Cleaning New Tiles After Installation
Redecorating your home can be very exciting, especially when you get to accessorise with new tiles. If you want your new tiles to look great for many years to come, it’s important to care for them. After tiles have been laid and grouted, they’ll require extensive cleaning to remove all leftover residue. For the best results, follow our easy steps below.
Removing Grout Haze after Installation
After tile installation, grout residue commonly forms a white-coloured haze over the surface of the tiles. Grout haze should always be removed by your tiler, but if you are tiling yourself or still have grout haze left after your tilers’ have left, follow the steps below.
You’ll want to remove this haze immediately after the tiles have been laid. Be careful to wait until the grout has cured. If you’ve left it a bit too long and it’s already dried, you can still remove it with some good old-fashioned elbow grease.
To scrub away the residue, you’ll need to:
- Dampen a few tiles with a sponge and some warm water.
- Use a nylon scrubbing pad to scrub the tiles. If the residue doesn’t scrub off fast, use some more pressure.
- Use a dry terrycloth towel to dry and buff the tiles.
- Repeat these stages and work your way across the tile surface.
If this doesn’t work, you might consider purchasing a haze remover. The Tile Warehouse offers a range of Tile After Care products, including Microscrub, which is safe on natural stone and polished porcelain, Oxi-Treat, which is a bit stronger and safe on glazed tiles. And Ardex Tile and Grout Heavy Duty Cleaner is a concentrated and effective water-soluble alkaline cleaner, degreaser and stain lifter. After you’ve cleaned the haze from the tiles, you might want to use a Tile and/or Grout Finishing Sealer. This will maintain the surface’s natural appearance and provide superior stain resistance to oil and water-based stains. Most tiles don’t need sealing, only the grout, but check with us if you are unsure.
Sealing your grout is the perfect way to protect your grout against dirt and grime. Ideally, you would do this as soon as your grout is dry, but you can grout at any stage as long as your grout is clean and dry.
Basic Tile Maintenance
Once you’ve taken care of the initial cleaning of your tiles, it’s time to start thinking about regular tile maintenance. For floor tiles, ensure you sweep or vacuum to remove any dust or debris before using any cleaning products. You should damp-mop your tile floor at least once weekly to decrease wear and abrasion from dirt and grit.
If you have glazed tiles, you should clean them regularly with an all-purpose, non-oil-based household cleaner that won’t harm the grout joints. An everyday multipurpose spray should be sufficient to remove soap scum and mildew on the wall tiles in your bathroom.
For unglazed tiles, concentrated tile cleaners like Ardex’s Tile and Grout Multipurpose Cleaner will be better for everyday use. It will be a neutral cleaner that removes general household dirt, grime and oils on tiles and grout.
After cleaning your tiles, ensure you rinse the entire area with clean water to completely remove any cleaning solution residue so that it doesn’t damage your tiles over time.
Be sure never to use any products containing bleach. This will damage not only your tiles but also your grout and sealer. Most grout has a mould shield built in, and bleach will destroy this.
