Tile floor cleaning advice

avelanchefan

Ok so I moved into a new place/house, and the landlords said they had it cleaned. Now on the surface it does look clean, but after a few hours of walking around my kids and I get the lovely black feet. Now for some people its not a big deal but for me black feet reminds me of...well I dont want to offend anyone, but I just hate it, it makes me feel getto. And I take pride on where I live.

So any ways part of the house is lamenate flooring, and the kitchen and entry ways are tile. I did a good scrubbing with Murphy's Oil soap, but after a while my feet get black again. I am thinking its the tile flooring. Short of hiring to do a steam clean for the tile (which I really cannot afford right now) is there anything else anyone could suggest?

AudioGenics

i did a quick search in google and there are tons of sites that have floor cleaning advice
i just copied one here.

you will probably need to clean several times and regularly to get the floors back to clean.

http://www.mrscleannw.com/tips/tile-floors.html

Ceramic Floor Tile
Cleaning ceramic tile floors is easier than cleaning hardwood floors, but it can still be a challenge. To clean the actual tiles, you can usually get away with just a damp mop from time to time. When it comes to cleaning your floors, you want to save the harshest chemicals as a last resort. Here’s a list of ceramic tile options from most gentle to most harsh:

•Dust Mop or Broom
•Clean Water on a Damp Mop
•Cup Rubbing Alcohol in 2 Gallons of Water
•General Household Cleaners (Lysol, etc) Diluted in Water
•Only for Stubborn Stains or Serious Sanitizing: Full Strength Household Cleaner OR a Weak Bleach Solution
Any time you use a chemical, you should mop again with clean water. The ceramic tiles themselves are simple to clean. The problem, of course, is the grout!

Cleaning Grout
The grout between tiles absorbs all of the dirt, spills, and stains that slide off the tiles. When your grout is dirty or discolored, it doesn’t matter how clean your tiles are; your floor will have a dirty appearance.

The Right Mop
The most important thing is to have the right tools for the job. If your tiles are higher than the grout, you will need a mop that can get into the grout. Sponge mops will not work well. Wet Swiffer and comparable disposable cloth mops are wonderful things, but they won’t reach into your grout. In fact, sponge mops and disposable cloth mops will usually make your grout look worse. You will be pushing your dirty mop water and whatever you cleaned off the tiles into the grout. Your best bet is to get a mop that has cloth strips or a cotton mop with the coiled yarns.

The Right Cleaner
If your grout is fairly dirty, you’ll need a stronger solution than you use on the tiles. Follow the directions on your cleaner for “heavy duty cleaning.” Lysol and similar cleaners can be used almost full strength for thorough cleaning of the grout. Mix just enough hot or warm water to dilute the color a shade or two. Remember that when you use such strong solutions, you will need to go over it again with plain water.

Yes, it’s a pain, but once you do a very thorough cleaning, future cleanings will be easier. OxiClean and similar cleaners work really well on grout, but be sure that you don’t use too strong of a solution or you will leave little crusty white messes clinging to the grout. For me, it’s easier to make a spray bottle solution to spray directly onto the grout. I use a bucket of clean, warm water to wring out and clean the mop in between

steveinaz

Our house is about 70% tile, and the 12 x 40 patio is tiled. We use the tried and true method of vinegar and hot water with a mop.

Airplay355

There are small steam cleaners that are pretty cheap and supposedly clean tile very well. I was thinking of getting one but we don't really have enough ti;le to justify it so we got the rug steam cleaner instead.

NotaSuv

steveinaz wrote: »

Our house is about 70% tile, and the 12 x 40 patio is tiled. We use the tried and true method of vinegar and hot water with a mop.

this works great have used it for decades....and the price is right...........

cnh

NotaSuv wrote: »

this works great have used it for decades....and the price is right...........

Could you use that technique on Vinyl flooring or would it dull the surface!

Thanks!

cnh

doggie750

SHARK S3501 PROFESSIONAL STAM MOP HARD SURFACE CLEANER

http://www.butterflyphoto.com/prodinfo.phtml?id=8554&ref=Froogle_New


Believe me, works like a charm.......dont forget to soak the towel with bleach 50/50 ratio.

shawn474

That Shark is great. My wife wanted it, but she couldn't justify spending that much. She ended up getting the Lysol brand steamer and it works very, very well for well. I think she got it for $30. We use it on hardwood, tile and linoleum floors.

Shawn

fossy

Perhaps some kind of clear-coat ?? After a thorough cleaning ??

leadfoot1

Our house is mostly tile and we have one of those Shark steamers. Works great. Just requires a little elbow grease.

avelanchefan

Thanks guys. Will look into the Lysol steamer as Shawn suggested. I am almost positive it is coming from the tile. It just feels to be on the greasy side, even after the third mopping. (Used Pine Sol the last two times)

NJPOLKER

Find yourself a good wife or girlfriend.

messiah

Probably a residue on the tile from built up cleaners that were never rinsed properly, and then when you walk anywhere your feet pick up dirt. On a different note, did you hear Sakic retired?

brettw22

My sisters house is the same way......i won't ever take my shoes off over there. It's definitely a dirty floor thing, but I'm not putting more care into her place than she does......thus....my shoes stay on and I'm not playing on the floor.

avelanchefan

Messiah...yep I did see Sakic retired. Sad but inevitable, end of an Avalanche/Nordiques era.

Brett...too funny. And I feel the same way. I want my kids to play without the grossness of getting dirty. I just really hate that. And I hate to wear shoes in my house. I work in a hospital and I know what kind of stuff I pick up there, and in no way do i want to bring that in my house.

kevinyount958

Yeah, very useful. Thanks to AudioGenics.

disneyjoe7

Mop floors with Fabuloso it works.

BlueFox

kevinyount958 wrote: »

Yeah, very useful. Thanks to AudioGenics.

You forgot your spam link. :rolleyes:

steveinaz

Still haven't tried vinegar and water??

sundeios

In the bathroom, we have a tiled floor with quite large stripes between the tiles, and a flat mop does not get there. But dust and dirt get there without problems and when washing, they remain there! In the living room the floor is flat, there are micro-cracks between the large stone tiles, but they also turned black over time. I am thinking about steam mop, can you tell what is the best steam mop for tile in your opinion?

pitdogg2

SPAMMER ^^^^^

arnituos

sd

pitdogg2

arnitous reported

audioluvr

My GF has hard flooring in her entire house. She uses a Hoover floormate deluxe which works pretty good. In general I hate a house with no carpet because every little spec of dust and hair collects under the furniture then when you move it there's about 40 lbs of dust bunnies under there. Just venting here...

VR3

Bro, just imagine what's not getting picked up in your carpet. I have renovated over 500 houses and even clean carpet is down right disgusting

BlueFox

All hardwood floors suck. Aside from being hard on the feet, they just look ugly. A little carpet brightens up the room. However, I would really like to get one of those robot house cleaners, but they seem to only work on hardwood floors.

motorhead43026

Shark pocket steam mop. I have the one with 3 temp settings an excellent machine