Make Those Tile Floors Shine
Clean floors can do a lot for the appearance of a home. You may have all the rooms picked up and organized, but a dirty floor creates that sense of clutter even when everything else is clean. Every time you go in and out of the house you are dragging in more dust and dirt. At first you may not notice it, but eventually your floors become dull and sometimes you can even see the dust gathering together near the walls and behind doors. And if walking on them turns your bare feet black, it's time to clean those floors and make them shine. SheKnows.com has a few steps for you to follow to get your tile floors at the Lake of the Ozarks squeaky clean!
Step 1: Wipe Up Spills
During your day to day tasks, you are bound to spill something on the floor. Rather than letting it set into your floors, wipe it up immediatly. This will keep you from having to work extra hard to get it up later. For liquid splills, use a damp cloth and for solid materials grab the broom or a vacuum for a quick fix.
Step 2: Remove Loose Dust
A broom and dustpan work well for any hard surface floors, but a vacuum is actually a better option, even for tile. Sweeping often leaves behind dust particles, whereas a vacuum will get more of that dust out of the way and get your floors ready for mopping. Most vacuums have a hard surface setting. but if yours doesn't, raise the height to the maximum setting to avoid scratching your floors.
Step 3: Know Your Surface
Knowing what type of materials your tiles are made of makes a difference in how you clean them. Many materials are sensitive to the harsh chemicals in cleaning products, especially any natural stones such as marble or travertine. A general purpose cleaner or even simply hot, soapy water works fine for daily cleanup on ceramic tile. You only need cleaning products if the dirt and grime has really built up and you need to do some hard-core cleaning. Many manufacturers will recommend certain products for you to use for the heavy duty jobs. Since all tile is not the same, using the wrong cleaner can mar or dull your tile. In addition to the cleaner, you need something to clean it with. For smooth tiled floors, a soft mop should do the trick, but for rough surfaces, you will probably need a good scrub brush.
Step 4: Distinguish Your Dirt
In addition to the type of tile you have, you should be aware of what type of dirt you are trying to get rid of. If your are cleaning bathroom tile, you are likely dealing with soap scum. Kitchen tiles will most likely be covered in grease and and grime. Different types of dirt need different types of cleaning products. Many cleaning product labels will say "cuts grease," which is good for the kitchen. Often times, you don't even need those store-bought products with all their harsh chemicals. If hot water doesn't do the trick on your ceramic tiles, try adding two tablespoons of rubbing alcohol to each gallon of water. This especially helps with dirty grout, but be sure to wipe up any excess liquid to keep from saturating the grout. For vinyl tiles, you can add one cup of vinegar to a gallon of water. For marble and stone tile, as mentioned above, you need to be very careful. Vinegar, rubbing alcohol and the store-bought cleaners can destroy the natural stone tiles. Add some mild dish soap to your water instead and be sure mop again with just water to make sure all the soap residue is gone.
Step 5: Be Pro-Active
The most important step you can do, is to prevent the buildup of dirt and grime. The more often you at least sweep or run a soft mop across the floors, the easier they will be to keep clean. Experts suggest to sweep at least every other day and mop at least every two weeks. If you wait and let that dirt build up, it will be harder and take longer to get them back to the way they were. You can also lessen the amount of dirt you track in by having mats inside and outside your doors. Also taking off your shoes at the door helps a lot and be sure to clean those mats regularly.
Now how do you know when your floor is really clean? Its easier to tell on hard surfaces than it is on carpet, but sometimes you don't know for sure until you test it. You can take a wet paper towel and wipe the surface to see if it picks up any dirt you may have missed. Also touch it with you hand to see if there are any sticky places, sometimes the cleaning products will leave a residue that will actually attract more dirt and keep it glued to the floor. Be sure to get those products thoroughly cleaned up. And if you have neglected your flooring at the Lake of the Ozarks for too long and find that they are dull or scratched up and need replaced, call All-Star Renovations to get the job done!
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