Ceramic Tile Maintenance and Cleaning: Best Practices for Keeping Your Tiles looking new for Years to Come

Feb 2023

Tile floors are a long-term investment which is why it is important to clean and maintain them. The tile floors aren’t clean until and unless the floors are properly scrubbed. If there is dirty grout, then it is a firm indication that the floors need more than just regular sweeping and cleaning. This is when it comes to cleaning the tile floors; usually, it should be done with the right materials so that the shine and condition of the tile floor don’t fade easily.

Cleaning Ceramic and Porcelain Tile Floors

Since both the Ceramic and Porcelain tile floors are durable enough, it is evident with minimal and good cleaning tips, making the tile floors shiny and radiant is possible;

Cleaning The Debris

To prevent the tile floor from getting dull, it is recommended to follow up with a regular vacuum and sweep this is because although Ceramic tiles don’t attract dirt easily, however, the potential grit, as well as sand, bear the capability of fading away the brightness of the glazed surfaces.

Right Floor Map

Instead of a sponge mop, opt for a mild detergent and clean water. The reason behind avoiding sponge mops is that they tend to push all of the dirty water into the grout lines which hence makes them even harder to clean and maintain the shine of the tile floor.

Looking out for tile stains

If there is a stain on the tile then it is very necessary to find the root cause of the stain and then follow up by treating it with the right cleaner to achieve the best result.

Routine Care

For routine care and ceramic tiles maintenance, the following approaches are recommended:-

Glazed Tile

In terms of tile areas in residential baths and showers, a multipurpose spray cleaner would do the work. This is because the spray cleaner will help to get rid of the hard water deposits as well as soap scum.

Unglazed Tile

In terms of the unglazed tiles, they should also be routinely cleaned but with concentrated tile cleaners with a neutral pH for safer and regular use. Such kinds of oils are only used if there is a situation of removing oils, grease, and even normal spills from the unglazed products.

When it comes to routine cleaners, it should be made sure that they are free from any kind of harsh chemicals since they tend to damage tiles. Other than that, the acids can also damage the grout and the tile’s glazed surface.

Cleaning the Ceramic Tiles

Before heading ahead with cleaning the floor tiles, make sure all the furniture, rugs and shoes, and anything that may come in the way of the cleaning process are removed. To clean ceramic tiles, the following steps are to be followed:-

• Make sure to get rid of the sand, dirt as well as all the other associated debris with either a broom or a cleaner.
• To get rid of the sticky residue on the tiles, a plastic putty knife will do the job.
• Mix a bucket with hot water along with half a cup of vinegar as well as a half tablespoon of dish soap. About the soap, make sure not to use more than the wanted soap because then the residue of the soap.
• While mopping, it has to be made sure that the mop head is rinsed out properly, and this is needed to be done under running hot water so that all the debris that is still in the mop is carefully removed.
• It is highly recommended to mop the tile floors with soapy water.
• To get rid of the soap residue, mop it with plain hot water.
• After this, it is recommended to let the floor air-dry. However, drying the floor with a towel or even a clean cloth will help in removing dirt in a neat manner that will further prevent the water spots.

Cleaning the Ceramic Tile Grout

The ceramic tile floors or PGVT tile’s strength and maintenance largely depend on the grout that is holding the former together. To clean the ceramic tile grout with the DIY method, one can stick to the below-mentioned procedures:-

• Mix a bucket of water with the directed powdered oxygen bleach that is mentioned on the bottle. This is because the bleach is composed of different chemical compounds from the regular chlorine bleach and thus is free of toxins and is also color-safe.
• After making a solid solution, apply those to the grout lines with either a scrub or, if not that, then with a spray bottle.
• Try leaving the solution on the grout for a solid 30 minutes. It is usually preferable to leave the solution for a longer amount of time, and this is because then the ions the oxygen-containing in the bleach solution will function for six rigid hours.
• As soon as the bleach solution has soaked in, scrub the grout lines either with an old toothbrush or a preferable nylon brush. Try scrubbing a mini area of grout at a single time and then follow up by sopping up the dirty water with the help of a towel.
• After you notice that all the grout lines are neat and clean, try rinsing the area with fresh water and then follow the procedure of drying with a clean cloth.
• After being done with the cleaning procedure, make sure the floor is dry and keep the grout clean with a grout sealant.

Furthermore, instead of oxygen bleach, one can always use a mixture of white vinegar with either baking soda or lemon juice, which is preferable and easily available. But as often observed, the bleach solution demands comparatively a lesser amount of scrubbing and is proven as one of the most effective remedies for removing stains. Thus, this is all the information that was there to know about ceramic tile maintenance and cleaning. Now that you have all the information you need, you are all set to keep your tile floor from all kinds of dirt and debris.