Tips on Cleaning Ceramic Tile

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How To Clean Ceramic Tile

Tiles are being used everywhere these days. They vary from marble flooring tiles to ceramic tiles linoleum tile, stone tile as well as others.

Popular tiles: The common uses of tiles are the floor and wall tiles. Within this segment, there are niches like marble tiles, ceramic tiles, and granite tiles. Marble and granite tiles are sourced from natural resources and are generally imported in USA.

Ceramic Tiles:

Ceramic tiles come as glazed and unglazed types. The glazed ceramic tiles are more popular because of many advantages like ease of cleaning, low or no maintenance and availability of unlimited varieties. These tiles can be used in kitchen and bathrooms. Unglazed tiles are used for flooring.

Problems with Ceramic Tiles:

The ceramic tiles are not free of problems. The major problem is it can easily be scratched and it can crack if wrong chemicals are used for cleaning. Once the tile is scratched, it becomes difficult to clean as dirt goes into the scratches and cracks, and it shows. The tiles cannot be easily replaces as the replacement tile would not have the same color shade and the replacement tile shows itself as an odd tile. The ceramic tiles are long lasting if not scratched or cracked.

Type of dirt on bathroom tiles: The ceramic tile can attract dirt from many sources. While the tiles themselves are easy to clean, the joints (grout) in tiles presents a bigger challenge then the tiles themselves. The problems of ceramic tiles are more severe on bathroom tiles because of the chemicals used in bathrooms. The ceramic tiles can have cleaning problems as detailed below.

Soap Scum

Scum from soap: The scum from soap can make the ceramic tile look bad. The scum comes from talc in the soap and it would be preferable to use soaps with no talc at all. However, this is not the solution to the problem.

To remove soap scum cover the area with laundry detergent and allow standing for several hours. Rub with sponge and clean with water. Resistant stains can be cleaned by scrubbing with brush. Tri-sodium phosphate is also a good solution in removing soap scum.

Mold and Mildew in Grout

Mildew development in the grout: Mildew develops, as the alkaline medium in soap is ideal for formation and growth of mildew. A quick application of chlorine bleach and elbow grease will make short work of it.

Mildew is microorganism. Chlorine based solvents can be used to deal with effectively. This will also clean the grout since chlorine is good oxidizing agent. Microorganisms are also oxidized by chlorine.

Hard Water Stains

A white coat on the ceramic tiles is caused by hard water or minerals dissolved in the water. Full strength vinegar (a mild acid) and elbow grease will help dissolve the hard water deposits: Hard water causes tiles to be covered with a white coat that will quickly come off.

The white coat on tiles is just calcium and its compounds. Acid based tile cleaners are best for cleaning this, but be cautious and take precautions like using gloves and keeping the exhaust fan on. Do not use scoring powders to remove hard water on tiles.

Tile Cleaning Solutions

Most of the problems are solved easily by the above methods. If the problem persists, there are easy solutions available in market. These solutions however use hydrochloric acid in some form or other so be careful and follow the manufacturers instructions carefully.

Kitchen Tile Floors

Kitchen ceramic floor tile is easily maintained clean by daily vacuuming and frequent washing. The problem here is not as acute as bathrooms as it receives daily care.

Cleaning Ceramic Tile: Dos and Don'ts

• Wash regularly and remove water as early as possible.
• Rinse with a mild detergent
• Vacuum regularly
• Never wax a ceramic tile flooring
• Do not use ammonia-based cleaners. You will find that the grout will be discolored.
• Clean the spills on floors. This will ensure that grouts are not discolored by the chemicals in the spills.
• Non-epoxy grouts should be sealed twice a year with silicone based grout sealers. This will ensure that the spills do not affect the color of grout. The grout should be cleaned before application of silicone based sealer. If you do not do this, the spills will be sealed with the sealer.
• Other tiles such as marble tiles and granite tiles are easier to maintain than the ceramic tiles. Just regular cleaning and washing with water will maintain it clean and spic & span. While installing granite flooring be careful about the iron content in the granite. Iron content in granite when washed with water leaves ugly red stains on granite flooring.