That's right: water alone is enough to clean lightly soiled porcelain and ceramic tile surfaces. No harsh chemicals are necessary! If you choose to use a mop for your flooring, be sure you have swept up debris beforehand and use a flat mop rather than a sponge mop to keep from pushing dirty water into the grout lines.
Do not use cleaning products that contain acids or ammonia (and other harsh chemicals) as these can damage grout and glazed surfaces of the tile. Choose products that are compatible with your grout to avoid damage or discoloration of the grout. Always dry your porcelain thoroughly after cleaning.
Especially ceramic and porcelain tile and grout! Blue dawn does not discolor grout joints and further is a great degreasing agent from everyday traffic. Use daily to weekly. The more traffic, the more cleaning.
Use a Vinegar Solution on Any Stains
A solution of vinegar diluted 1-to-1 with water or a diluted commercial ceramic tile cleaner can be used to clean stains.
While vinegar is safe to use on laminate, vinyl, porcelain, and ceramic tile, it is best to use it sparingly since the acid in the vinegar can dissolve the finish on your floor. Therefore, when you are using it on tiled floors, you want to make sure you cut it with water or rinse it completely with water.
For polished or glazed porcelain tile, wipe with hot water and scrub stains with a bristle brush. Wash with vinegar solution or a commercial tile cleaner diluted to half strength. Wash one more time with hot water to rinse off the cleaner, then dry with a clean towel.
Vinegar will slowly dissolve the sealer on the grout and tile, allowing dirt, oils, and stains to penetrate deeper into the grout. Using Vinegar on grout can also cause the grout to breakdown overtime. And, that strong acid could damage the finish on the tile too.
While you're cleaning your tile floors, steam mops are an effective option worth considering. “Steam mops are great for tile floors as they can clean and sanitize tile and grout quickly and thoroughly. Make sure to leave ample drying time after steam mopping to avoid streaks,” Cohoon says.
You can also use Pine-Sol® Original Squirt 'N Mop®. It's safe for wood and hard nonporous surfaces like ceramic and porcelain tiles, and also sealed granite. You can apply this product directly from the bottle over a 3' x 3' area and start mopping.
Swiffer wet cloths are designed to be used on most floor surfaces, such as: vinyl. porcelain tiles. ceramic tiles.
But you must use the Wax-free neutral detergent and mild detergent to keep tile shiny and clean. There is some floor cleaning solution such as Faberchimica, Lithofin, and others that you can use to give shine to the tile. The borax powder is as effective as baking soda but it uses mostly to restore the shine of tile.
Porcelain tiles or ceramic tiles can be polished using white vinegar and dish soap, plus a microfibre cloth. Wood tiles generally need to be waxed using specific floor wax.
Tile cleaner
If you'd like one product that cleans everything in your bathroom, the famous blue bottle of window cleaner might just be it. Windex can also be used to clean tiles and grout, without causing any damage.
Porcelain tiles tend to be harder, more resilient and more stain-resistant than ceramic tiles. They are one of the easiest types of tile to maintain but their surface can eventually be eroded by the regular use of corrosive chemicals such as ammonia, bleach or acids that can also damage the grout and loosen the tiles.
You may have guessed where this is going: porcelain tiles are not waterproof, they are water resistant. That means that if you submerge them in water long enough, then they will eventually allow that water to seep through.
As long as the porcelain is wet, the sandpaper will "float" on the surface and will not scratch it. Water, fine sandpaper and elbow grease will do the job.
For cleaning and sanitizing, the CDC recommends a dilution of one cup of bleach to five gallons of water. Diluting bleach decreases the alkalinity and is safe for regular use on all types of porcelain and ceramic tile surfaces.
Murphy® Oil Soap and other non-synthetic solutions are safe to use on tile and grout without wearing down either one, but other natural solutions include rubbing alcohol, particularly for more set spots of mildew. Fill a spray bottle with your solution and apply it where it's needed.
Bona Polishes are safe for use on your sealed or finished, and unwaxed or unoiled hardwood, stone, tile or laminate surface.
Wet clean: Plan to mop the tile floor in your kitchen once every two weeks and your bathroom tile floor once a week (germs tend to build up in bathrooms).
Many homeowners ask if Magic Erasers® can be used on porcelain or if they will damage ceramic tile. The good news is that they can be safely used on ceramic tiles and porcelain, so you have nothing to worry about if you plan on using them this way.
There are a few ways to restore your porcelain tile after you've come across a stain. You can try tackling the spot with some hydrogen peroxide or by using a steam cleaner. For more difficult stains, consider trying diluted muriatic acid, an industrial-strength solution professionals have been using for decades.
A good way to clean bathroom tiles is with vinegar. Simply create a 50:50 diluted solution with white vinegar and water in a spray bottle and spray directly onto the surface. It can be used to clean soap scum from any surface including glass and tiles. All you have to do is buff it dry to avoid any streaks.