Tile & Grout Tips
Dirt shows easily on a tile floor, dulling its shine. To keep your tile floors looking clean, it’s important to keep up with maintenance. If you don’t clean them routinely, they’ll require deep cleaning because grout stubbornly holds onto the dirt. No matter how many times you mop the floor, the grout will stay the same. You’ll need to scrub it clean with a soft brush or hire a tile and grout cleaning company. There are several things you can do to keep tile floors clean longer.
Place Doormats in Front of the Doors
The less dirt that’s tracked onto your tile flooring, the easier it will be to keep it clean. Another problem with dirt being tracked across tile floors is it damages the finished surface. You can minimize how much dirt is tracked into the house by using a doormat in front of the front and back doors.
Implement a No Shoes Rule
Another idea for preventing dirt from spreading over the tiles is to implement a no shoes rule. Ask guests and all members of the household to take their shoes off upon entering the home. You can set up a shoe rack at the front door where people can easily store their shoes.
Vacuum or Sweep Once a Week
Cleaning experts recommend that you vacuum or sweep tile flooring at least once a week. Only use vacuums and brooms with soft bristles to avoid damaging the floor. A fluffy dust mop works well for this purpose. Cleaning on a weekly basis helps prevent dirt buildup that can be difficult to scrub away. You save more time by keeping up with sweeping every week.
Clean Up Spills Immediately
As with all surfaces, cleaning up spills immediately helps keep tile floors clean. When you don’t wipe up a spill immediately, it can cause stains, crust on the surface and make the surface sticky. The mess will be more difficult to clean the longer you wait to clean it. You’ll need a lot of arm power. You may even need to call on a professional cleaning company when this happens.
Absorbent cloths clean up spills quickly and easily. For spills that need to be disinfected, such as raw meat, you’ll need to use a disinfecting cleaner to help prevent the spread of bacteria that can make you or other members of the household sick. Food poisoning can be caught by failing to disinfect after a spill. It’s not an illness solely caught through eating contaminated food. Bacteria can also settle into the tiles, another reason you want to disinfect and clean the area immediately.
Mop Once a Week
You should mop tile floors with warm water once a week. Check that any soap you use is safe for tile flooring. Make sure that no one walks on the floor until it’s dry or dirt will resettle into it. You can dry the floor after mopping if you don’t have time to wait on it to dry before people and/or pets walk on it.
Set a Bath Mat in Front of Your Tub
If you have tile flooring in your bathroom, then place a bath mat in front of your tub. It will help protect the tiles from becoming dirty. Water mixed with dirt on tile flooring isn’t a good combination.
Seal the Floors
Having your tile flooring properly sealed makes maintenance easier and decreases the chance of staining. Quality sealers should be used during the sealing process as well to ensure it does its job. A poor quality sealer will still leave your floor vulnerable to food and oil damage.
Sealants wear off with time, so you’ll have to make sure to reseal the floors every once in a while. How often your grout needs sealing depends on what type of grout is used, traffic level, placement of the tiles and what type of sealant is used. Typically, you need to reseal the grout once a year.
The secret behind keeping tile floors clean is staying on top of maintenance. If you make sure the grout is resealed every year and mop on a weekly basis, then your tile flooring will look great. Also sweep at least once a week with a fluffy dust mop. You don’t want to give dirt a chance to begin building up and deeply embedding itself into the grout.
If you are unable to get your tile floors as clean as they were when they were new or you have moved into a house that has dirty tile flooring, we can deep clean your floors. We offer tile and grout cleaning services to help restore the cleanliness of your tile flooring.