I work at a gas station with ceramic tile floors. I've changed mop water a dozen times, remopped with fresh water and both methods end with streaky floors. I've viewed similar questions, but most responses would take me all night to attempt. Any ideas for a larger area?
By Jennifer from Waupaca, WI
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I would get a new mophead, scrub the pail with ammonia to remove buildup of oils, etc., then mop with ammonia to remove film on tiles. You need to change the water frequently and then once floors are really clean, you can rinse with a clean mophead.
Hi Jennifer I'm having some problem with my ceramic floor tiles no matter how I wash them they always show water streak marks when they r dry can you help me to get rid of this problem I have tried to only use the hot boiling water and have also tried to wash &only use vinegar and water do u recommend the cloudy ammonia or will that leave more streaks have you tried it your self
Hi Jennifer can u please contact me on this matter if you can cause I want to get more information regarding the floor remaining water marks & streaks
Hi does any one have any idea how to prevent the floor getting streak or water marks on ceramic tiles I would like some replays thanks
I own a carpet and tile cleaning business. Biggest issue I see is people using vinegar and bleach and over time it will destroy the tile and grout as both are acid based. I can usually restore the tile and grout with the equipment I have but in some cases the grout will have to be color sealed to hide the discoloration.
My advice stay away from "ANY" home cleaners. Use products made for cleaning tile and grout. Follow the directions. When it comes to maintaining the tile use a neutral cleaner with ph of 7-7.5. You want the cleaner to be as close to a ph 7(water) as possible. Keep mop water and mop heads clean. Steam tools as well. Vacuum grout lines. Don't sweep (avoid sweeping dirt in the grout). If you are still having problems getting your tile/grout cleaned call a professional, IICRC Certified preferred
What does bleach and vinegar do to tile and grout?
Bleach is an acidic product that should not be used to clean ceramic tile floors. Bleach will break down the grout and also cause the colored cements in the grout to wear away. Bleach will literally bleach away the color in the grout. Eventually the grout will start to loose its deep rich colors and also cause your grout to look splotchy. I see many of these cases.
Vinegar is an acidic product that was never meant to be used to clean ceramic tile and grout. Prolonged use of vinegar will eat away at the grout and cause the grout to break down. Additionally vinegar is difficult to totally rinse away after using it to clean ceramic tile floors. A vinegar residue will start to accumulate inside of the grout that is extremely difficult to remove.
Household bleach has a PH of about 12. Highly alkaline, not acidic.
Hi Kevin you say u own a cleaning business I want to have my carpets deep cleaned but I don't know any carpet cleaners who do a really good deep clean for my carpet is light colour and does get dirty often but the steam cleaners that I call out won't do a very good job can you tell me what area do u live in and is your business situated in Melbourne victoria
the man who installed our tile floors said just use water; right. you know what happened when we used that suggestion.
The tile guy at the hardware store said vinegar and water, but no matter how much I cleaned, my floors came up gray when I wiped something up.
I had a cleaning lady who used a bucket full of water and just 2-3 sprays of Clorox in the spray bottle. I don't know if they make it anymore. However when I used it my floor came up gray again.
I've tried so many things and sent away for so many things and nothing worked. But Lately i've been using Mop N Glow - bought at grocery stores, walmart, kmart, target, etc.
It has to be rinsed though; you can just mop and go with it. but it smells great and doesn't look streaky.
a pain, pain and a pain to keep rinsing though.
Good luck!
I was a carhop back in the 70's & one of my chores if I closed that night was floors.
We used a product called :
Basic H, I believe it is/was a Shakley product. One drop.
Hi I want to know What is a shakley is it a cleaning product
Hi melody I want to know What is a shakley is it a cleaning product from what I read it seems like a cleaning product but I live in Australia and I've never heard of this product please reply and tell e where to buy these products r u living in melb Vic Australia
I would think cleaning a tile floor in a gas station is a work in progress. You never see the end results the way you would like. Consider how many people track in, and in all kinds of weather! Do you have good floor mats placed to collect much of this dirt? How about a janitorial supply store? Maybe they would have an answer to your cleaning problems?
As for my ceramic tile i have found the best thing to clean my floor is a steam mop. You never use chemicals, or detergents. Just make sure the floor is clean of dirt. Keep the micro pad clean after each use. Follow the instructions per each maker's product. Before i went through the vinegar and water which made my house smell like a wet dog? Any of the cleaners made for tile just left it streaky. I was never satisfied with the way they looked. Good luck to you!
When I was in Morocco, I saw the maids in the hotel cleaning the ceramic tile floors with water (either just water or water with a small amount of soap) and a squeegee. No mopping. She squeegeed the water into the open courtyard and onto the dirt, so no mopping at all. Now, I don't know if this would work in your situation, but it is something to consider. I didn't see what they did in the rooms where they would eventually have had to mop up the water. These tiles were all glazed floor tiles, white/beige with a blue/pink design and pale grey grout. The squeegee was obviously made for floors. I believe I have seen them in auto supply stores for cleaning shops over here. Maybe you should not be mopping the floor at all.
I've been told that a vinegar or like a window cleaner.
I'm not sure it will help but good luck.
Finally found the answer. After trying several things to make my ceramic tiles shine and not have water streaks, I finally found the answer.
Lux and mop your tiles as normal. Get a spray bottle and fill will purple meths. Spray your floor a little at a time and mop with a dry duster mop. The meths evaporates before it has time to leave any streaks. You will find that once it's done, you won't need to do it that often. Often you will get away with a lux and a dry mopping just to bring the shine back up. Works brilliantly
Hi my name is maria I want to know what is a lux and where do u buy them in Melbourne Victoria also purple maths where are these products available please reply to me as I'm going mad over this problem and I want to see if I can solve this with a solution ?
Hi Sally what is a lux and you say it's a solution to the streaks marks please reply to me as I am experiencing the same problem
Where can I buy purple meths are u living in melb Victoria Australia Please reply to me
I just used Murphy Oil Soap on my ceramic tiles in my kitchen. They look and smell great now!
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