Ceramic Tile Floor Maintenance

Ceramic tile floor maintenance begins with understanding what type of ceramic floor tile you have in your home. There are two types of ceramic floor tiles that your tiled floor could be constructed out of, glazed or unglazed ceramic tile.

Glazed ceramic floor tiles have a smooth glass like surface, and as such care needs to be given not to scratch or dull them by using steel wool, or an abrasive scouring pad/cleaner on them.

First, and at the simplest level, you should vacuum or sweep you ceramic tile floors regularly, e.g. once a week. You should also damp mop them regularly with the manufacturer’s recommended tile and grout cleaner, or with a water and soapless detergent mixture/household cleaner.

Glazed or Unglazed Ceramic Tile Floors and Staining

If there is a stain on the ceramic floor tile, apply a scouring power paste to the area and let it sit several minutes before scrubbing and/or brushing it off. A power scrubber machine may be required if the stain covers a large area of the floor tile.

Grout is susceptible to mold and mildew and is easy to stain. Consequently you need to be vigilant in regards to cleaning it. Hot water and household bleach works well for food spills, blood, and inks/dyes (e.g. juices, coffee, tea, food, leaking pen, new dark wet clothes). Apply it with a small soft brush to the stained grout lines.

To remove mold and mildew, use Ammonia, with equal parts water, and a small soft brush.

Note: DO NOT MIX bleach and ammonia together as they can create dangerous vapors.