but with out the shine. […]

We gladly provide our top notch carpet cleaning, tile stone and grout restoration and oriental rug cleaning services to all of Santa Cruz county. Including the Summit area, all of Hwy 9, down south to Aromas and Corralitos and as far north as Swanton Rd/Davenport area. We also travel to Los Gatos, Saratoga, San Jose […]

Cleaning Procedures & Recommendations General Cleaning Clean stone surfaces with a neutral cleaner designated safe for natural stone. Use a clean mop on floors and a soft cloth for other surfaces for best results. Don’t use more than the recommended amount of any cleaning product. Too much may leave a film, causing streaks. Change rinse […]

But we do rejuvenate a mean shower stall! Deep cleaning, mold removal, re-grouting, stain removal, removal and replacement of caulk, grout or silicone and long lasting penetrative sealers. Natural Stone, Ceramic or Porcelain, you name it, we can clean it. Before- After- Before- After-

I just can’t get over how well our Color Sealing process works. This first picture is after a two step cleaning process using both alkaline and acidic cleaning agents. Sometimes light colored grout shows stains and other than removing the grout and replacing with new, color sealing is the only logical, effective and long lasting […]

I dont blame you. I’ve seen the same botched jobs you have. Those silly Grout pens from QVC that looks like you used White Out or tooth paste to hide the stains. Lumpy, uneven results that look horrible. I blame the poor quality products from the hardware store, lack of proper prep work and no […]

Natural stone such as tumbled Marble or Travertine is a very popular Shower and Bathtub wall covering here in Santa Cruz County  This is somewhat surprising when you consider that it can be one of the most difficult materials to take care of in a Bathroom.  Most natural stone of these types is quite porous […]

If you’re in the need for a new shower stall, kitchen floor or tile counter top you will not find a better tile craftsman the Aptos’ own Joshua McAuley, Josh is not only a friend of mine but a humble, hard working, very creative professional tile setter. I’ve seen his installs and you can be […]

How To Avoid & Solve Them Marble, granite, limestone and other decorative stone are durable materials that will last a lifetime.   However, if not installed correctly, or properly cared for, will experience problems that will shorten its life. The following are the top ten problems most common in dealing with stone tile. 1.   […]