Do you have tile flooring? Or are you thinking of installing flooring with ceramic tile, porcelain tile, and marble tile? If so you may naturally be curious to know how to clean tile floors. Knowing how to properly clean tile floors is an essential part of maintaining the beauty and quality of your investment. Caring for your tile floors with a gentle touch will keep your tile and grout looking like new. Don&#;t forget that you have a chance to clean your tiles with tile cleaners in our shop.
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There are a few nuanced rules to deep cleaning ceramic, porcelain, and marble floors. Once you know what they are you can effectively give your tiles the TLC they require. From easy, breezy care to specialty cleaners will break down the best methods for how to clean grout and tile floors. As Marble Systems, we will also talk about how to deep clean tile floors to help you prevent stains and damage to your porcelain tiles, ceramic tiles, and marble tiles.
Let&#;s discuss how to clean ceramic tile floors. Ceramic tile flooring is durable, and hardwearing so you will be pleased to know it&#;s quite low maintenance despite its beautiful appearance. Following the 5 steps listed here will result in your ceramic floors looking their best and lasting for years.
1. Removing debris: Vacuum and sweep your floors regularly to keep debris from building up on the surface of your tiles. Ceramic tiles are highly resistant to dirt, but grit and sand can dull their face if left for too long.
2. Picking the correct mop: A mild detergent (like dish soap) and a gentle rag or cloth mop are all you need when wet cleaning ceramic floors.
3. Stain prevention: If you notice stains on the tile or grout it is best to tackle them immediately. Commercial cleaners for ceramic tiles can be used.
4. Avoid soap residue: If your tiles look a little bit hazy or dull after mopping it may be from leftover soap residue. Use a natural cleaner that contains vinegar and lemon juice to remove the build-up. A non-abrasive all-purpose cleanser can also help get rid of unwanted soap stains.
5. Keep tiles dry: Last but not least you dry your ceramic floors after wet cleaning. Allowing floors to air dry can lead to unsightly water stains. Use a clean, gentle lint-free cloth to wipe away water and keep your floors streak-free.
The easiest way to care for ceramic tile floors is to keep things simple. You should avoid using harsh chemicals, rough textured brushes, and steel wood pads. Both bleach and ammonia-based products should also be avoided.
If you want to know how to clean porcelain tile floors, it is recommended to adhere to steps 1 through 5 from above. Both ceramic and porcelain tiles have many of the same characteristics. Porcelain tends to be denser than ceramic tile, but the surfacing and composition of porcelain mean it requires similar care. You can rest assured that your beautiful porcelain tiles will reap the same long-term benefits using the steps mentioned for ceramic tile care.
The same rules apply here as those for ceramic tiles. You never, ever want to use harsh or abrasive chemicals on your porcelain floor tile. Anything containing bleach or ammonia is a no-go, and want to refrain from using rough scrub brushes and steel wool pads on your tiles&#; surface to avoid causing damage.
Knowing how to clean marble tile floors is crucial to maintaining them for the long haul. Marble tile is expensive so you don&#;t want to use just any old product on its luxurious surface. Marble flooring will require a gentle hand to make sure they are not damaged while cleaning. Marble floors are natural stones, making them much higher maintenance than porcelain and ceramic tiles. Marble tile can be porous, meaning it can absorb moisture and break down over time. Make sure your marble tiles are regularly sealed with a moisture-protectant sealer annually.
We don&#;t want the maintenance of your marble tiles to intimidate you. We are confident that we can help you keep your floors looking as beautiful as the day they were installed. You will be a pro at caring for your marble tile floors if you follow the steps listed here. And as a bonus, these tips will help you figure out how to clean other types of tile floors as well.
1. Start with clean water: The water should be applied using a soft cloth or spray mop.
2. Soapless cleaner: A cleaner with a neutral pH of 7 is best to avoid streaks and smears. There are also specialty cleaners made to help you get the correct pH every time.
