Ceramic Tile Floor Maintenance

Ceramic Tile Floor Maintenance Tips on Glazed and Unglazed Ceramic Floor Tile

By Mark J. Donovan




Besides providing a beautiful floor finish to your home, ceramic tiled floors are one of the easiest flooring surfaces to maintain.

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.

Unglazed ceramic floor tiles are more susceptible to staining as they are porous, and as a result, you should be more careful in preventing spills that could stain the tile’s surface. This said, however, stains can still be frequently removed from unglazed ceramic tile with the right cleaners and some elbow grease.

Regular Ceramic Tile Floor Maintenance and Cleaning

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.

HOW TO TILE A CUSTOM CERAMIC TILE SHOWER EBOOK

Make sure after removing the detergent and/or scouring paste to thoroughly rinse the ceramic floor tile with a mop and clean water to prevent any filming.

Warning: make sure you do not use a colored detergent/cleaning solution on unglazed tile as the detergent/cleaning solution color could penetrate into the tile.

Cleaning Grout Lines

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.

Ceramic tile shower and shower floor

 


For information on installing a shower pan membrane liner for a ceramic tile shower, see the Shower Pan Membrane Liner Installation Ebook from HomeAdditionPlus.com.  The Shower Pan Membrane Liner EBook will quickly teach you the step-by-step process for installing the shower pan membrane liner correctly. It includes instructions on framing the shower stall, pouring the pre-slope and shower base mortar, and installing the shower pan membrane liner.

See HomeAdditionPlus.com’s Ceramic Tile Calculator

See my “How to Tile a Custom Ceramic Tile Shower” Ebook to learn how to tile your own shower:  For a detailed set of instructions on tiling a shower floor and walls, including pictures for every step in the process, see my “How to Tile Custom Ceramic Tile Shower Ebook”.

Related Information


Additional Ceramic Tile Resources from Amazon.com

     

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