The Definitive Guide to Cleaning All Types of Tiling

The American National Standards Institute splits up tiling into a few different classifications

• Ceramic mosaic tile could be made with either porcelain or natural clay with a composition of size less than 39 cm2
• Decorative wall tiling is made from a glazed tile with a thin body
• Paver tile can be either glazed or unglazed porcelain or a natural, clay tile
• Porcelain tiles are ceramic mosaic tiles or paver tiles made with a method called dry pressing
• Quarry tile can be glazed or unglazed tile and is the same size as paver tile, but made by a different method of forming

CERAMIC

Composition:

A clay tile that has been permanently hardened by heat and often has a decorative glaze on it.

Cleaning Challenges:

Pores in ceramic floors are the biggest issue in keeping your floors looking clean. The pores attract soil and it ends up staining the floor, which can be difficult to extract. The only option is to default to some sort of restorative cleaning which can become very labor-intensive.

Cleaning Solutions:

1. Daily Maintenance – The daily process of cleaning the ceramic is the key to avoiding costly restoration processes. The reason why your floors become discolored is because you did not protect them with a water-based impregnator. That is your first line of defense. Utilizing double mop bucket systems will help you retrieve and remove the dirt when daily mopping. It is important to remove the soil from the surfaces and not spread it around with dirty mops or buckets.c
2. Scheduled Maintenance – How often you clean the restroom floors is dependent solely on your foot traffic. It is imperative to measure this component. You can set your scheduled maintenance based on traffic flow. Color coating your tools and mops is also a good idea to prevent cross-contamination.
3. Restorative Maintenance – When your floors are neglected you must go in with an acid-based product or enzyme-based product with a Mal-Grit Lite brush to clean the stone surfaces. There are various methods on the market today to speed up the process. High pressure, jet cleaning with a turbo head is the most common and will speed up the process.

FlexPAC’s Stone Cleaner

PORCELAIN

Composition:

Porcelain tiles are ceramic tiles, either glazed or unglazed, that have a water absorption rate of less than 0.5 percent.

Cleaning Challenges:

Porcelain tiles in restrooms react the same way glazed ceramic do when confronted with acidic water, cleaning products (bowl cleaners), women’s cosmetics, soaps, etc. — they etch. However, the good feature about porcelain is that it has less open pores than ceramic. The bad part is that the vitrified process has a hard coating burnt into the surface.

Cleaning Solutions:

1. Daily Maintenance – The daily process of cleaning the porcelain is utilizing a double mop bucket system will help you retrieve and remove the dirt when mopping. It is important to remove the soil from the surfaces and not spread it around with dirty mops or buckets. Etching on the tiling should be routinely identified and put on the schedule.
2. Scheduled Maintenance – This should be periodic and be sure to recrystallize the stone where any etching has occurred. This can be done with a weighted floor machine, steel wool pads, and a crystallizing chemical.
3. Restorative Maintenance – If you have to re-do the bathroom because of the etching on the surface, then I would recommend the “Glow System” and 2-Step Process, utilizing powder abrasives to naturally polish the stone.

 

EPOXY

Composition:

Epoxy flooring might not be on the top of your list or even something you’ve heard of, but by definition, it is a floor surface made up of multiple layers of epoxy (resins and hardeners). The difference between a basic epoxy floor and an epoxy coating is the depth of the epoxy. Any epoxy floor that is less than two millimeters thick is referred to as epoxy floor coating.

Cleaning Challenges:

Epoxy coated (clear coat) floors are great floors to put into restrooms. The main drawbacks are that, over a period of time (depending on the chemical usage), they have a tendency to discolor. You will notice this around the urinals if anti-bacterial mats are not used. Epoxy floors sometimes have a grit component and will cause issues with mops, providing additional areas where dirt will cling to and harden.

Cleaning Solutions:

1. Daily Maintenance – The best daily practice for these floors is to use a restroom cleaning machine that provides both above the floor solutions, as well as complete dirt removal from the floors.
2. Scheduled Maintenance – If you do not have a restroom cleaning machine, your best option is the double bucket system. We suggest scheduling the maintenance around traffic load, and sometimes a good degreaser will provide the best results here.
3. Restorative Maintenance – If restorative maintenance is required, you may have worn through the clear coat and a removal of what’s left along with a new application may be required.

