DIY Tile Cleaning Mistakes That You Should Avoid

Are your tiled floors looking dirty or dilapidated? Hire professionals from Steam Smart Pro to avoid mishaps of DIY tile cleaning and fully refurbish your tiles. 

Many kitchens and bathrooms utilize tiles for flooring, walls, and accents. These sturdy and aesthetic materials gained popularity for their ability to withstand the water exposure and grime inherent in daily kitchen and bathroom use. Nevertheless, they require routine cleaning to remain in top condition.

However, inexperienced homeowners may not understand the best techniques for cleaning tiles. If you’re attempting your first DIY tile cleaning, reviewing some common mistakes made during these jobs avoids expensive damage.

Hire Tucson's tile cleaning services experts at Steam Smart Pro for the highest-quality tile cleaning job. While our cleaning tips can help you avoid major mistakes, our experts use high-level equipment and techniques to fully clean and restore your tiles. Contact our professionals to schedule your tile cleaning today.

Why Cleaning Tiles Matters

Although sweeping can remove crumbs, dust, and debris, cleaning your tiles further is essential. Like any material within your home, kitchen, and bathroom, tiles can grow mold or mildew over time that degrades their durability and appearance over time. Routine DIY tile cleaning maintains your floor and wall surfaces, avoiding expensive replacements and repairs.

Cleaning the grout between tiles offers similar benefits. While grout may seem completely solid, tiny pores within this material accumulate mold and grime, weakening the hold on your tiles. Thus, cleaning your grout improves its appearance and keeps tiles intact.

Avoid These Eight Tile Cleaning Mistakes

Are you considering a DIY tile cleaning job? While professionals perform the highest-quality tile cleaning, our cleaning tips can help you avoid costly mistakes during the process. Remember these eight tile cleaning mistakes to avoid accidental damage and achieve the cleanest look for your home’s tiles.

1. Using the Wrong Type of Cleaner

When you go to the store to purchase supplies for your DIY tile cleaning, avoid randomly selecting a cleaning product from the shelves. While many cleaning products look similar, their ingredients and intended uses could drastically impact the results of your cleaning job.

Depending on the surface, you’ll want to choose a product appropriate for that space. For example, a tile floor cleaner may not be the best option for shower tiling. Find products specific to each room and tile use in your home.

2. Utilizing Harsh or Corrosive Cleaning Products

While selecting products, it’s also essential to check the ingredients and intended uses for certain chemicals. Generic all-purpose cleaners or gels may utilize bleaches or acid, which can corrode the surface of your tiles. 

Using harsh cleaners could make it easier to chip, scratch, and damage your tiles and weaken the grout between them. Choose dedicated tile cleaners for the best results.

3. Opting for Homemade Cleaning Solutions

Many blogs and forums offer suggestions for homemade cleaning solutions for DIY tile cleaning. However, these recipes usually include bleach, vinegar, lemon, or other acidic components that could damage your tiles.

While you may hope to save money by concocting a homemade cleaning solution, these brews can cause costly damage. Investing in suitable cleaners saves you money from professional repairs needed after damaging your tiles with homemade solutions.

4. Applying Cleaning Products Before Sweeping

If you’re thinking of beginning a DIY tile and grout cleaning project, your tile floors are probably looking dirtier than usual. Dust, dirt, and debris accumulation make up a portion of this grime. While mopping may seem to offer the quickest solution to these contaminants, sweeping beforehand is essential.

Crumbs and debris can scratch your tiles if you fail to remove them with a broom first. Avoid degrading the look of your kitchen and bathroom floors by sweeping thoroughly before proceeding with DIY tile cleaning.

5. Avoiding Cleaning Your Mops and Brooms Between Jobs

Mops and brooms should remain dirty since they’re going to accumulate grime throughout cleaning anyway, right? Actually, failing to remove the dirt from mops and brooms between jobs can make subsequent cleaning attempts futile or counterproductive. 

After each cleaning job, pull dirt and debris from your broom fibers and soak your mop in hot water for up to ten minutes. These minor efforts can significantly increase the efficacy and speed of your new DIY tile cleaning.

6. Making Floors Too Wet While Cleaning

Although your tiles can endure some water exposure, dousing your floors in water can cause problems during tile cleaning. First, making your tiles too wet could make it harder to achieve an ideal streak-free shine. Additionally, your grout can also suffer from too much exposure to water. 

While the grout holding tiles together may seem completely solid, tiny pores within this material make it vulnerable to water damage and discoloration. Too much water can cause mold growth, graying, and cracking of your tile grout. Use only a damp mop to remove any cleaning solutions.

7. Waiting To Clean Spills

Most homeowners realize that fabrics, marble, and wood stain extremely easily. While tiles resist discoloration from staining better than other materials, waiting too long to clean a spill can adversely impact the look of your tiles. After spilling something on your kitchen or bathroom tiles, immediately wipe up the substance and perform further cleaning processes to avoid permanent staining.

8. Forgetting To Clean Tiles Regularly

Yes, tile cleaning can restore the look of your kitchen or bathroom for several weeks. However, waiting until your floors and walls look disgusting to start DIY tile cleaning can cause problems. 

The longer dirt and grime sionin your tiles, the longer and more difficult it becomes to completely clean them. Additionally, routine cleaning helps avoid damage or premature tile replacement.

Simplify Your Tile Cleaning with Professionals From Steam Smart Pro

Our Steam Smart Pro technicians offer top-rated services in Tucson, AZ, for cleaning grease out of grout and restoring your home’s tiles. Avoid potentially costly mistakes during a DIY tile cleaning job by calling our professionals to service your home today.

For more information about tile cleaning and related services, call (520) 416-4308 and get a free quote from our team at Steam Smart Pro.

Author Bio:

Eric Bullard

The owner of Steam Smart Pro in Tucson, AZ, brings over 20 years of invaluable experience in the field of carpet, tile, and air duct cleaning. With a strong dedication to quality and a deep understanding of effective cleaning techniques, Eric consistently delivers outstanding results to his satisfied residential and commercial clients.