Ceramic tiles look great on your floor and walls, but they can lose their shine over time. Dirty boots, mucky paws, and food can affect the shine on the tiles that you fell in love with in the first place, so how can you get that back?
If your ceramic tiles are looking dull, it can affect the look of your whole room. You may not believe that you can get that shine back, but you can! There are many different products that you can use, but where should you begin?
This article will explain more about ways to keep ceramic tiles shiny so that you can feel happy with the cleanliness of your home again. Find out more below to get rid of any dirt and dullness in your tiles and make them look shiny and brand new again!
What Are Ceramic Tiles?
Ceramic tiles are made from clay and other natural materials that have been fired in kilns. They come in lots of different shapes, sizes, and colors, and they are extremely popular to use.
You can have matte ceramic tiles, like terra cotta, or you can have glazed tiles that are shiny and covered in beautiful patterns!
Ways To Keep Ceramic Tiles Shiny
If your tiles have lost their shine over time, there are ways to clean them so that they get their shine back. There are ways to make them look brand new again, but how?
Wash The Tiles With A Cleaning Solution
You can wash the tiles with a cleaning solution to help them get their shine back. Using a mop, spread the cleaning solution over the tiles and rub it in stubborn areas. You should be able to see a difference in the tiles after mopping them as they should look shinier.
Sweep And Vacuum Every Day
Sweeping and vacuuming your tiles every day will help to maintain their shine. It will remove all of the dust and dirt from the floor and prevent it from becoming embedded in your tiles.
If the dust and dirt are left, they can stick to your tiles and cause them to look dull, so getting rid of them every day will improve the overall shine of your tiles.
Dry The Floor After Washing
Once you have washed the tiles, it can be very tempting to leave them to air dry. However, letting the tiles dry on their own can cause them to lose their shine as watermarks can form and dust can cling to the water
By drying the tiles, you will also be polishing them, so this will ensure that they look shiny and clean after.
Is Vinegar Safe To Use To Clean Tiles?
Vinegar can weaken the mortar over time, so you will need to be mindful of this. It is a great solution to use for cleaning tiles as it is very acidic and can get rid of tough stains. It is also a disinfectant, so it is very beneficial for keeping your tiles clean and hygienic.
As great as vinegar is for keeping tiles shiny, there is a debate surrounding the use of vinegar as it can damage the sealant. If your tiles have a sealant, avoid using vinegar, but if they do not, then you can use it in small quantities.
If your tiles have a sealant but you want to clean them to keep them shiny, you should use a different cleaning solution like dish soap. This will give your tiles a good shine and will not damage the sealant. Using vinegar regularly on mortar will damage them and they will need to be replaced.
Using Dish Soap
Dish soap is great for keeping your tiles shiny as it isn’t very strong, so there is no danger that the soap will damage the tiles or the sealant. Although it isn’t very strong, it is still very effective at washing away dirt and debris.
You will need to be careful with the amount of dish soap that you use to clean the tiles as too much will cause there to be lots of soap suds. This is not a problem when cleaning, but you will need to make sure that all of the suds are washed away with warm water.
If you do not wash all of the suds away, they will dry and stain the tiles. This will make them look dull, which is the opposite of what you want. You will need to rinse them away with warm water to ensure that the tiles are shiny and clean.
Can Ammonia Keep Tiles Shiny?
If you have noticed that your tiles have become discolored and dull, ammonia can help to bring them back to their original look.
It is a great solution for cleaning grease off the tiles and keeping them clean, so lots of people use a solution combined with water and mop the floor with it.
It is important to mix the ammonia with water as you do not want it to damage the tiles or the sealant. The solution will clean away dirt and grease from the tiles, but it will not lift any protective layers off them.
Why Shouldn’t You Wax Tiles?
Lots of people assume that one of the best ways to keep tiles shiny is to use wax, but this is not the case. Ceramic tiles will not absorb the wax, so they will continue to build up on the tiles with more dust and dirt.
Your floor will look dirtier and you may notice that the grout is turning darker. This will then attract more germs.
As the wax will build up on the tiles, it will require extra cleaning, so by using it, you will be making more work for yourself. The wax will cause more dirt to build and it will emphasize more stains than un-waxed tiles.
You will need to make sure that you remove all of the wax when cleaning it as it can prevent you from cleaning the tiles if it remains.
Can Matte Tiles Be Polished?
You can purchase matte polish at a hardware store that can help to keep your matte tiles protected. As they are matte, they will not look as shiny as glazed tiles, but the polish will allow your tiles to maintain their color and not become dull.
Another benefit of using matte polish is that it protects the tiles from the dirt after people walk over them. You will still need to sweep the tiles every day, but the polish forms a barrier over the tiles that protects them from looking dull from dirt so they can remain in good condition.
How Should You Clean Grout?
Grout is what holds your tiles together, and it can be very difficult to keep clean. It has large pores that absorb a lot of dirt and liquids, so they must be regularly cleaned.
If you have tiles in your shower, you will notice that they can look dirty very easily, so they must be cleaned.
You can use hot water to clean it, but if this doesn’t work, try a cleaning solution. You can create a cleaning solution made from white vinegar and water. However, if your tiles have a sealant, you will need to use a light cleaning solution to protect your tiles.
Keeping Tiles Shiny On A Busy Schedule
Life gets in the way of a lot of housework, but if you want your tiles to remain shiny, you will not want to leave them for months before cleaning them.
Cleaning your tiles several times a week will keep them in great condition, but a good clean once a week is much more manageable for people.
Final Thoughts
To conclude, it is important to keep your ceramic tiles shiny to make sure that they look presentable, clean, and hygienic. You need to make sure that you are maintaining their cleanliness, so using cleaning solutions is important.
Vinegar is great at removing stains, but if you have a sealant, avoid using it as it will damage it over time.
You can also use warm water and dish soap to clean the tiles, but avoid using wax as it builds up on the surface and attracts more dirt. You will need to clean the tiles more regularly to get the shine back, so only stick to cleaning solutions that are suitable to use on your tiles.