 

POLISHED CONCRETE

Composition:

Concrete is a composite material composed of coarse aggregate that has been bonded together with a fluid cement that hardens over time.

Cleaning Challenges:

A naturally polished stone that’s not treated properly will stain. A crystallized floor like the porcelain mentioned earlier will etch with acidity. In this case, a protectorate may be your best bet, but it may wear down over time.

Cleaning Solutions:

1. Daily Maintenance – A daily stone soap or neutral stone soap is your best bet for cleaning on a daily basis. Mats around the urinals are essential, as well as overage protectors from any alcohol-based sanitizers.
2. Scheduled Maintenance – Depending on the process you select, you would need to either repair etches or apply more protectorate based on your foot traffic.
3. Restorative Maintenance – This method would be required to strip off the topical crystallizer or protectorate. You will need to assess if you need to cut the stone or just reapply the crystallizer or protectorate.

FlexPAC’s Natural Polish on concrete floors

 

TERRAZZO

Composition:

Terrazzo is a composite material, poured in place or precast, which is used for floor and wall treatments. It consists of chips of marble, quartz, granite, glass, or other suitable material, poured with a chemical binder.

Cleaning Challenges:

Terrazzo follows the same process as polished concrete.

Cleaning Solutions:

1. Daily Maintenance – A daily stone soap or neutral stone soap is your best bet for cleaning on a daily basis. Mats around the urinals are essential, as well as overage protectors from any alcohol-based sanitizers.
2. Scheduled Maintenance – Depending on the process you select, you would need to either repair etches or apply more protectorate based on your foot traffic.
3. Restorative Maintenance – This method would be required to strip off the topical crystallizer or protectorate. You will need to assess if you need to cut the stone or just reapply the crystallizer or protectorate.

 

FlexPAC’s Protectorate Stone Floor System

 

RESILIENT TILE

 Composition:

Vinyl composition tile (VCT) is a finished flooring material used primarily in commercial and institutional applications. Modern vinyl floor tiles and sheet flooring and versions of those products are composed of colored polyvinyl chloride (PVC) chips formed into solid sheets of varying.

Cleaning Challenges:

Challenges with having VCT in bathrooms is a double whammy. You have the acidic issues with etching, and you have the wearing of the product with foot traffic. This flooring system in restrooms is very labor-intensive to keep a good-looking floor.

Cleaning Solutions:

1. Daily Maintenance – If you use a resilient floor protectorate on top of your floor finish, you have a fighting chance to keep a good-looking floor. That is your first line of defense. Utilizing a double mop bucket system with enzyme-based cleaners will help you retrieve and remove the dirt when daily mopping. It is important to remove the soil from the surfaces and not spread it around with dirty mops or buckets.
2. Scheduled Maintenance – If you are using a protectorate, you should schedule a re-polishing at minimum once a month — preferably once a week.
3. Restorative Maintenance – You will need to scrub and clean the protectorate and apply a new cost and burnish.

FlexPAC’s Protectorate System for VCT Floors (after 6 months)

 

QUARRY TILE

Composition:

Quarry tile is a building construction material, usually 1⁄2 to 3⁄4 inch thick, made by the extrusion process from natural clay or shales.

Cleaning Challenges:

The challenges facing quarry tile is that it is very porous. Dirt will embed into the stone making it difficult to clean. It will especially begin to discolor in time around urinals.

Cleaning Solutions:

1. Daily Maintenance – If you do not close the pores abrasively, we would recommend a restroom cleaning machine. Your best option here is the double bucket system. Like many other floors, you should schedule the maintenance around traffic load. Sometimes a good degreaser will provide the best results.
2. Scheduled Maintenance – If you have closed the pores of the stone, no scheduled maintenance should be required. If not, a deep clean once a quarter will be needed.
3. Restorative Maintenance – If you have closed the pores of the stone, no restorative maintenance is needs for 5-7 years. If you have left the pores open, a restoration clean for the surface and grout would be needed to shock the floor back to new conditions which is very time and labor consuming.

For additional solutions and products to help keep your facility sparkling, contact FlexPAC.