How To Clean Tiles And Always Keep Their Brand New Look

Tiles are known for their very low porosity value and therefore do not absorb. This means that traces of cement and grout from installation will remain on the floor surface and sometimes remain invisible to the naked eye.

These deposits may retain dirt, acting as an anchorage point. This is more evident on dry rustic and mineralized surfaces. However, the large variety of polished porcelain tile available has created several cleaning problems for the end user.

The general problem usually is knowing what type of chemical cleaner should be applied to maintain their original appearance. Most people complain that their tiles no longer look new they way the bought them after cleaning them for a few months. The same can be said of Rustic Glazed porcelain or Ceramic Tiles.

Here is what to do to solve this problem.

Immediately after tile installation, it is best to use an acid-based scale remover. This is a once off application and will effervesce and raise any cementitious residue off the surface of porcelain tiles and glazed monocottura tile products.

What ever solution you use make absolutely sure you apply it according to its' instructions on label. This is another problem, when people do not dilute and use chemicals according to the manufacturers instructions. This is very important to remember.

When applying any solution, scrub with a good body brush, leave to soak according to instructions for activation, and before rinsing, vigorously scrub again to ensure all traces of cement have been removed. Removing cement is a chemical process that should be followed to the letter. When chemical manufacturers compose the solutions they test them, that is why it is important to re-iterate following instructions to the letter. Using a wet/dry vacuum or squeegee method to remove the soil and rinsing water is best as this avoids leaving some of the soil or residue on the surface of the tiles.

If the residue still appears, then re-apply to areas that may appear as a white/grey residue when tiles have dried. This will mainly apply to the dry mineralized porcelain surfaces. Again, most importantly, ensure the ratio of mix is correct to the label of the manufacturer.

In the event of heavy soiling or large areas, the use of a single disc pad machine can prove more successful and quicker. If the tile has a carborundum or quartz surface with non-slip of R-11 or higher, avoid the single disc pad machine as the pad will be destroyed. Because Porcelain tiles are acid resistant (except Hydrofluoric), paint stains, wine, fat, vinegar, nail polish etc are easily removed with the appropriate diluents such as turpentine, thinnes, tenzine, acetone, chloric acid, phosphoric acid, bleach, sodium hydroxide, etc.

In case of Italian porcelain, due to the low porosity, sealants are normally not required in the home environment if tiles are cleaned from inception with the correct non-ammonia cleaning products. Gres-Porcellanato products have a 1% or more porosity due to less firing and pressing time. It may be more necessary to seal these types of porcelain if polished.

Because of price, asian products have found their way into a lot of commercial applications, and for this reason, extra care should be taken when cleaning as it appears the micro-pore is more prone to absorption, possibly due to the firing, pressing and polishing process in their manufacture. This is why consideration can be given to sealing these types of porcelain. Sealers should have the correct polymer make-up to be successful. Once again, if cleaned from inception with the correct non-ammonia based products, there should be no need for sealing.

Incorrect local cleaning liquids, which you can buy at any store in South Africa, such as "Handy Andy", "Sunlight Liquid" or "Domestos" often render a porcelain tile hard to keep clean. Too much ammonia in a cleaning liquid or too strong a concentration of pH and residues containing flaxens, will build up on the surface acting as an absorbent pad or even give a dull film image on the surface of the tile (i.e on black polished porcelain).

Should this occur, and the tiles are of a lighter colouring, it is advisable to initially strip all soap build up. You will have to use a good stripping chemical. The quicker method, being the single disc machine, and using the Red pad. In this process, we recommend removal of all dirt with the wet vacuuming method. If this is not possible, then it is best to use a squeegee to drag away the dirty soap from cleaned off areas. Thereafter, maintain and clean with a tile chemical which is a non-ammonia based cleaning liquid (environmentally friendly safe on all metals).

In the event that your polished porcelain floor has a protective wax coating on the face of the tiles, then a was free agent should be applied, undiluted with an applicator, giving time for the wax to soften before agitating with a brush and once again remove with a squeegee. The area can then be cleaned and maintained using the alkali based agent.

It should be noted, the use of rubber gloves is advised when using alkali based products. (The degreasing action removes the natural lanolin in our hands and will leave them very dry and rough).

Designers and architects often specify the use of various colours in their tile layouts and design work, or even combinations of porcelain and granite. For instance black porcelain is often used as a contrast, but this should be avoided due to the fact that while an 8.5 pH is required for light coloured porcelains, this can result in the dulling of the black where an acid with a low pH of 3 or 4 should be applied.

Acid cleaners such are not recommended for use on Granite and marble floors as this will remove all shine. Thus, design work with combos of natural products with porcelain should also be avoided if future cleaning is to be considered.

In summary, if you are install tiles in your house of a commercial real estate, to maintain the tiles shine and look as the day you purchased them you will have to use chemicals designed to clean tiles.

If you are in the process of specifying the tiles you wish to install make your architect aware of the cleaning issues to ensure you get a great look of all your tiles for many years to come.

Tiles are a great investment, and when maintained can look as new for the life time of the tile.