If you find that cleaning your tiles and grout takes far too much effort, you’re likely not using the right approach. In this blog, we will share tile and grout cleaning tips from our professional cleaners so you never have to break a sweat.
Know the Tile Material for Tile and Grout Cleaning
It’s not easy to know what type of tile you have if you weren’t the one who installed it. However, knowing what material your tiles are made of can help you achieve a better level of clean with much less effort. This is because when you know the tile material, you understand what tile maintenance is required. Some tiles require regular sealing to protect them from stains and help reduce their porousness.
Here are a few tips to help you identify the most common tile types:
- Ceramic: Ceramic tiles are more common in kitchens, as they are not as watertight as materials such as porcelain. It is less likely they are used in your bathroom shower or tub area, although they can be used as bathroom flooring. Also, some ceramic tiles are sealed with a non-porous coating to improve their water resistance, which makes it hard to tell if you’re dealing with ceramic or porcelain.
- Porcelain: Porcelain is a popular bathroom tile, as it is non-porous and absorbs less water than other materials. However, it is also used for backsplashes and flooring in many homes.
- Marble/stone: Although there are some pretty convincing engineered stone materials out there today, in most cases, you can tell real marble and stone by their appearance. Look for signs of slight blurring or recurring veining, which indicate it is engineered stone.
Apply Seals to Reduce Tile and Grout Cleaning Efforts
Grout requires regular sealing to protect against common issues that can lead to discolouration. Sealing is particularly important in bathrooms where mould and mildew are common, as well as in very high-traffic areas for flooring.
Choose a material-appropriate seal, and always provide 24 hours of drying time after a shower or cleaning your tiles before applying the seal. Also, you’d be surprised how many types of tiles require regular sealing as part of proper tile maintenance, including the following:
- Natural stone, including granite, slate, and marble
- Cement tiles
- Terracotta
- Unglazed ceramic
- Crackle-glazed tiles
Increase Your Tile and Grout Cleaning
Tile and grout in busy areas such as hallway floors, kitchen backsplashes, and main bathroom shower surrounds should be cleaned once a week. If you’re not cleaning weekly, it helps to increase your cleaning regime. The more you clean, the less dirt you’re tackling. Less dirt means less effort, and less effort means less sweat!
Choose the Right Tile and Grout Cleaning Materials
Using the right tools for the job always makes a world of difference. The wrong tools and cleaning materials force you to exert more sweat-producing brute force when it’s not needed. The basic supplies needed to tackle tile and grout restoration are simple. They also protect your tile finishes and materials from harsh chemicals and abrasive brushes. We recommend the following:
- A small bowl
- Spray bottle
- Microfiber cloths
- A sponge
- A soft-scrub brush
- Warm water
- Everyday dish soap
- Baking soda
- Hydrogen peroxide
Follow the Right Tile and Grout Cleaning Steps
Tile and grout require two different cleaning methods to achieve the best results. Most of us tend to attack our tile surfaces with one method, which can actually make the grout worse. Although cleaning the two separately seems like more sweat than less, it helps make life easier in the long run. After the first cleaning, you’ll find you can exert less effort on the grout if you follow these steps.
Tile
Tile requires gentle cleaners, which is why we recommend using a mix of warm water and basic dish soap. Mix a few drops of the soap with warm water in a spray bottle before you begin. Spritz a small area of tile with the soap and water, and then wipe it with a microfiber cloth or sponge. Work in sections from top to bottom so you are wiping away drips as you clean.
Grout
Grout tends to be the area where you’ll need to apply a little more elbow grease. However, if you use our magic formula by forming a paste with baking soda and water, you can greatly reduce your effort. Take small amounts of the paste with your brush and scrub your grout lines. Before rinsing away the grout, let it sit for about 15 minutes and then dry it with a clean, dry microfiber cloth.
Tile and Grout Cleaning: Stain Removal
As we said, the first bout of cleaning will be the hardest, so expect to find some stains as you work. Fear not! You can use these tips to remove the stains.
Tile
It’s time to call in the big guns to tackle tile stains, and by big guns, we mean baking soda. Follow the same process we used for grout cleaning with our handy baking soda paste, but in this case, do not scrub right away.
Instead, spread the paste over the stained area and let it sit for about 20 minutes. Use either a brush or a clean sponge to scrub the stain gently, and then rinse with warm water. Be sure to remove all the grit when you rinse and then dry it with a clean microfiber cloth.
Grout
Gross grout stains are still going to produce a little sweat, but using a mix of baking soda and hydrogen peroxide is your secret weapon to reduce your effort. Apply the paste to the stain, scrub it, wait for about 15 minutes, and then rinse away the paste to see if it worked. If not, reapply the paste, let it sit for about 20 minutes, and then try scrubbing it again.
Hard Floor Tile and Grout Cleaning
With hard floor cleaning, the same process applies to tiled surfaces, with two major differences:
- Sweep: You want to remove dirt and crumbs before you begin. This step is important because if you start cleaning without sweeping, the tiny particles can cause scratches that destroy the floor’s finish over time.
- Mop: You don’t have to get down on your hands and knees to clean tiles. A clean flat mop makes life easier. Unfortunately, grout restoration will require you to get down on the ground!
Contact the Cleaning Experts
The best way to reduce your effort is to clean weekly to reduce dirty buildup. Choose a day when you’re full of energy to try our tips, and you’ll likely never break a sweat.
To learn more about how Maid4Condos can handle tile and grout cleanings that will bring back the sparkle, call us at 647-822-0601 or contact us online.
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