Cleaning your tiles properly will ensure they last for a very long time! Unlike other types of flooring, tiles are easy to maintain. If you have to clean tile and grout, you just need to use a chamois mop or rag, a cleaning product, warm water, and soap.
How Frequently Should You Clean Your Tile Floors?
To remove those hard to reach granular debris on your floors, it’s best to vacuum, sweep or dry clean your tiles at least two times per week. For the tile floor in the kitchen, you should use a mop to wet clean your floors once every two weeks, and for the bathroom once a week will suffice. Every two to three months, spot clean the gaps in between your tile floors.
Tools You Need to Clean Tile Floors
- Traditional mop and bucket or tile scrubber
- Vacuum
- Microfiber Cloth
- All-Purpose Cleaner Bottle
Step by Step Instructions to Clean Tile Floors
Typically, it’s quite easy to get dirt and smudges stuck onto your porcelain or ceramic tile floors. Luckily, you won’t have to use any fancy cleaning products. Just use your standard all-purpose cleaning solution or dish soap to scrub off unwanted grime. Cleaning your tiles will give them their glossy and polished look.
- Vacuum-clean Your Tile Flooring
Make sure you meticulously remove any mold corners and grouts in your tiles. Use a simple hand duster to collect all of the small dust particles.
- Pour Your Cleaning Solution into Your Bucket of Warm Water
Submerge your mop into the bucket. Compress all of the surpluses of water until your mop is dampened.
- Change the Water When Dirty
Keep an eye out on the water in the bucket, since it may turn into a dingy color from repeatedly rinsing out your mop. Once the water is dirty, dump it out and replenish the water. This prevents you from smearing dirty water onto your precious tiles. If you do happen to see your tile turn into a hazy color, you’ll need to clean the smudges off using a rag dampened with white vinegar and hot water.
- Clean the Crevices
Use a grout cleaner spray bottle to clean those hard-to-reach gaps in your tile floors. Wait a few minutes before rinsing the cleaning solution off.
- Dry Your Tile Floor
Use a clean microfiber cloth to wipe down your floor to prevent water spots from forming.
Pro-Tips to Clean Your Natural Stone or Marble Tile Floors
Cleaning granite or marble floors is very similar to how you clean porcelain and ceramic floors just with a few exceptions:
- Natural stone tile floors have a tendency to scratch easily, so make sure to use a soft-bristled mop or sweeper.
- You won’t be able to use just any cleaning solution. For example, anything acidic such as vinegar will ruin your marble floors. And pH-neutral detergents prevent your granite tiles from fading colors.
Pro-Tips to Clean Linoleum and Vinyl Tile Floors
Compared to porcelain and ceramic tiles, Linoleum and Vinyl flooring require more maintenance to keep them polished. Avoid using steam mops because excessive moisture and heat can damage your Linoleum and Vinyl floors.
Vinyl: Stay away from cleaning products with heavy chemicals and opt to use a simple solution such as water and vinegar or manufacturer-recommended solutions.
Linoleum: Only use a solution specifically made for cleaning linoleum floors or consider using a mix of water and borax. To preserve the floor’s shine, make sure to apply a coat of wax and buff.
Additional Tips for Cleaning Tile Floors
When using a mop for a chamois mop or any mop that is super absorbent. A sponge mop won’t do the job because it’ll only drive the dirt into the gaps. When cleaning the grout, remember not to use any cleaning solutions with an acid such as vinegar or peroxide. For stone floors, do not use acidic cleaning products.
How to Remove Stains from Grout
Grouts are notorious for grossly staining easily especially if it’s light-colored. Sometimes, regular cleaning won’t do the trick and you’ll need to mix water and baking soda to create a paste. Apply the paste to the stained grout and wait for it to dry for a few hours minimum. Once dry, use a nylon brush, or clean toothbrush to scrub out the stain.
Do not use a steam cleaner to remove stains in the grout because that can be detrimental long term to the grout. Stay with the baking paste, just to air on the side of caution. Once the stain is removed you can use a silicone-based sealer to protect the grout against potential stains.