How to Properly Clean Ceramic Tile Floors
Ceramic flooring is one of the most popular options to due to their high durability and variety of styles and designs. Even though these are a long-lasting flooring type, they will need sufficient care and cleaning, if they will live their full lives and look good as well.
The following article has some top tips on how to best clean your tile floors.
Dust is Bad – the many small particles and granules of grit that is tracked through the home or blown in through the windows are going to damage that smooth sheen and clean surface. It is a good idea to collect dirt with a good sweeping and vacuuming a couple times in a week.
The best way to clean the floor is with a mild detergent in a bath of hot water, you can use a sponge mop or conventional mop to do this, but using a rag and sponge will keep the dirt and scum from being pressed into the grout and further deteriorating the tile.
You will also want to keep your mop water clean so that dirty water is not being pushed into the floor. Once the floor has been cleaned like so, you can rinse out the mop and go over once more, this will collect the soapy scum and add the final touches to your clean tile.
If you notice that there is an especially thick film of grease, soap scum and such, use an all-purpose cleaner in a bucket of water to get this right off. You will want to make sure you are using a non-abrasive cleaner to avoid doing any damage to the surface of the tiles. We recommend using 2 ounces ZEP Neutral floor cleaner mixed with 1 gallon of water to keep your floors cleaned. You can find it at Home Depot or Lowe’s in their cleaning section.
Getting the Grout
While the grout represents only a small space between the tiles, it is detrimental to keeping the floor and tiles looking clean and attractive. Dirty grout makes the floors themselves look dingy and grimy.
Grout can absorb grease and oils like a sponge and get it clean may not call for a dedicated grout cleaner. Bleach solutions can also work well. Be sure to wear gloves when working with these stronger chemicals and chlorine solutions. If the grout is especially dirty you may need to allow the cleaning solution to sit for a few moments before scrubbing gently with a stiff toothbrush.
If the grout is putting up a fight with mold and other build up, you may need to bring out the heavy hitters. Baking soda will do it every time, make a paste of baking soda and water and work this into the affected grout, thoroughly. The next day, break out the toothbrush or stiffest nylon brush you can find – don’t use a wire brush, because this will scratch the tile and ruin its durability and beauty.
