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-   -   Cleaning ceramic tile floors (https://www.quiltingboard.com/general-chit-chat-non-quilting-talk-f7/cleaning-ceramic-tile-floors-t242866.html)

judee0624 03-10-2014 04:55 PM

Reading all this has worn me out! Only one response was the same as mine- Swiffer products. Sometimes I use Pine Sol but most of the time I use the Swiffer WetJet or wet cloths. They work fine.

ging10ging 03-10-2014 05:07 PM

I was told when the house was built with the tile that every 6 mos you should use the vinegar on the floor and in between all you need to do is water to keep clean. The grout of course is a different matter I had someone come in and give me a price and he said you'll probably want to do it yourself. He said Home Depot has the thin brush and the stuff to clean it. I also tried a little brush with the clorox cleaner and the dirt comes off good except it will take a while to do and then seal it. I like the sound of the silicon based product so you don't have to keep doing it. I think if you use to many things on the floor maybe that's why your having a problem. We've had our tile over 20 yrs and it's just the grout that's messy looking on a white floor. I haven't been able to do the grout yet. Good luck with the vinegar and maybe try cooler water. Sue.

ccthomas 03-10-2014 05:54 PM

I have an even bigger tile problem.

When I removed the square carpet under the dining table, the tile border is much darker then where the carpet was.

How would I get all the tiles back to the same color?

Debbie C 03-11-2014 03:24 AM

I have laminate and porcelain tiles throughout my house. Last year I bought the Hoover Floor Mate, a machine that vacuums, washes then dries with the flip of a knob. For the grout, I pretreat with Zep grout cleaner (in the cleaning section of Home Depot). That stuff is AMAZING!! For cleaning the floors I simply use white vinegar/hot water in the machine with a capful of Hoover's floor cleaning solution. Treat yourself to this machine - it's worth its weight in gold!!

lovelyl 03-11-2014 03:44 AM


Originally Posted by QuiltnNan (Post 6618457)
could it be that your water is hard and that is what is leaving the streaks?

I don't think so, we have an elaborate filter system to remove rust, lime,etc. I will try a gallon of bottled water on a spot to see if it makes a difference...

ladydukes 03-11-2014 06:22 AM

If anyone is considering installing new tile or taking out the old grout and putting new in, I had a bathroom tub surround done with Laticrete Spectralok. It is non-sanded, NEVER molds or mildews and looks fantastic. It's pricey but no further work as far as keeping itliiking nice. If anyone wants a pic, please PM me with your personal email address. NO I have no affiliation with any of these products. For my home office, I installed the tile myself and used Fusion Pro. It was a brand new product that was supposed to rival LS. It comes in a bucket premixed and super easy to to work with. the floor furned out nicely. Yesterday after reading these posts, it reminded me that I had a small area still needing to be completed so I got out the Fusion & finished up. It looks really good.

My kitchen and dining room grout look bad, so in my Spring cleaning frenzy I'm going to work on it.

Onebyone 03-11-2014 06:32 AM

Original Windex has ammonia and that will weaken the grout over time, make it crumble.

katykwilt 03-11-2014 07:04 AM


Originally Posted by sewmom (Post 6618033)
I will be watching this thread for answers as i have a similar problem. Your floor cleaning solution sounds like the one i was going to try, but probably not now. I've been using pine Sol and the grout is still dirty. I can't get down and scrub it either

Regarding dirty grout (I haven't had the problem with the top, just the grout): a friend introduced me to good old baking soda -- straight from the box. Sprinkle it on the grout, use a brush w/water to make a paste that works into the grout and cleans it up. It works, it really does -- even on the "misses" in the bathroom where we have white tile and white grout.

bbeyes 03-11-2014 09:42 AM

I have one of the steam mops too and just love it on my laminate floors too. So easy.

CaroleLee 03-11-2014 09:45 AM


Originally Posted by Sue Kitten (Post 6617964)
I'm having issues cleaning my tile floors. Yesterday I have use vinegar, hot water, 1tablespoon dish soap & washing soda mix in a bucket. Use a sponge mop and by the time it was dry there was white spots, streaks and the floor still felt dirty, to the point that you could not slide around with just your socks. SOOOO today I re cleaned just a few areas just with hot water & vinegar, and it was worse. The streaks were gone but you still could not scoot around in your socks. What am I doing wrong or does anyone have a great solution to get a clean look and feel.
Thank you


I was told to only clean with water, you don't eat on the floor and as soon as you put your shoes on the floor there are germs. Mine always look great. (almost always)


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