How to Cleaning tiles with right tools

Keeping the tiles clean, after their installation, is a hard job. But using proper tools can make this job easy and save a lot of time/money.

1 Non-abrasive cleaner:

This all-purpose cleaner will help to clean any smudge of food or detergent from the tiles. Food leaves a mark which is hard to remove once it drops on the floor tiles. So always buy a good quality non-abrasive cleaner to clean the tiles properly, without losing the glaze of tiles.

2 Paste of Baking soda and Water:

Grout is porous and can absorb grease and other stains easily. You can’t use the cleaner for it and instead make a paste of baking soda and water. Let the paste stay for overnight on the stain of grout, and remove the paste using a nylon brush. Repeat pasting the grout again and again to remove stain completely. Use the sealer for grout, to avoid such any future accidents.

3 Absorbent clothes:

For spills, you should keep absorbent cloths. It’s important to remember that plain water and tracked in dirt are also 'spills'. Clean the spill as early as possible to avoid damage to tiles of the floor. Some of the cold drinks damage the floor tiles because of their acidic nature. Absorbent clothes help to clean them so they do not harm the glazed tiles.

4 Damp mopping:

Damp moping is the most effective cleaning method. It is cost effective and cheap. And it does not harm the tiles. But this method will require daily routine mopping of the floor. The trick to effective damp mopping is that you need to keep up on cleaning the floor.

5 Ammonia:

The accumulation of wax on floor makes the floor tiles look yellow over time. Remove layers of old wax and refresh your floor washing with a mixture of 1 cup ammonia in half gallon (2 liters) of water. Let the solution sit for three to five minutes, then scrub it with a nylon or plastic brush to remove old wax from tiles.

6 WD-40:

Sometimes the marks of buckets are left on the tiles after a long period of time. So spray some WD-40 onto a soft cloth and wipe up the floor with it. Rust marks on the tiles left by the rusty appliances can also be removed using WD-40. WD-40 is easily available on any good store.

7 Vinegar and water solution:

If soap or water spots have reduced the shine of ceramic tiles, you can bring the shine back by rubbing the tiles with half a cup of white vinegar, 1/2 cup ammonia and 1/4 cup borax mixed with 1 gallon (3.7 liters) of warm water. Rinse the tiles with cold water and dry them.

8 Steel wool:

The black marks of rubber soles left behind do not come off with a mop, no matter how many times you try mopping it. To get rid of these stains, you should gently rub the surface with a damp steel wool, usually used with soap. When the mark of the rubber sole is gone, wipe the floor clean with a damp sponge. These stains will come off easily using a steel wool rather than mopping the tiles again and again.

9 Pencil Erasers:

Pencil erasers can remove the heel marks easily from the tiles. Rub the marks gently using a good quality eraser. These marks will come off then. But this process is easy if the marks are small. For the big and lengthy marks, other methods stated above are easy to apply. Erasing method is cumbersome because it requires great strength and time to remove the mark.

10 lemon juice and borax:

Lemon juice is acidic in nature and is being used for cleaning purposes for ancient times. Clean rust stains from ceramic tiles by applying a paste of equal parts lemon juice and borax to the affected area of the tiles and allow it to dry then clean tiles by a damp cloth.

Another procedure involves using lemon juice on the rust stain for about five to ten minutes and then scrubbing with a nylon brush or old toothbrush to clean it. The more effective method is to sprinkle some salt on the lemon juice and then rub the stain off from tiles.

11 Spray and vacuum cleaning method:

This method uses a high pressure washer/sprayer, Vacuum pump for removing cleanser from the tiles, Vacuum tank for keeping the removed cleanser. This method uses the spraying technique with which the cleanser is sprayed on the tiles by sprayer, and then cleanser is allowed to settle down on tiles. Now the cleanser solution is removed using the vacuum pump by moving in rows and columns across the tiles of floor.