Here are the top ten mistakes people make both in residential homes as well as commercial venues in cleaning tile floors.
1. Using dirty water. If your mop bucket does not contain enough water to properly clean your tile floor you will just be spreading around dirty water. Take note of how the water in your mop bucket looks halfway through cleaning your floor. Does it look real dirty ? If so you need a bigger mop bucket or you need to change the water as you clean more often.
2. Using a dirty mop. This basically has the same effect as in #1. Be sure to remove your mop head after usage and wash it. Many mop heads afre machine washable.
3. Not towel drying as you mop. If you allow the water on the floor to air dry where do you think all the dirt on the floor goes ? It goes into the water pools up in the grout lines (which are slightly lower than the tiles) and that is the reason for dirty grout. Think of your grout lines as a receptacle or drain for all the dirt on your floor/ When you mop you basically just push all the dirt fright into the grout ! The trick is to mop small sections of the floor at a time and towel dry the water and soak up all that dirt before it begins to dry.
4. Drying with a small rag or dirty towel. The whole idea of drying as stated prior is if their is sufficient absorption of a clean towel to soak up all the dirt off the floor.
5. Using soapy cleaners without proper rinsing. Many common kitchen floor cleaning products are degreasers and are soapy. They require sufficient rinsing out just like when you wash dishes. Otherwise a haziness and film of soap residue will remain on your tiles when the water dries. This will cloud the look of your floor especially on polished floors like polished marble, granite or porcelain. To make matters worse it can be sticky and cause dirt to stick to it. Use degreasers only when necessary where necessary and rinse well afterward. For regular mild cleanings use a neutral cleaner..
6. Using vinegar to clean tiles. Vinegar is not a good tile cleaner. I believe this fad came as a result of the problem referenced in #5. The solution is to use a neutral cleaner not an acid like vinegar.
7. Using Soft Scrub regularly on the floor. Many tiles like glazed ceramics can eventually get worn down and their finish can rub off by using abrasive cleaners constantly like soft scrub.
8. Using bleach or vinegar to clean grout. Although sometimes vinegar can clean grout effectively this can also wear down and ruin the integrity of the grout if done too many times especially if not rinsed off an neutralized afterward. Vinegar is an acid that wears down cement based grout.
9. Putting sealers, coatings or waxes on your tile. Any coating will wear and need to be stripped eventually which can cost a lot of money and makes the coating thing not economically wise for the average homeowner. Furthermore many times it alters the look of the tile in a detrimental fashion.
10. Cleaning too often that impedes cleaning properly or not cleaning enough which makes it harder to clean properly
Next article we will discuss the benefits of sealing grout and how this makes grout cleaning and maintenance so much easier.
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