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As with every interior surfacing material, porcelain tiles require nominal care in order to maintain a satisfactory appearance and acceptable sanitation. Crossville Ceramics has prepared these guidelines to maintain the beauty of porcelain tile installations:
(See also Porcelain Tile Cleaning
Chart)
Initial Installation
 | The most important step for future daily maintenance involves the complete removal of grout and construction dirt after the tiles have been installed. Grout manufacturers print instructions for proper mixing, curing and cleaning of grout on each container. These directions should be followed. In most cases, porcelain tiles can be cleaned successfully by scrubbing the installation with hot water and detergent, followed by a thorough rinsing. If grout residue still remains, further cleaning of the tile should be accomplished by consulting with the tile and grout manufacturers. |
Some grout manufacturers distribute products which they recommend for the removal of their particular grout from the surface of tile. These products can be diluted for removal of light de- posits of grouting materials with the possibility of using stronger concentrations when more aggressive cleaning is required.
| Equipment recommended for more aggressive cleaning are floor scrubbers or floor buffing machines equipped with a black nylon-bristle brush. The bristles should be approximately 3/4 inch long (2 cm). A wet vacuum should be used to pick up suspended grout residue and construction dirt completely. |
| Acid washing is rarely recommended and is not usually necessary to successfully clean a new installation if the cleaning is done in a timely fashion. Acid, or acid-based cleaners, should not be used to clean colored grouts. Acid washing of dark- colored grouts will most likely lock the color pigment into the surface pore structure and make the tile much more difficult to clean. Further, acid may cause discoloration of grout joints. |
| If a customer insists on the use of an acid for cleaning the installations, he should be cautioned to use sulfanic acid in a solution no stronger than I pound (0.5 kg) of sulfanic acid crystals to 5 gallons (I 9 1) of cool water. Phosphoric acid may also be used in a ratio of I part acid to 5 parts water (23 per cent). It is important that, before the acid solution is placed on the floor, the grout be thoroughly saturated with water first. Some grouts which contain latex can actually bond more strongly to the tile surfaces if treated with acid. Contractors or installers should also wait until the grout has fully cured, usually 14 to 21 days. |
Once the initial cleaning has been thoroughly completed, daily maintenance procedures can be followed for continuous and long-lasting beauty.
Special grouting situations
| Before grouting, regardless of whatever grout color is chosen, the
contractor should test a patch of the tile to determine if the grout pigment will contaminate the surface of the tile. Special care and testing should be done when light-colored tiles are be grouted with a contrasting dark colored grout. If no grout discoloration occurs, the contractor can proceed with grouting, taking care to follow recommended manufacturer procedures. If the grout pigment discolors the surface of the tile, use a grout release that offers the additional advantage of allowing the grout to adhere to the sides or edges of the tile for a well-bonded grout joint. |
When contamination of the surface is a possibility, the procedures out- lined below should be followed:
| Prior to grouting, apply the grout release to the surface of the tile at a rate of approximately 500 square feet (46.5
sq.m) per I gallon. This can be done in one or two coats. If more
than one coat is applied, allow 45 minutes to one hour of dry time between coats. |
| Forty-five minutes to one hour after applying the wax, the grout may be installed. This should be followed by normal cleaning of the excess grout from the surface of the tile. (Note: At no time should any acid or acid-based cleaner be used with colored grouts.) |
| Approximately 72 hours after the grout achieves its final set, the floor should be cleaned with a stripper.
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Of course, these are general recommendations. Any specific recommendations suggested by the individual manufacturers must be followed.
Proper care during construction
| Porcelain tiles are considered finish materials and should not be installed until all heavy construction is completed. |
| In between the installation and put- ting the floor into service, it is imperative to properly protect the tile and grout in order to avoid construction- related cleaning problems.
Generally, there is build-up of dirt and debris on every construction site. This dirt and debris may cause the grout, and some- times the tile, to be adversely affected. |
| A protective cover should be put over the tile surface to safeguard the appearance. The cover could include Kraft paper, cardboard, plywood or any other covering that will not dam- age the integrity of the installation. Do not use plastic as it may not allow the grout and thinset to properly cure, and it may also become extremely slippery as construction dust settles. Proper and diligent care must be used to maintain the protective cover during construction. This will insure a quality appearance when the floor is opened for continuous use.
