Is your tile getting dingy and in need of a clean? Cleaning tile can be risky business if you don't educate yourself on the type of stone your dealing with and how the stone with react to the cleaning process you use.
Rule #1 of cleaning tile and/or stone: If In Doubt, Don't Do!
Some mistakes can be irreversible. Always check labels on the products that you are thinking about using and test an inconspicuous area first to see what effects, if any your cleaning process will have.
A lot of people think that because your dealing with stone, it's impossible to damage.... Nothing could be further from the truth. In fact, this is how most people get into trouble. Stone has many potential weaknesses, but once it has been properly protected and maintained, it's beauty can not be beat! There is nothing more stunning that natural stone tiles in a home. The trouble is keeping your natural stone tiles looking beautiful!
So what do you do?!
Of course first, we recommend speaking with a flooring professional, but we know that in the case of an emergency, contacting someone is not on the top of your priority list. StarFloors is always available for all your flooring inquiries- call us toll-free to speak with a flooring specialist - 866- 503-STAR (7827)
Here are some tips and tricks of the trade to help you when going to clean your tile or grout.
1. Access Your Situation
Access the type of stone in your home and whether or not it's been sealed. The first step of maintaining the beauty of your tile is sealing the stone. Natural stone does not come sealed, you can request this service from your flooring provider, but now that sealing your natural stone tile is not a permanent solution. Therefore, just because you do it once does not mean you won't have to re-seal in the future. Sealing your natural stone tile is the best method for protecting the stone against the harsh conditions inside or outside of your home.
A StarFloors Flooring Specialist can help you access which sealer is best for the natural stone in your home for you budget.
2. Keep Your Natural Stone Beautiful with Everyday Cleaning
Immediately wipe up spills that could damage the integrity of your natural stone tile. For daily cleaning we recommend soap-less detergents and pH balanced cleaners. Depending on the type of stone, mild dish soap can be a gentle and affective cleaning agent as well. It is important that you rise the tile and grout thoroughly to remove any remaining cleaner. Cleaner sitting on the surface of your stone or grout will only do damage.
3. Get the Grout!
Agitate grout joints with a soft bristled brush to loosen debris. Use water or a soap-less detergent. Thoroughly rinse, dry, and polish cleaned areas.
4. Avoid Acidic Cleaners
Acidic cleaners with remove polished surfaces from alkaline stones like marble, travertine, and sandstone. Acidic cleaners may also leave unsightly etch marks in the surface of the stone. Acidic cleaners damage grout as well. Acidic cleaners will erode the grout in the joints making cleaning and maintenance more and more problematic. This is especially true if using acidic cleaners on sanded grout. If your tile was laid with colored grout, the pigment in the grout can be permanently damaged by using acidic cleaners. This is especially true if your using an acidic cleaner on a daily basis.
Acidic Cleaners 101:
Mild Acid Cleaners
- Acid cleaners cannot contain soap, but instead use acid-stable surfactants (surface active agents that produce results similar to soaps) and perhaps a cellosolve (a type of organic solvent that dissolve grease and yet is soluble in water). Acetic acid and sulfamic acid supply metal-polishing characteristics. Acid cleaners are best at removing tarnish and mineral soils from copper and other metals.
Stronger Acid Cleaners
- Sometimes stronger formulations are needed to remove heavy scale (a thick oxide coating) caused by heat processing. These formulations may contain nitric acid and sulfuric acid. Sometimes they contain chromic acid or oxalic acid, which is a very powerful organic acid.
Types of Acid Cleaners (Ingredients)
- Vinegar and bleach for example are acid based products and many people use these products for cleaning purposes. These are examples of acetic acid products and they were never designed for any type of tile or grout cleaning purposes. While vinegar and bleach are generally safe for household use they can leave a nasty residue and film on your tile and they can actually discolor and break down the cement in your grout.
Other types of acid products that people use for cleaning purposes include muriatic, sulfamic and phosphoric acids. These acids can be found in many harsh and industrial cleaning solutions and can be extremely harmful to your health. While there are some valid uses for these chemicals in the construction and restoration industry they should only be used by experienced contracting professionals.
So What CAN I Use?
A pH Cleaning Solution
A pH neutral cleaning solution is best used for maintenance cleaning of your tile and grout after it has been deep cleaned. A pH neutral cleaning solution is preferred for daily or weekly cleanings because it will not break down any sealers that were applied to the grout or tiles. Also a pH neutral cleaner is easy to rinse off the tile and grout and will not leave any cleaning residue on the tile or in the grout.
PH neutral cleaners are safe to use on all types of tile, grout and stone and will not damage or etch even the most delicate stone surfaces. PH neutral tile and grout cleaners are not as effective as alkaline or acidic tile and grout cleaners for cleaning stubborn dirt, grease and grime. PH neutral cleaners are the best type of tile and grout cleaning product to use for daily or weekly maintenance cleanings of your tile, grout and stone surfaces.
Alkaline Tile and Grout Cleaner:
Most dirt, grease and grime stains in tile and grout are acidic in nature these are the most common types of dirt and stains in tile and grout. Dirt and grime of this nature typically occurs in kitchens, entrance ways, lobbies and wherever there is high foot traffic or greasy cooking conditions. To clean these types of acidic stains you need an alkaline cleaning solution.
The alkaline cleaner will react with the acidic dirt grease and grime and leave the resulting slurry in suspension. This slurry can then be extracted and then your tile and grout can be rinsed and you are left with clean tile and grout.
For recommendations contact at StarFloors Flooring Specialist who will aide you in finding the perfect cleaner for your natural stone. www.starfloors.com
866-504-STAR (7827)
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