Three quick tile flooring care tips
Published: September 21, 2017
Properly maintaining your floor is the most important thing you can do to protect your flooring investment and keep your floor looking like new. Tile floors – as with many hard surface floor choices – are pretty easy to clean and maintain. That doesn’t mean they can be ignored however. If you don’t keep up with basic maintenance, you’ll soon end up with a dull, dirty floor that will need to be replaced earlier than it should. The tile flooring experts at Kermans Flooring in Indianapolis have three simple tips that help you stay on top of your tile flooring care.
Tile cleaning tip #1: Sweep or vacuum regularly.
Tiles may be durable and resistant to dirt and grime but – over time – dirt, small stones, sand and debris tracked in from the outdoors will dull your floor. If you don’t regularly sweep up that dirt and debris, it will be ground into the tile and can damage its surface permanently. Sweep your tile at least once a week – more often if it’s in a high traffic area. You can also use a vacuum without the roller brush engaged to help remove dirt.
Tile cleaning tip #2: Keep the grout clean.
A great-looking tile floor is one that has clean grout. Even the greatest looking tiles can look dingy if they are surrounded by stained grout. How do you keep your grout clean?
- Change your mop water frequently. When you’re mopping, keep an eye on the bucket of water, when it starts to look dark. Change it. If you’re mopping with dirty water, you’re just spreading the dirt around and porous grout loves to absorb dirty water.
- Remove stains that accumulate over time with a simple paste of baking soda and water. Rub it on the stain, let it sit overnight and then scrub it with a stiff nylon brush – never use a metal brush on grout because it will damage the surface.
- Have your grout professionally sealed. We recommend you have your grout sealed during installation but if that didn’t happen or your seal appears to have worn down, talk to your local flooring store about grout sealing to keep the worst stains from soaking into your grout.
Tile cleaning tip #3: Don’t let spills settle in.
If you spill something on tile, it’s far easier to wipe it up than if you spill something on carpet. That doesn’t mean you can let spills linger until your next planned mopping session. Spills that sit on tile can turn into stains that are difficult to remove. If that spill touches your grout it makes the stain-factor even worse because of the porous nature of grout. Keep clean towels readily available and when a spill happens soak it up as quickly as possible.
Tile flooring is one of the most popular floors available today. It’s easy to maintain. Extremely durable and comes in a surprising array of design choices. When you’re looking for a new floor, spend some time looking at tile. Then follow these three cleaning tips and you’ll enjoy a beautiful tile floor for years to come.
