Browse Forums Flooring & Floor Covering 1 Dec 13, 2009 9:42 am Does anyone use (and can recommend) a tile floor scrubber or cleaner? I've heard steam mops aren't really effective and the manual mopping is already becomming a pain! I was looking for the Hoover Floormate or something similiar, but they don't seem to be produced for Australia and I haven't seen anything comparable. Re: Tile Floor Scrubber/Cleaner? 4Dec 13, 2009 1:35 pm I'm not too sure about those kind of units. For a polished porcelain floor, you are best using a good microfibre mop system, and a neutral detergent (very sparingly) as required. After a few years, you could have it professionally cleaned to restore it. First principle of good tile care is to have preventative strategies, such as good doormats, shoes off, or anything you can do to minimise soil ingress. Next is regular recovery of surface dust & grit by vacuuming or using a good dry microfibre mop. Then its important if there are spills or drips, that they are cleaned up thoroughly and quickly, so sticky residues are not tracked around the place. Then as need be (maybe once a week) use a good microfibre wet mop. Mix a well diluted neutral cleaner in hot water, and mop the floor over quickly. Then rinse mop out with fresh water, and mop over again. Then get a dry towel and wipe it over to recover remaining moisture (especially from grout joints). Its easy enough if you have the right gear and get used to the process. Ash. Re: Tile Floor Scrubber/Cleaner? 5Dec 13, 2009 5:31 pm I think that some of had a discussion re the cleaning of Porcelain tiles. Most of us (some had them already and someof us were getting them, me included) decided that we would do as Ash has suggested to you. We thought the least amount of water possible would be best to keep the grout clean. We also decided that vacuuming before microfibre mopping is very beneficial. Some people vacuum the tiles everyday to stop the dirt etc settling in the grout grooves and then when you add water it goes dirty in the grout grooves, that's why Ash says to dry it quickly. I will also be following Ash's suggestion of clean shoes etc before entering the house. I have an edged carpet mat, quite large, and that will be outside to trap the dirt etc. I will vacuum that when I vacuum evefrything else. You can get some good microfibre mops from KMart and similar stores, I saw a good orange Sabco one that I have my eye on. www.themaxbuild.blogspot.com forum.homeone.com.au/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=20717&start=300 www.leahspaperpassion.blogspot.com Re: Tile Floor Scrubber/Cleaner? 6Dec 18, 2009 2:56 pm The rule of thump in cleaning tiles is clean water with neutral cleaner as soon as the water changes colour gets dirty it is time to replace with clean water again, this will help not letting the dirt just sit on the tile and grout than use a towel under your feet and give the area you just cleaned a dry remember grout is 100% porous so there is no easy way to maintain this is why colour sealing was introduced to create a 100% non porous grout and it comes in any colour you desire. Craig Re: Tile Floor Scrubber/Cleaner? 7Dec 18, 2009 3:14 pm Craig I guess it would be ideal to have the grout colour sealed when brand new if possible? www.themaxbuild.blogspot.com forum.homeone.com.au/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=20717&start=300 www.leahspaperpassion.blogspot.com Re: Tile Floor Scrubber/Cleaner? 8Dec 18, 2009 3:24 pm Yes we have been doing a lot off new installs lately I think it is the best way to go and cheaper as there is no furniture to move and not real dirty. The only down side is that we have to wait at least 5 days before we can apply our sealer to let the grout cure. Craig Re: Tile Floor Scrubber/Cleaner? 9Dec 18, 2009 4:28 pm We've slowly been doing a DIY grout sealer application - while I don't think this will be quite like a professional job, I'm hoping it will keep the grout relatively clean for a decent period of time. I've also gone and bought a microfibre flat mop and neutral cleaner so we'll see how it goes! As long as I can get rid of the streaks on the tiles, I'll be happy. Re: Tile Floor Scrubber/Cleaner? 11Dec 18, 2009 7:31 pm Grout Perfect Yes we have been doing a lot off new installs lately I think it is the best way to go and cheaper as there is no furniture to move and not real dirty. The only down side is that we have to wait at least 5 days before we can apply our sealer to let the grout cure. Craig Are there any DIY products that you would recommend (or not recommend) for grout sealing for new tiles ? What sort of product should I look for ? thx Re: Tile Floor Scrubber/Cleaner? 12Dec 18, 2009 8:09 pm sorry - I thought there was a job op for the wife. ’’Quondo Omni Flunkus Mortati ’’ If the women don't find you handsome, they should at least find you handy. Stila BK1 Build Thread The best place to talk about sport Re: Tile Floor Scrubber/Cleaner? 13Dec 18, 2009 9:37 pm [quote="JilaMint] Are there any DIY products that you would recommend (or not recommend) for grout sealing for new tiles ? What sort of product should I look for ? thx[/quote] Yeah there are hundreds of products on the market. Generally, I don't recommend DIY. Sure you might save a few bucks, but if you want best results, (and minimal maintenance) have it professionally sealed using high quality sealers that are best suited to the particular tile installation. Often, people doing the job themselves can lead to all sorts of less than ideal results, which can cost twice as much to fix up than if you got a professional to do it in the first place! Ash. Ash. Re: Tile Floor Scrubber/Cleaner? 14Dec 19, 2009 8:40 am serge44 sorry - I thought there was a job op for the wife. whoa! dangerous ground, hope she dosn't see it...... very funny though...... www.themaxbuild.blogspot.com forum.homeone.com.au/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=20717&start=300 www.leahspaperpassion.blogspot.com Re: Tile Floor Scrubber/Cleaner? 15Dec 19, 2009 10:12 am There are two types of sealers on the market there is clear penertrating sealers and topical coatings the clear sealers DIY will sit just below the surface therefore only gives you enough time to treat a stain where as topical coatings like grout re colouring sits on top of the grout giving you 100% protection and it comes in colours. If you do it yourself with the clear sealers thats ok make sure you buff of excess from tiles and grout this is very important, but it really does not give you much in way of protection as our own customers have found out they now have a topical coating called grout colour sealing. All our customers who had ther grouts clear sealed still need us to restore there grout after say 5 years with grout colour sealing they will not need us anymore they can maintain it very easily but if they do not want to do themselves than they call us in to clean it for them but we do not need high pressure or heavy duty chemicals just a quick rinse and dry of the grout joints looks brand new everytime we do it as our sealer is still there. Craig Possibly both depending on the sizing. Idea of working from the centre is that you dont have a 20mm thin tile at one end and a 400mm at the other end. A quick search on… 3 8417 I have an investment property and tenants moved out recently. However the Property manager noticed one of the floor tiles is broken and the kitchen Island countertop is… 0 12899 CDC Housing Code 3 When to apply Floor Area external face of wall vs Gross Floor Area internal face of wall. Reading thru CDC Housing Code 3, lets take a lot 915sqm.… 0 16559 |