How do you wash your tile floors?

[EQ_Bo_07]

I just moved into a new house, where most of my floors is tile. This is quite new to me after carpets in my old house. So, now I need a good way to clean tile floor. Any suggestions would be great!

[ladysoapmaker]

It really depends on the type of tile.

My mom always had us use Spic N Span and occasionally just vinegar and water. This was on unglazed ceramic tile in the kitchen. (The vinegar did a great job getting out the stains from the grout and Mom would use it when she had a bad stain)

You may want to contact a flooring company and see what they recommend though it will probably be their in-house brand and cost and arm and a leg.

GoodLuck,
Jen

[happymom]

I actually started a thread about this recently and two people recommended the Shark steam mop. I bought one and tried it out this week- its cleans really nicely. Here are its pros and cons, IMO

PROS:
1- it only uses water (no $ on cleaning supplies, and no chemicals for kids and pets to crawl on)
2- the cloth covers on the mop can be washed in the washing machine.

CONS:
1- Its an expensive purchase! I bought it at Bed Bath and Beyond- it was $120, but I used a 20% off coupon, so it came to about $95. I'll admit, I didn't look around for a better deal anywhere else.
2- It doesnt have a brush to clean inside the grout (if you don't have wide grout lines, this may not be a problem for you)
3- It plugs in the wall, so you have a cord trailing behind you while you mop.

It really does clean nicely though, and leaves no streaks which I love!

HTH

[MamaMolly]

In our last house I cleaned the tile floor in the kitchen on hands and knees, sadly. It was the only way I could see that the floor actually got clean. I used one of those foam garden kneeling pads, lots of hot water, a bit of baking soda and vinegar. If it had been a bigger floor or a house we were going to live in forever I'd have splurged on a steam mop. I think they was a fairly good deal recently at Costco. Don't know if they are still there, though. HTH

[EQ_Bo_07]

Thanks everyone. I was considering a steam mop and heard mixed things about Shark as well.

Any other suggestions?

[sunshine873]

Seal the grout! Depending on the color, if the grout isn't sealed, it will just soak up stains. You can get sealer that you mop on over the whole floor, or sealer that you just brush onto the grout lines (this is the one I use because I don't want the texture of my tile to change.)

As for actual cleaning, I use wet swiffer wipes for easy quick cleaning, and icky old pine sol & a sponge mop for deep cleaning. Although I've had my eye on the shark - now that DD is getting ready to start crawling, I'm not so in love with the pine sol idea anymore...

[happymom]

Seal the grout! Depending on the color, if the grout isn't sealed, it will just soak up stains. You can get sealer that you mop on over the whole floor, or sealer that you just brush onto the grout lines (this is the one I use because I don't want the texture of my tile to change.)

As for actual cleaning, I use wet swiffer wipes for easy quick cleaning, and icky old pine sol & a sponge mop for deep cleaning. Although I've had my eye on the shark - now that DD is getting ready to start crawling, I'm not so in love with the pine sol idea anymore...

My grout is sealed so it doesnt absorb stains. But dirt gets into the grout and doesnt clean with just a mop.

[MommyAllison]

I scrubbed on my hands and knees with vinegar & water on our unglazed tile at our old apartment. Not a fun job, but it looked really nice afterwards!

[LexyLou]

Shark Steam Mop is my best friend. Seriously, best purchase ever!

[wellyes]

Bona spray mop (this one (http://shop.bestwoodfloor.com/product.aspx?id=112)) for day-to-day cleaning up is a LIFESAVER. It is so easy, you just pull the trigger on the handle and it sprays out a stream of cleanser, and the microfiber mop lasts forever. Be sure to buy the tile-specific cleaner. As a bonus, the cleanser is pet- and baby- safe.

We use ours in our kitchen every coulpe of days - takes 5 minutes, dries fast. And a "real" cleaning every 2 weeks.

[maestramommy]

50/50 solution of vinegar and water. Spray on, wipe off with wrung out mop or cloth. Works great!

[wendmatt]

I read somewhere that vinegar is bad for tile as it can disintegrate the grout. Anyone know if this is true? I was using vinegar and then read this so stopped and have been using some green stuff and a mop and it's not great.