cleaning kitchen / bathroom floor tiles

Sweethays

Does anyone have any old fashioned ways of cleaning grey uneven floor slate tiles to get them looking clean and shiny without using expensive cleaning products?? (I believe that they may have once been sealed)
Any ideas gratefully received!!
Cheers.
:rotfl:

belfastgirl23

God mine are beige but are grey by now - by uneven do you mean kind of ridged. If so I feel your pain, they are a nightmare to try to clean (and they don't ever really look clean). Will be interested to hear others opinions.

BTW should they be sealed or would this make them look really shiny and odd?

TightJock_2

Slate floors should be sealed as they are a porous stone, if a normal natural stone sealer has been used (Hg Marble Impregnator/Hg Imrpegnating sealer), there should be no difference on the tile, it may become a little bit darker though but there should be no shine...

If your sealer was applied after grouting it will look awfull, if it was applied before grouting there should be no problems with your floor....

If your floor has been down for some time it may be an idea to remove your sealer and start again.

Personally i wouldn't try to get a shine on my slate as it doesn't look as good as say polished marble, slate is more of a rustic stone, ecspecially the green/black and beige vairiants of it...

If you need any more advice give me a shout, i work in a tile shop and also do a bit of tiling myself...

Regards
TJ

thetope

OH is moving into new [old] house, it's an old family farmhouse, approx 100 years old with original red (terracotta?) hexagonal floor tiles in the kitchen and ~5cm tiles in a sort of mosaic in the hallway.

the terracotta tiles are pretty grubby and need a good scrub and clean... they used to have a shiny surface but are quite worn now. i'm thinking perhaps just bleach and a stiff scrubbing brush? then my mum said to rub linseed oil into them once they were cleaned which would seal them and shine them.

problem is she can't remember what kind of linseed oil, boiled or not?

the hall floor is very grubby and the tiles have lost their surface finish, so are quite porus. i think it may take more than bleach to bring them up to their original colours. is there something else that would lift the dirt then i could seal them up with the linseed(?) oil as above

would appreciate any tips or magical products for bringing them up nicely... the maintenance will be done with stardrops and a mop but i need something to really blitz them at the start!

ta

Brooktop

Soda crystals diluted in hot water will clean tiles - but it will also remove any protective seals or varnish - so only use them if you don't mind doing that. It's a good way of preparing floors to remove patchy varnish, prior to protecting the surface again. I believe you can get a protective seal from DIY sheds - but have also heard of the cheaper linseed option.

pigpen

oh gosh.. don't let my hubby see you mention bleach and tiles.. he'll have a heart attack!!

You are 'allowed' to use star drops.. washing up liquid or soda crystals.. any chemicals are banned as they do more damage than good. Anything that you clean it with will strip the protective 'skin'

linseed oil is the best for protecting it.. though it will make it a bit slippery until it has soaked in properly.

We got some stuff for the kitchen slate floor which I cannot remember where it is to check what it is called.. I'll ask hubby when he gets in.

thetope

I would not do day-to-day washing (or rather week to week with bleach -this is just for the one off "blitz" of the tiles as they really are really grubby. i need something that will really lift the dirt out of them.... so i take it that's a no-no then?

soda crystals does seem like a good idea though.

frostyspice

OK - I've steeled myself to it now - the broom and mop isn't enough to shift the years of dirt on the porcelain/ceramic (not sure which) floor tiles in my new home. I need to get down on my knees - but with what?

In my cupboard there is...

Cif
Astonish
Stardrops
Bleach
White vinegar
Bicarb
Microfibre cloths
Brillo pads
Big old fashioned scrubbing brush
Cleaning sponges
...and some elbow grease!

I also need to do the wooden kickboards. I would be so grateful for any advice from OS'ers on how to get this horrible job done quickly and efficiently!

squeaky

Stardrops will do the job - though you'll need to rinse it well or it will leave a slightly sticky residue.

Run a well loaded mop over the floor so that it's quite wet.

Take a cleaning sponge and put it "pan scrub side" down on the floor. Tread on it, and scrub the floor with your foot - and if you've left the stardrops to soak for a while you should only need to do this on the stubborn bits.

angchris

i swear by hotish water in a bucket with a good dose of bio washing powder/liquid in it and a small slug of bleach, this brings my floor tiles and my wooden floors up gleaming. the washing powder really does do a good job dissolving the grease and grime, you will find that you hopefully wont have to get down and scrub on your knees as it should remove most if not all of the grime definately by the second time you mop the floor it should be absolutely sparkling like a new pin.

bootman

Sorry to hijack your question, can I ask the best way to clean the grout in between the tiles. I have large tiles with about a cm wide run of grey floor cement/grout in between.

The grout looks dirty in places where stuff has either got dropped or just from treading through. I clean the tiles with cif, but any tips of cleaning up the grouting?