Best cleaner for tile?
Question:We are moving into a condo thats been lived in before..its 3 years old ...and the tile is dull looking ... i mean that its suppose to look old.but i want to know if there is something i can use to get it to shiny as much as possible..and whats the best way to keep it clean? besides normal upkeep...? I think its ceramic tile. Not sure... they are LARGE slabs of it.its really beautiful actually
Answers:
If the tile was made without a shiny topcoat, I don't think there is anything you can do to make it shiny.
Clean with a mixture of vinegar and water. If the grout is dirty, use a paste of baking soda and vinegar and clean with an old toothbrush (you won't have to do this if you apply grout sealer).
I just had a lot of tile laid, and the tile man said that I should clean it completely with white vinegar diluted in water. Use hot water and a pretty strong dilution of vinegar (it is cheap). If that fails clean the grout joints with a stiff tooth brush and soft scrub and then take a softer soft scrub brush and scrub the tiles with a very low dilution (tsp per gallon) of dish washing detergent. After you scrub it rinse it thoroughly in clear water and then rinse it in the vinegar water mixture. That will clear off all the grit and give it a final shine.
There are sealants that may make it shine, but be careful because I used some in my kitchen area, and the chairs scraped it and made it ugly and streaked.
I would like to purpose some CLR for cleaning. Look for it at your local drug stores or Walmart. Use rubber gloves since the solution is actually a caustic solution which can cause skin burns and irritate. Rinse thouroughly and make sure it is caustic free by rubbing your hands through the water while rinsing to see if is slick.
Let dry, and rub a wax paste on it. Let dry and buff with a polishing wheel attached to a drill to buff the polish to make it slick. Keep buffer flat and run slow as possible. Might have to hand rub most off with rag first to keep the buffer from clogging off. It looks like a lambs skin wolly thingy.
The waxy barrier will make it water resistant and the water will bead up.
Using the soap named Zest is actually a good brand to use in shower areas. It does not give a soap build up on the walls. No matter what you use via washing or cleaning the tiles, after showering, wipe dry with a dry towel and it will mimimize the cleaning process.
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