Tile Cleaning & Maintenance Advice

[Jerry Thomas]

What advice are you providing your clients for cleaning / maintaining tile jobs? Lets separate it into two categories..... showers and floors. I have been advising them to use a PH neutral cleaner, but the women want to know something more specific than that. Just gathering good information so I can print out a maintenance tip sheet to leave with them.

[Kman]

On tile showers, I tell everyone to use a towel to wipe down the shower after each use. It only takes about 30 seconds, if that long, and precludes other cleaning altogether. Most people would spend the 20-30 seconds a day to keep from having to go in there with chemicals once a month and spending 20-30 minutes cleaning it.

On floors, I tell them not to put any harsh chemicals on it at all. Most spills can be spot-cleaned, and general cleaning can be done with a damp sponge mop and a mild detergent.

I also tell them not to use any kind of detergent for the first couple of weeks to give the grout some time to cure.

[stullis]

About the same as Kman.

pH neutral cleaners that are specificaly recommended for cleaning tile can be found at most stores/big boxes.
I can get them specific ones if they like ... yeah I know easy sale.

I make sure to tell them no acid type cleaners and that includes vinegar. Seems everyone wants to use vinegar to clean flooing.

[Nick Arrera]

that is all they used in the old days . Vinegar and a newspaper for the windows , Vinegar and water for the floors .. And Vinegar and oil for the salad ..

[Jerry Thomas]

I picked up some Bona hard Surface Cleaner at my distributer a few weeks ago and this stuff work extremely well on tile and laminates. I have been using their Hardwood Floor Cleaner for years.

Bona - Hard Surface Products

[jacklindsey58]

As a cleaner I see what most people's number one problem with tile and stone floors. It's the grout lines. Hard to keep them clean so I always start by tel;ling my customers to seal, seal and seal. And not the cheap stuff either. If you don't want to use epoxy grout then you have to seal that grout very good to make cleaning easy.

[Steve Olson]

Wow... I saw this thread, and thought JT was back....