3. Rinsing: Thoroughly rinse the tile surface with clean warm water, refreshing the water as much as needed.
4. Drying: Use another soft cloth or mop head to dry the surface of the tile. It is imperative to keep marble floors dry to avoid activating the iron oxide in marble which can cause rust stains.
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Never use cleansers with acidic pH levels on your marble tile floors. Cleaners containing lemon, and vinegar are especially acidic and can strip away the tile&#;s surface and sealant. You should also avoid using abrasive brushes and powdered cleansers on marble tiles. Anything with tough bristles or steel wool could cause irreparable damage and should also be avoided at all costs.
Clean grout is the best-kept secret to achieving great-looking tile floors. Grout is porous absorbing both stains and grease, meaning it can get icky pretty fast and put a damper on the overall appearance of your flooring. For this reason, grout can be hard to clean once it is dirty, therefore we recommend being proactive to keep your grout from dulling.
Here&#;s how to clean grout on tile floors to keep them looking like new:
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1. Make a natural grout cleaner: Don&#;t bother using commercial cleaners, make your own by mixing baking soda and clean water.
2. Scrubbing: Rud your DIY mixture into the grout and let it sit for a few hours (overnight is better). The next day scrub your grout with a stiff nylon brush. You can repeat the process until the grime and staining are gone.
3. Sealing: Once your grout is clean you can apply a silicone-based grout sealer to help prevent future stains. You should try to do this within the first week or two of installing or renewing grout for the best results.
If you want to know how to clean most types of floor tile, the answer is simple: use warm water, a soft cloth or mop, and a gentle soap-free cleanser. Whether you have marble, ceramic, or porcelain floors you should always follow up by drying the tile&#;s surface once it&#;s been cleaned.
Last but not least we want you to know how often to clean your tile floors. If you are cleaning with water, we recommend doing so weekly. You do not want to go too long between wet cleanings because you could miss or overlook stains or allow debris to build up on the grout. Between deep cleanings, you can also spot clean floors to keep stains and watermarks at bay.
For daily maintenance, we recommend sweeping with a broom or using a vacuum at least once a week. You will need to remove debris more often if you can visibly see buildup accumulating on the tile. If using a vacuum it should have a soft-bristled attachment to avoid damaging your floors. Taking the appropriate steps for consistent dry and wet cleaning will keep any and all tile materials looking their absolute best.
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Here at The Cleaning Supply Mart, we want to do everything we can to ensure that you have the floor cleaning products and supplies you need to keep your commercial floors looking their best. In our prior post, we reviewed how important routine maintenance and cleaning is for a vinyl composition tile (VCT) floor. In addition to regularly maintaining and cleaning your VCT floor with pH-neutral floor cleaning products, scrubbing and refinishing your floors will help them retain their high-sheen gloss, enhancing the beauty of your property.
Eventually, every VCT floor will experience wear, leaving it dull and discolored from foot traffic. The amount of traffic and the amount of daily care the floor receives will determine how long it holds up. In most situations, it&#;s not necessary to completely strip and re-wax the floor, so long as you address the deterioration of the finish in a timely manner. Instead, you can do what is referred to as a &#;scrub and re-coat.&#; This process calls for using an auto scrubber or floor machine with a scrubbing pad to remove the top one or two layers of floor finish, as well as built-up dirt and grime. After the floor is scrubbed, you then apply several coats of fresh floor finish. Check out the materials and equipment you will need for this job, a detailed description of the process, and answers to frequently asked questions below.
The amount of labor and payroll you need is impacted dramatically by using appropriate chemicals, tools, and equipment. You&#;ll note that we do not mention floor stripper as a necessary item. Floor stripper is not needed for this project because it&#;s too aggressive and will remove the wax completely. We&#;ll review this in further detail in part three of this series when we review the &#;strip and wax&#; process.
For a successful scrub and re-coat project, you&#;ll need the following:
Use a cotton-blend or a microfiber mop head ONLY during the scrub portion of the project. Even when using an auto scrubber, you&#;ll still need a mop for the corners, edges, and small spaces where the scrubber won&#;t fit. Don&#;t use a &#;finish mop&#; that has rayon during the scrub portion of the project, as they are designed NOT to be absorbent because they are used only for laying down new floor finish.
