Cleaning tile floors
 

I bought a house a few months ago that has quite a bit of tile in it. I use a stick vac to sweep it and then have mopped it. It doesn't seem very clean to me. If I wet a paper towel and wipe the floor you can see what was left behind. I have tried the Shark steam mop, but that didn't work very well either. I do live in the desert but it's not the dust that bothers me, it's the dirt. I was thinking about getting one of those Hoover hard floor cleaners. Does anyone have one, and what do you think? Those of you who have tile, how do you get it clean? This is the first time I have had tile so not sure what to do.

Thanks

I live in the desert too. I clean my white floor tiles by vacuuming first with my shark vacuum, then I use a string mop that I rinse a lot. Since my tiles are white I use dawn dish detergent (just a little) and bleach in hot water. The grout does not get very clean, I've learned to live with it!:shock:

I mop with Mr. Clean and water.

I mop with Mr Clean and water also. You can use strong cleaner and get down and scrubb it till you feel it is really clean, then get tile and grout sealer. This will make it much easier to keep clean.

Add 1/2 cup of brown vinegar + 1/2 cup of methylated spirits to warm water and mop with this. Works a treat.

Sounds like there is a build up of grime left behind by the former occupants. You may have to do a "deep clean" then just maintain with the stick vac and a mop. When doing a "deep clean" there's nothing like a bucket of hot water a good squirt of detergent and a splash of cloudy ammonia. Unfortunately this does entail a hands and knees, scrubbing brush approach coupled with vast and painful amounts of elbow grease. Cloudy ammonia is very fumey, so good ventilation is the key. If you are unable to do it yourself....hire someone. Detergents can leave residue....once you have deep cleaned a splash of methylated spirits in warm water should be enough to keep it sparkling.

I have tile on the floors around my pellet stove and the wood burner in the basement. They make a cleaner especially for tile foors. I think I bought it at wal-mart. Works great.

Can you tell us the name of the cleaner. Methylated spirit? Is that found in the cleaning department?

Funny you should ask about the hard floor cleaners. I have tile in my kitchen with epoxy grout-never have to seal it. But the mop I have doesn't get in the grooves and I can tell that it's not as clean. I was wondering about the steam mops and such too. Looking forward to hearing some suggestions.