Help with Ceramic Tiles

northdubgal

Hi all, I need your advice...

My partner put down ceramic tiles in the sitting room, hall & kitchen last year and they are great except for one slight problem... They are incredibly hard to keep clean.

We have dogs and in the kitchen the floor looks constantly looks filthy. The dirt seems like its embedded into all the little indentations/patterns on the tiles and it wont come out without literally scrubbing on hands and knees each individual tile.

I am wondering if there is anything I can put on the tiles to prevent this from happening? Kind of like a top coat protector or anything like that?

Obvisiouly I havent a clue about tiles etc and my partner wants to get rid of them now as they are such a thorn in his side!

Any ideas??

Joey the lips

Yes you can apply a sealer to the tiles there is many different brands just go into a tile shop and ask what they have. The sealer costs about 100 euro but very import you note. Clean the tiles before you apply the sealer and remember you must clean the tiles to the level you expect them to remain, Does that make sense> Inother words if you dont get all the dirt off and apply the sealer you will seal the dirt in.

You can also buy an acid to help clean off the dirt first but I dont remember if its safe to use this on ceramic tiles. I know its ok on porcel tiles.

It worth trying to seal before you pull them up.

builditwell

As far as im aware a ceramic tile is a factory finished product, so whether it be glazed, matt, or semi shiny it has a baked on surface which will not allow any liquid to pass thru it. If you apply a sealer it will simply dry on the surface in patches and then quite quickly become dirty and worn looking, this will make your floor worse. Unfortunatly for this variety of tile there is little you can do. In some tile shops they do sell an acidic type cleaner which is watered down and is very good at cleaning but not protecting but like you said it involves a bit of scrubbing. Please dont seal them.

Regards
B

Joey the lips

^^ True about the factory finish but its a solution I have used and it worked she has nothing to loose by trying

northdubgal

Ok so the acid stuff should be good for cleaning the tiles with but the sealer could end up going all patchy??

If I put the sealer down, and it does go patchy, would this acid stuff be able to clear it?

builditwell

Try the sealer as suggested , yes the acid cleaner will get it off but it will be a bit tougher to remove as its meant to seal the product.

b

Carlow52

Joey the lips wrote: »

....
You can also buy an acid to help clean off the dirt first but I dont remember if its safe to use this on ceramic tiles. I know its ok on porcel tiles.

It worth trying to seal before you pull them up.

[QUOTE=Joey the lips; True about the factory finish but its a solution I have used and it worked she has nothing to loose by trying [/QUOTE]

different messages here so what are u advocating:

acid on ceramic or sealer on ceramic or both or neither:(

skingtile

Carlow52 wrote: »

different messages here so what are u advocating:

acid on ceramic or sealer on ceramic or both or neither:(

sealer is the short for impregnating sealer, it cannot impregnate or soak in to ceramic tiles and only lays on top . professional advice if you put any type of sealer on ceramic tiles you will be extremely sorry, will cost a lot to get off and a lot of hard work. All you can do is consult with your tile shop for best cleaning agent