The following cotton-blend and microfiber mop heads are great for this job:
Use a rayon-blend &#;finish mop&#; ONLY for laying down the new fresh floor finish once the floor has been thoroughly scrubbed. Mop heads are not expensive, and if you want a great-looking floor, one of the best things you can do is simply use a brand-new rayon mop head with each scrub and re-coat project. They CAN be laundered, but you don&#;t want to use a mop head that has ANY remnant of old finish in it. Examples of these types of mop heads include:
To prepare the floor, you&#;ll need to use a good floor cleaning product that is semi-aggressive in order to remove the top several coats of floor finish along with all the grit and grime, like Betco&#;s Fastdraw Ultra Floor Cleaner.
Use a 26-quart bucket for small areas, and a 35-quart bucket for large areas. See our website for a huge assortment of different styles available, such as this small bucket and this large bucket. Empty dirty water often to avoid putting dirt back on the floor. It is best to utilize separate buckets for clean water and dirty water, or inserts like this red one from Rubbermaid. This will save you labor and give you a better result!
If you&#;re doing routine maintenance on large tile areas, you can save many labor hours by using an auto scrubber, like the Predator 17 auto scrubber. Use a light scrubbing pad so you ONLY remove dirt and grime, and avoid removing layers of floor finish.
It&#;s important to use the right pads for scrubbing. If you use pads that are too aggressive, they will remove all of the floor finish, and you only want to do that when you are doing a full &#;strip and wax&#; project. We recommend using any pad that is designated as a &#;scrub pad.&#; These range in color from blue to green based on how aggressive they are.
Another VERY handy pad is called the &#;DoodleBug.&#; This is a small pad used for detail scrubbing on edges, corners, door jams, etc. where machines just don&#;t reach. These pads come in many colors, again based upon how aggressive they are. Brown DoodleBug pads are your best choice for scrub and re-coat project detail work.
In order to avoid slip and fall injuries that can cause lawsuits and insurance claims, be sure that you have posted &#;wet floor&#; signs.
This item is critical to achieving a good result while protecting the floor&#;s finish. Follow the manufacturer&#;s instructions on dilution ratios; if you use too MUCH in the mop water, it will actually streak rather than clean! Check out our entire assortment of floor cleaners on our website! If you want to know more about floor cleaners/neutral cleaners, then be sure check out our recent blog post on the matter.
As you mop, you will likely come across someone&#;s chewing gum, price stickers, or other problems that can be easily removed if you have the right tool, like this safety scraper.
QUESTION: How often do I need to do a scrub and re-coat on a VCT tile floor?
ANSWER: This depends upon two factors: (1) the amount of foot traffic, and (2) the weather conditions that impact the surface, like ice melt products and grit.
QUESTION: How many times can I do a scrub and recoat before it&#;s no longer effective and a full strip and wax is necessary?
ANSWER: The area you are doing scrubbing and re-coating could probably be done and redone many times, however, with the surrounding area being left undone, it will gradually deteriorate to the point where it makes much more sense to do a full strip and wax.
QUESTION: Is it ok to use a different kind of floor finish for the next two fresh coats on an existing base of some other kind of floor finish?
ANSWER: Generally, the manufacturers of floor finish advise that their finish can be applied directly onto other clean, dry finishes. The thing that will make ANY newly applied floor finish fail is a surface that is not fully cleaned. If your surface is very clean, then most finishes will work. Be careful to make sure you are using a matching gloss. Some floor finishes are called &#;matte&#; or &#;low gloss,&#; and if you attempt to apply high gloss to those, you will encounter problems as well as a distinct difference in the finished appearance.
Are you ready to achieve professional-quality results when you scrub and re-coat your VCT flooring? If so, then look no further than The Cleaning Supply Mart for all of your VCT floor cleaning products. We carry a wide variety of vinyl floor cleaning products, including neutral cleaners, scrubbers, buckets, and more! Shop online with us today and enjoy free shipping on orders over $50!
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