Bathroom Floor Tiles: Cleaning & Maintaining
Many people spend much time in searching for beautiful bathroom floor tiles but they forget that they need to clean the slabs in order to keep the bath dry and hygienic. Whichever flooring and wall slabs you choose for your bath, make sure that the bathroom floor tiles and wall slabs are easy to clean or you have someone at home to take of their cleanliness. But the fact is that bathroom is the most expensive room of your house which requires proper maintenance as well.
Most homeowners consider that their job is to purchase and get the floorings installed. But the fact is that it is the homeowners that are responsible for cleaning the bathroom floor tiles. Slabs can enhance the look and feel of your bathroom floor only when you keep them clean and in good condition.
You should choose maintenance free bathroom tiles or make your flooring maintenance free after installation. Ceramic bathroom tiles are called maintenance free slabs because they display excellent resilience towards moisture, dust and grime. Another noteworthy feature of these slabs is that they are slip-resistant. Also they neither fade nor crack or break even after coming into contact with soap scum and detergents. Ceramic is a cost effective flooring and it has all the qualities of a good flooring. If you are working in limited budget then ceramic could be your best bet.
Some homeowners like to give their bathroom royal look and for this reason they are not satisfied with the color, designs and patterns available in ceramic. They should look for stone bathroom tiles like marble, granite, slate, travertine and quartz. These pieces score high on beauty but except granite all the stone tiles are weak in water resistance. Granite requires little maintenance as it can withstand water, soap scum and everything used in bathroom. Stone bathroom floor tiles other than granite absorbs water and moisture and for this reason you need to seal your stone bathroom floor tiles. Sealing can provide extra strength to the stone tiles and they could withstand water and moisture like granite and ceramic pieces.
There are several cleaners available for bathroom tiles and grouts which are made especially for this purpose. Wear gloves and socks while applying them on the bathroom floor as they contain harsh chemicals:
– Harpic
– Lysol
– Organic tile cleaner which is a complete natural product. This also reduces any type of chemical infection.
– Leave the solution for at least 15 minutes for best results. Do this with any type of cleaner or solution. Read the instructions at the back of the product.
When cleaning bathroom floor tiles, you should make sure that the grout is not pulled out of its place. A mistake homeowners make when cleaning bathroom tiles is that they scrub the tiles with brush or wiper. This activity certainly removes the stains but it also root out the grout from its place and make the slabs vulnerable to water and moisture. Ideally you should use seal the tiles for added protection against water and use oxygen bleach solution to clean the tiles.
Cleaning procedure
– Wipe out the tiles the moment spills happens.
– Frequent maintenance and regular cleaning prevents stubborn stains.
– Scrub the dirty area with the scrub sponge. First clean the surface and then the grout. Use warm water to rinse the floor after scrubbing.
– Use alcohol solution to clean the bathroom tiles. You can also make use of white vinegar which is available in almost every home.
– Use the above mentioned cleaners to clean the flooring bathroom tiles. They are already been experimented by many. Use warm water to rinse the cleaner off the tiles.
– Make use of weak bleach solution to get rid of stubborn stains on tiles.
– The major portion of dirt and stains is the grout between tiles. So your preference should be cleaning the grout.
– Tackle the mold and mildew on the shower tiles with the use of bleach. Bleaching powder is a harsh chemical so make use of mask while applying it. Mold and mildew are the result of moisture. Keep it dry either by proper air circulation or bathroom fans.
– Make use of microfiber mops. They are effective in cleaning the floor with lesser efforts.
– Add citric acid or lemon juice to your cleaning solution. This leaves a relaxing aroma in your bathroom.
I got what you mean,saved to my bookmarks, very decent site.