Tips & Trends

Are your tiled floors starting to look dull? Have they lost their ‘new look’ to them. Well it’s not difficult to get them back to their original beauty they once were. It all depends on what sort of tile you have to what sort of process you need to bring them back to life.

These tiles are really very easy to keep clean or bring back to life. Once you have swept all the initial dust and dirt, mix a solution of Methylated spirits and water, and go over the tiles using a chamois type mop rather than a sponge type mop. We also have a special Porcelain and Ceramic tile cleaner available at Life’s Tiles. Change the water once it starts getting cloudy. If you decide to use a mild mix of detergent to clean the tiles, make sure that your tiles are rinsed in clean water to remove any soapy residue. You also want to make sure when cleaning that you don’t over saturate your floors as you will also have the problem of water marks once dry. At Life’s Tiles we have tile cleaners that can work a treat.

Honed Porcelain has a texture, and you will find that dirt and grime can get stuck into the low areas of the tile. The best way to tackle this job is to use a steam mop. This allows for the dirt to loosen up, be wiped away and then dries quickly. If tiles are extra dirty, you may want to dampen your tiles first and let them soak for 10 minutes before starting up your steam mop. If it is a natural unsealed stone product then ask your supplier for advice. Honed Porcelain tiles can be sealed when they are first installed to make cleaning easier. This is what we recommend.

These tiles are cleaned in very much the same way as the honed porcelain.

Because these sort of tiles bare the brunt of the weather, a little more elbow grease may be required. The best form would be from a high pressure cleaner. These lift many stains including oil stains, moss and dirt. If staining is excessive then a chemical can be used to assist in the cleaning process. A range of chemical tile cleaners are available at Life’s Tiles.