Honeygal

cheap house brand sinks from Sim Siang Choon. within 1 month, a part of the basin pop-up waste broke resulting in water leakage, flooding my vanity cabinet below. before it broke, there was a perpetual stench (smell of those clogged pipes) since day 1. only discovered the problem when the plumber came in today to fix up the leakage. the house brand Sim Siang Choon toilet bowls also very low quality - smelly, can't flush properly. used harpic everyday but smell remains. same goes for their kitchen sinks. please please pay more, and get premium brands like Franke, American Standard, Toto etc. never ever stinge on these heavy duty items. plenty of probs later.

i have a few pieces of sample tiles so i will do a test. what kind of acid do you use to test?

you are right to point out the seepage - coz i realise the tiles only get worse each time i mop/wash them. there are obvious patches of water stains. if only after 1 month of washing the tiles are in this condition, wonder what will happen in 1 year?

thanks a million for the wonderful link! extremely useful! will consider the KBY, since it does not sound like killing. got to check further. is KBY toxic? i always feel if something can kill insects, it can kill humans too, although not instantaneously. i heard of KBY previously but i thought it was used to ward off evil spirits, not insects!

yes i found the white chalk as well as the pellets. i read the description on the boxes and yes these are certainly considered killing, mass extermination in fact. found them in HOME FIX shops.

here are the pics, wonder if your tile condition is like mine: let me know how your buffing went. this sure is causing me lots of grieve! so i understand how you feel! my tile surface not only looks bad, it feels terrible too - very dusty sort of feeling. i don't know if it is due to post reno dust or it's the problem of the tiles. wish you luck with the buffing. Tile model number is HF GC0301 black 300x300. To whoever is thinking of renovating, please refrain from ordering this particular model.

my stains look embedded inside tile. these made-in-china tiles really low quality! will contact tile shop once i email the pics to them. but the pics fail to show much, so not too hopeful.

Have been staying at my place for 1 month and the whole kitchen was completely free from ants. As my religion forbids me from any form of killing, I clean up properly after cooking and using the sink, so as not to attract ants unncessarily. Then about 5 days ago, the sink, dining table and window in the kitchen became infested with ants. Now everyday, i can't even leave my knife or any food on the table top or sink for more than 15 min! or hundreds of ants will start appearing. When i am not preparing any food, no trace of the ants. But the moment i place the food on the table top, the ants start coming. How should i stop these ants? Any advice greatly appreciated - no killing though. Thanks all!

can completely understand your sentiments!! am feeling very frustrated as i notice that the tiles get worse every time i wash/mop. and it's only been 1 month! i remember the tiles were black before the acid wash. but it has since become dark brown, even my visitors said 'oh you use brown tiles' and i said 'no, they are black!'. to add on to this problem, the floor seems perpetually dusty - i vacuum every day and mop/wash once a week. i was told this is normal after every reno. would you know of any type of companies which provide services to 'rejuvenate' dull tiles? am too lazy to scrape off all the paint spots on the floor and windows. will live with them. i am just shocked that the contracter's so-called 'cleaning' did not include removing paint spots. SIGH!!!!!!!!!!!!

I have exactly the same problems - my black glossy tiles look sooooooo dull and faded to dark brown within 1 month. the tile shop Hafary told me to take pics but the pics don't quite show the flaws. there are also countless paint spots on my window grills, window sills, and floor but simply can't get rid of them, despite using turpentine. any suggestions pleeeeease?

thanks for the explanation, now i understand! gosh this is so depressing. i have put in those Charcoal pieces which supposedly removes smell, as well as air freshener. all don't help, as the rubbish smell is simply overpowering. am at my wits end !!!

my black glossy tiles have dulled and turned to dark brown after 1 month. i have been using Kiwi anti bacterial floor cleaner very regularly and a whitish layer seem to emerge, and the condition of tiles has worsened. i remember the tiles & grout lines as very black before the acid wash. please advise what i can do to remedy the situation, eg what floor cleaner is most suitable, thanks !!

gosh is he/she very heavy? where did your friend buy the toilet bowl? am getting very worried coz mine costs only about $150 or less!

Ikea's stuff have been proven to be of very low quality yet i still see people buying like they're the best things in the world. Can't understand.

Have moved into my new place for a month and realise my black kitchen floor tiles (glossy type) have turned brownish and very dull. There seems to be a whitish layer on top which has been getting worse, each time i wash or mop with the Kiwi anti-bacterial no-rinse floor cleaner. I think i may be using the wrong cleaner which is seriously damaging the tiles. Have used this at least 6 times and the tile condition is rapidly deteriorating. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks all!

my windows and doors are shut more than 12 hours everyday! would you know where is the most important section to clean? eg, floor? wall? corner? thanks, coz i really at my wits end! reach home at 9pm, cook dinner, then do laundry, then wash/vacuum floor, gosh i am really tired of this washing/vacuum routine.

so washing is more effective than mopping i reckon?

gosh!!! 6 months??? is there a speedier way of getting rid of the dust? it's not healthy too! where does the dirt come from? i have cleaned every conceivable part of the kitchen !

My new kitchen floor tiles still feel dusty, despite me having moved for a month. Is this normal? I vacuum it every alternate day, and mop every week. Strangely, the OLD floor tiles (ie not renovated) in all other rooms are not dusty. Please advise!

I just moved into my new place 3 weeks ago. Even before i moved in, i found the rubbish chute to be extremely smelly. I stay at the 11th floor, which is the second top most floor in the block. The smell lingers for at least 30 seconds after i close the chute and cabinet doors. The smell permeates everywhere and my cutlery drainer is right above the chute cabinet! Unhygienic indeed. Please advise what i can use to cover the smell, or better still, get rid of the smell. Thanks!

too late and inconvenient to replace. realise the inferior quality only after using them. compared to my previous home where all sinks and toilet bowls are german made, this sim siang choon house brand sinks and toilet bowls are lousy lousy lousy.

cheap toilet bowls (no power when flushing) and sinks from sim siang choon. all stink and stain. regret stinging on these. my advice to all: pay more and get better quality toilet bowls and sinks, it is short-sighted to go for cheap like me. these are heavy duty items worth paying a bit more.

so happy to see yet another forumer coming to amk! welcome! i sometimes wish we should come together and form some sort of "new residents of amk" club....coz i do not personally know anyone who stays here. anyway, all the best with your choice of contractor, i think you are on the right track!

i don't have number offhand now, but you can check telephone directory under 'Unipac Aluminium' at woodlands. you can look for Jason, or Ms Tan (they are the admin staff). Ah Kwang is the guy who actually comes down to fix up the stuff. really great service, even after sale. last week, i complained about water flowing out from bathroom whenever i shower and they promptly sent a guy down to rectify it. no excuses whatsoever.

the gadget at the corner is a masticating juicer. has a host of functions - makes fruit and veg juices, minces meat, makes pastas and noodles, sorbets etc etc. i use this to juice fruits and veg instead of the conventional centrifugal fruit juicer.