Tiled flooring is a stylish choice for any room of the home and a practical choice in spaces such as bathrooms and kitchens where the possibility of water damage deters many people from fitting carpets.
While tiles look great, they must be kept clean to keep them looking their best in the long term. Dirt can build up in the grout, leading to unhygienic bacteria growth, while sticky residue covering tiles can significantly reduce their natural beauty.
The good news is that it isn’t so difficult to ensure your tiled flooring maintains its flawless appearance, so if you’re ready to get rid of dust and grime on your tiles, follow these simple tips and keep your home looking perfect.
Regular Sweeping – A Must
Regular sweeping or vacuuming is the first step to ensuring your tiled flooring looks good. This will prevent the tiles from looking dull since they are relatively resistant to grime and dirt; grit and sand can easily dull their glazed surface. If using a vacuum cleaner, make sure you are using a suitable model for hard flooring.
Avoid The Sponge Mop
Although sponge mops may seem like the obvious choice for cleaning your tiled floors, this is not the case. Sponge mops push the dirty water into the grout lines, making them much more difficult to clean, so use a Chamois-style mop or rag instead. A mild household detergent is a good choice for keeping your tiled floors clean, but remember that you’ll have to frequently change the water as you mop since when the water is dirty, the floor begins to look cloudy.
Removing Residue
If you’ve cleaned your tiles, but they still look cloudy and hazy, the problem could be soapy residue on their surface. You can remove this film using an all-purpose non-abrasive cleaning product. Alternatively, if you’d rather stick to natural methods, try a mild acid like lemon juice if you have ceramic tiles (although you should never do this if you have marble tiles). Rinse away the cleaner or lemon juice using clean water, and then use a lint-free clean cloth to buff the tiles dry. If you want to protect your knees, kneeling on the floor is unnecessary. Achieve the same effect by pushing the fabric with your foot across the floor!
Beautifully Clean Grout
There’s no point in having beautifully clean tiles if the grout between them is still filthy. If you can clean the grout, your floor will look much better. The problem is that grout is a porous substance that absorbs stains and grease. While you could use a commercial cleaning product, you’ll achieve a better effect if you make your cleaning paste using water and baking soda. Apply it liberally to the stained grout, allow it to rest overnight, and then use a stiff nylon brush (don’t use a metal one since this could damage your grout) and scrub the area until the stains are gone. You will probably need to repeat this procedure if the grout is stained. Once it looks clean, apply a sealer with a silicone base onto the grout, as this will repel any future staining.
Steam Cleaning
Using a steam cleaner is one of the most efficient and effective ways to keep your tiled floors looking their best. Designed to take all of the hard work out of cleaning hard floor surfaces, a high-quality steam mop will effortlessly keep your floors looking good in the long term. The steam’s high temperature will lift away even tough and hardened dirt and grime without leaving the feet wet and slippery.
Follow these top tips, and you’ll find that your tiled flooring looks better than you’d ever imagined!