Knowing how to maintain tiles is one of the most important skills that homeowners should have. If you want your tile floors to remain clean and beautiful for more years to come, here are the maintenance practices that you should employ:
1. Sweep regularly
Sweep high-traffic areas at least once a day, and low-traffic ones at least once a week. In this way, dust and dirt won't accumulate in your grout, and you can rest assured that dirt won't travel to other parts of your house, especially carpeted rooms. Use brooms with soft bristles to avoid scratching the tile surface, such as those made from nylon or rubber.
2. Clean up spills immediately
While professional services such as grout maintenance in Seattle are widely accessible, that's no reason to leave your grout dirty and stained. Once you spill something on your tiled floors, wipe it up immediately with an absorbent, non-abrasive cloth. If you drop raw foods on the floor, such as an egg or a piece of meat, you may need to wipe the floor with disinfectant to get rid of the bacteria. On the other hand, if you spill something sticky like juice or syrup, you should use soap and water to remove the stickiness.
3. Mop at least once a week
To keep your tiles clean and shiny, mop your floor with mild soap and warm water at least once a week–twice if you have a lot of family members walking all over your floors. Dry the mopped area afterwards to avoid accumulating new dirt, and then give it another sweep to get rid of excess dirt.
4. Clean your grout
Grout can get dirty pretty quickly, and it's definitely not a pleasant sight to see. At least once every few months, or when your grout starts getting dirty, brush your grout with a mixture of baking soda and water. Leave the mixture on the grout overnight and then rinse it off with water in the morning. The result will be grout looking good as new with no stains to tarnish your tiles' look.
5. Add rugs
Place some rugs in high-traffic areas, such as in front of the refrigerator or by the back door, to prevent scratches and dirt accumulation in that area.
6. Fix damage immediately
As soon as you see signs of damage in your tiles, make it a point to fix them immediately. Broken, cracked, or scratched tiles should be addressed as soon as possible to prevent other tiles from getting damaged as well. Make sure you get extra tiles when you lay down your flooring so you can easily replace damaged tiles in the future. Otherwise, you may run into trouble finding the exact same tiles, especially if the manufacturer discontinues production.
Regardless of the type of tile flooring that you have, it's important that you know how to maintain the tiles properly. With these tips, you can keep your tiles looking clean, beautiful, and shiny for many years to come.
