Tile floors have a clean, crisp, modern look. They open up your living space and give you scope for great interior design. This is our guide on how to clean tile floors to keep them impressively pristine for years and years.
It’s not hard to achieve. Follow the easy maintenance steps below to add sparkle and shine to your home and brighten up your everyday life.
1. Sweep and Vacuum
Use a soft-bristled broom to sweep up the dust and dirt every day to prevent grime collecting in the grouting and making your floor dull overall. You can pass the vacuum cleaner over the floor afterward to pick up the spots you missed, or those hard-to-reach corners.
Avoid using a hard broom or a straw broom, because these can scratch the tile surface.
2. Mop
Once a week, damp mop the floor with a cleaning mop warm water and a little mild detergent. The type of cleaning product you use will depend on the tiles you have.
If in doubt, check with the manufacturer about potentially damaging products, particularly if your tiles are made of slate or natural stone. The most common ceramic and porcelain tiles respond well to a capful of generic liquid detergent in half a bucket of water.
Soft cotton mops are best. There is no need to use mops with ultra-absorbent fabric.
After mopping, make sure you rinse your mop well in water to remove all the dirt and excess soap. Squeeze your mop, and hang it up to dry. Most mop handles have a small loop at the top; tie it to your washline with a short piece of string or an old shoelace.
This way, you won’t have a smelly mop!
3. Dry the Floor
After damp mopping dry the floor to avoid accidents. There is a range of long-handled flat dust mops for this job, so there’s no need to get down on your hands and knees!
Once the floor is dry, your job is done. Now, that didn’t take long, did it? And the upside is that you can develop your very own mopping technique to incorporate lunges and stretches for a mini-workout. Not only will your floor be looking fabulous, but you’ll feel good too!
4. Pay Attention to Grout
Keep your grouting clean to keep your tile floor looking great.
A DIY cleaner for this job is best. Rub a paste of baking soda with a little water on stains on the grouting and leave it overnight. Scrub it off with a nylon (not metal) brush the next morning.
Every few months, it’s a good idea to give the baking soda treatment to all grouting regardless of stains, particularly in bathrooms and kitchens.
The best way to avoid stains on grouting is to apply a silicone-based sealer about 10–14 days after the grouting is first done, or when it is repaired.
Opinions are divided on the merits of steaming cleaning to give your routing a “deep clean”. Some say it’s a great way to get rid of dullness while others claim it damages While a steam mop won’t do any harm to sealed grouting that’s generally in good shape, the consensus is that damaged grouting could become worse if steam cleaned.
How to Clean Tile Floors – General Tips
Rule Number One is to clean up spills as soon as possible. This applies to spills in the kitchen as any other room in the house.
Avoid the collection of dirt and grime by using an absorbent cloth to wipe up spills immediately. It’s the only way to reduce the chances of your tiles getting stained, even if they are protected with a layer of polyurethane coating.
Dirtier food spills such as raw meat and eggs should be cleaned with a gentle scrubbing brush or cloth and disinfectant or cleaning product to prevent bacteria from becoming embedded in the tiles or the grouting. Damp-mop the affected area afterward since the cleaning chemicals could make your tiles look dull.
Another home effective home remedy that works wonders in kitchens is to mop the floor with a mixture of a 1/2 cup of white vinegar and a gallon of warm water. It removes grease and stains from your tiles without damaging them. Vinegar also has good “odor-removing” properties. This is how to make tile floors shine without any special cleaning products.
If you really are too busy to deal with dirty tiles or are about to move house and want your new home super-clean, we provide a quality floor cleaning service. Just look at our before and after photos to see what a difference a spruced up floor can make!
Keeping Things As Clean As Possible
So you’ve cleaned the floor, now what? Well, how to keep tile floors clean is an art in itself, but the humble doormat is certainly your friend.
Place doormats on the outside and inside of all entrance doors to your home. This helps to prevent mud, dry leaves and grass, and other debris or water from coming inside.
Using a bathmat in the bathroom keeps your tiles dry and clean.
Place casual rugs in areas that are high in foot traffic to minimize scratches on the floor and the build-up of dirt and grime.
Put Your Feet Up!
Apart from the guide above on how to clean tile floors, the secret to keeping your floors clean is to clean them regularly. Clean floors add to the pleasantness of your home environment and keep your living space odor-free.
With a perfectly clean tile floor, the best thing you can do is make yourself a cup of your favorite beverage, snuggle into a comfortable armchair, put your feet up, and read a book – or simply admire your amazing tile floor!
For other cleaning and floor care tips, please visit our Services page, or give us a call.
