Textured floor tiles + ingrained dirt

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Hi all, moved into our house in July and we have light coloured textured floor tiles in our kitchen/hall. Over the year these have collected grime in the little nooks and crannies and we are struggling to keep them clean. (No thanks to a 4 year old and a dog)

So far I have tried a steam mop, this cleans a little but the floor still looks grubby. A normal mop with similar results. I've got down on my knees with a scrubbing brush and this does lift the dirt but it took a long time to do a small section and the dirt came back and lodged itself in very quickly.

Does anyone have any experience or tips to get this for clean easily and efficiently?? It just looks dirty all of the time and short of replacing the floor (costly) not sure how best to attack it. Thanks.

elona

I had a similar problem in a downstairs cloakroom. I made up a Stardrops solution with hot water and lots of foam and and used a full height bristle brush to really scrub it into the tiles and leave it for a while before rinsing with clean hot water, scrubbing that into tiles as well and finishing with a steam mop.

suki1964

I used to have Chinese slate in the kitchen and I hated it for the same reason. The only way to get it clean was hands and knees and scrub, rinsing with clean water as I went


After you scrub them clean you could try a sealant. That should stop dirt ingraining but you will still need to scrub and reply every now and then

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Thanks both, blood sweat and tears it is then.

Skylar34

not sure this would work but I use cif kitchen sprays on worktops that to the eye look clean but this spray seems to pick up dirt and lift it out of all the tiny nooks and crannies and brings it to the surface, would prob mean spraying it on and then leaving for 5 mins before scrubbing but I swear by these sprays

paddypaws101

I have Amtico tiles and the grout stripping does gather grime over time. I use a Ewbank floor polisher which costs about £90 from lakeland and has rotating scrubbing brushes. Amtico do their own floor stripper but I am sure there must be other similar products available, or a hot solution of soda crystals You should then look for a sealing or gloss product to finish the floor.

juliettet

I would scrub with detergent and hot water to lift the dirt, leave for 20 mins then get old towels and take up most of the water. Then do a fresh scrub and seal like Suki1964 advises.