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Daily maintenance
| General maintenance and cleaning of porcelain tile varies depending on the surface texture and soil load. General cleaning should be performed with a neutral cleaner diluted to the manufacturer's recommendations. Non-oil, non-acidic and non-soap based cleaners should be used. General household cleaners that meet this specification include: Mr. Clean, Windex, Lysol and Spic 'N Span.
Top scalers and waxes |
| Porcelain's dense, low-absorptive body inhibits the penetration of contaminants and, therefore, is a tile that is easy to maintain. The low-absorptive nature of porcelain tile not only inhibits dirt and stains, but also pre- vents top sealers and most chemicals from penetrating the surface.
Top sealers, those that become a coating over the tile and grout joints, are not recommended for porcelain tile. They will change the appearance of the tile by coating the surface and giving matte-finished tiles a shiny finish. When a particular type of tile is selected for the coefficient of friction values, the values can be changed by the application of the sealer. Rather than improving the ability to maintain the surface, top sealers will increase the maintenance requirement. Top-coating sealers will also show
traffic patterns as the sealer becomes scratched or wears away. Some sealers may even peel off in spots. |
Problems most frequently encountered with the use of top-coating sealers are:
| Wear patterns are easily developed over time |
| If the sealer has been applied to a floor which has not been properly cleaned, it will cause the floor to look hazy. |
| If the sealer is improperly applied, it can turn to a milky-white color. |
| Multiple coats of the top sealer can cause discoloration of the tile surface. |
| When problems such as these occur, the sealer must be stripped from the tile and a new coat of sealer ire- applied. This is a costly and unnecessarily repetitive procedure. |
Unpolished tile
The following represents a simple procedure for maintaining unpolished tile floors with a moderate soil load. For best results:
| Sweep or vacuum the floor of dirt and other foreign material. |
| Saturate the floor with cleaning solutions and hot water, agitate and allow it to dwell (remain on the floor) five to 10 minutes. Do not allow cleaning solutions to dry. It may be best to complete small areas at a time. |
| Remove the dirty cleaning solution, and rinse the surface with clean, clear water. |
| If the unpolished tile is extremely dirty, a more aggressive cleaning method may be necessary:
Sweep or vacuum the floor of dirt and other foreign material. |
If there are difficult-to-remove contaminants on the surface of the tile, one should first attempt to identify the specific spill or contaminant. Different surface contaminants require different cleaning methods and chemicals
| Saturate the floor with cleaning solution and hot water, agitate and allow it to dwell five to 10 minute After the dwell time, scrub the cleaning solution with a floor machine equipped with an abrasive pad or stiff, nylon-bristle brush. For residential applications and small areas, use a scrub brush. |
| Remove the dirty cleaning solution and rinse the surface with clean, clear water. This can be accomplished with a mop or a wet vacuum. To thoroughly remove the cleaning agent from the surface, it may be necessary to rinse the floor twice.
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Polished tile
For polished porcelain tiles, follow these instructions for general cleaning:
| Sweep or vacuum the floor of loose dirt. An untreated, dry dust mop may be more effective than a soft-bristle broom. |
| Mop with a mild cleaning solution. Use 50 per cent less detergent concentrate than would be used on an unpolished floor. |
| Rinse the floor thoroughly with clean, clear water. |
| Dry thoroughly to increase the shine and prevent water spots. |
Textured tile
The undulation of the surface of textured porcelain makes it necessary to clean the entire surface, including the low points, which necessitates some additional, practical dirt- removal procedures. Standard wet-mopping will not effectively clean these finishes. Also, it is necessary to thoroughly rinse the tile to completely remove all dirty cleaning solutions. For cleaning textured surfaces, follow these instructions:
| Sweep or vacuum floor debris. If sweeping, use a soft-bristle broom. Sweep in two
directions. |
| First, follow the direction of the tile, then sweep diagonal to the tile to ensure complete removal of all foreign material. |
| Saturate the surface with a neutral detergent cleaning solution and hot water and agitate. Allow the cleaning solutions to remain on the floor for five to ten minutes. Scrub the floor with a brush, using a two-direction method. |
| Rinse the floor with clean, clear water to completely remove any soiled cleaning solution.
In high traffic areas, or areas where the surface is exposed to high-soil load, it may be necessary to scrub the floor once a day and wet-mop at intervals during the day. |
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Material for this article has been reprinted from How To Care For Porcelain
Tile, a publication of
Crossville
Ceramics, Crossville, TN 38557
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