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How to Clean Commercial and Residential Tile Floors

How to Clean Tile Floors

Nowadays people prefer tile flooring in their homes to other types. The reason is simple; tile floors are much easier to clean especially in households where there are small children and pets. Another reason is that tile floors are easy to maintain as compared to carpeted floors because carpeted floors attract dust and have to be professionally cleaned on a regular basis.

On the other hand, if you have tiled floors in your home, you can easily clean them yourself. Cleaning tile floors in your home depend on the type of tiles used but there are usually a few general rules you can follow. Firstly, make sure that you wipe your tile floors as soon as something spills on them.

You should always keep a cloth handy so as to wipe the spills such as juice, water, dirt or pet accidents the moment they occur. Wet/dry vacuums or wet/dry cordless vacuums can also be very helpful in such situations. It is important to clean stains such as footprints as soon as possible to avoid permanent damage and therefore, during a rainy or snowy season, keep a sponge or a towel handy.

Also place a towel near your door so that whoever enters the house dries his/her feet before entering. If you have pets, make sure you dry their feet with a towel before letting them enter the house. Keeping your tile floors can be tedious if you wait till the last moment and the use of chemicals is bad for almost every type of floor.

Irrespective of the type of tile you have used in your home, make sure you sweep the floors as often as possible and mop them at least once a week. Make sure that you buy a high quality mop where the part of the mop used for dust cleaning can be removed and washed. All you have to do is periodically wash the mop and replace it only when it wears out.

You can find disposable dusters in the market as well such as Swiffer but recommendation for them is weak as they are not very economical for most floors. Often times the cloth just pushes the dirt around and leads to scratches along the surface of the tile. Where ceramic tiles are used for flooring these dusters fail again as they are unable to extract the grout from them. It is better to avoid using harsh chemicals and inhaling their fumes and therefore the use of a good old mop is the best solution.

You can also use a rubber prong broom or an attachment on your vacuum to clean bare floors. A simple wet mopping can work wonders for your floor but so very few people actually know that. The fact is that as long as you don’t have bacteria growing on your floor as part of some science project you can have excellent results with using just a wet mop to clean your floors. This is especially true in cases where one tends to get lazy just thinking about all the scrubbing and washing required when the floor is left unclean over a long period of time. When you know all you have to do is reach out for that mop, get it wet and start swiping it along the floor.

The following is precisely what it takes to clean with a mop:

Fill a bucket with luke warm, clean water. Dip your mop in it and squeeze it dry. Start mopping your floor. Replace the water when it gets dirty. If it’s a regular floor that requires no extra treatment, this is all you need. Incase you require more effective and strong cleaning, you would need;

• Two mops buckets instead of one with wringers,

• 2 mop handles that are preferably attached with rayon mop heads weighing 20 oz,

• A putty knife,

• A scraper with a long handle and a blade,

• A utility pad holder having a black pad, • A floor cleaning sign,

• A cloth for cleaning the floor,

• Gloves (preferably rubber ones) for your hands and

• Some protection for your eyes.

You can also use a wax stripper.

Another household remedy for cleaning a tile floor that has been neglected over a long period of time is to get your hands on the following easily available products for a do-it-yourself sparkling floor:

• Floor finishing product

• A small bucket

• A floor-finish mop that comes with a handle

• An applicator for the floor-finish

An Overview of procedures used in stripping operations:

• Clean the floor with a mop to remove any dust or debris, such as gun or tar etc, on it. • Now mix the stripper solution with the correct amount of cold water in a pail.

• Make sure you do not forget to place the wet floor signs on the floor to avoid any accidental injuries caused by slip-and-fall.

• Now dip the mop in the prepared mixture of stripper and water, squeeze it dry and apply to the area that requires a cleaning. Ensure this is not more than a 12’ X 12’ sized space. Let this solution absorb into the floor which should take about 7 to 10 minutes normally. Take care that you do not let the stripper dry onto the floor.

• After the above mentioned time has elapsed, use a floor machine attached with appropriate stripping pad to stir up the floor’s surface.

• Using a utility pad holder, with a handle and a black pad, start agitating the baseboards.

• Next step is to ensure that you get rid of the entire stripper solution using a wet vacuum. In case you don’t get the desired results in the first application due to a heavier build up of residue, repeat the above steps.

Alternate Methods:

After making sure that the floor is cleared of all the old finish replace the floor pad with a clean one preferably green or black. Now pour water on the tile floor and clean it with a floor machine and a new clean mop pad. Suck up all the excess water with a water vacuum or a squeegee tool designed for floors.

It is extremely important to;

• Make sure all the stripper has been removed, and

• To use cold water as hot water will lead to the creation of vapor when brought into contact with the stripper weakening the latter’s efficacy.

If you are in need of any floor care assistance, A Brite Cleaning & Restorations Inc. is available 24 hours a day 7 days a week. Call 1-877-522-7483.