Nils Hoyum

How to Clean a Ceramic Tile Floor

Because of the density of the material and the smoothness of the surface, ceramic tile floors are very easy to keep clean. So easy, in fact, that some homeowners feel that foot traffic, shod in borderline, white cotton crew socks, is the only weapon needed in their arsenal of ceramic tile cleaning supplies. Add a dog with omnivorous tastes and a large, wet tongue, and the job is complete (although, in my day, we also relied on baby butts clad in real cotton diapers for cleaning floors).

In fact, they are not far wrong. Ceramic tile floors, with their virtually impervious surfaces and stain-resistant, modern grouts, require very little care. That's why we love them. But every once in a while we get spills that defy even the power of a dog's tongue and leave us wondering how we are going to clean it. So here are some hints:

Cleaning a Ceramic Tile Floor and Grout

Start by identifying the ceramic tile stain. Is it cranberry juice, red wine, or actual blood? If you don't know, assume the worst and check offspring, especially males. My stain is rust, from a copper-bottom planter. All of my rugrats are grown and commit their occasional bloodletting elsewhere, but the principles, regardless of the make-up of the stain, are the same. Step one involves mixing vinegar and baking soda into a moderately thick paste; dab it on the stain—thicker on the grout, where the stain will be most persistent—and allow the paste to sit for 15 to 20 minutes while you defrost dinner and rescue freezer-burnt veggies with a potent curry sauce.

When the paste on the ceramic tile begins to get crusty (and before the curry sauce does the same), clean off the vinegar/soda residue with clear, warm water and study the result. Is the stain half as bright as before, or just about the same? Most importantly, is the grout cleaner and less stained? If only half as bad, repeat the vinegar/soda paste treatment (again without letting the paste become completely dry).

To prevent the paste on the ceramic tile and grout from drying out, you can lay a damp (firmly wrung-out, not sopping-wet) cloth over the top, which allows the ingredients in the paste to work longer, and gives your hands a break. That's always a good bargain in my book, since I was raised on my father's pithy motto: "work smart, not hard."

Remove the paste from ceramic tile with clear, warm water again, and see if the stain is almost gone. Likely the tile will be pristine, while the grout retains a mere blush of its former condition. If so, touch up the stain residue in the grout with a sponge dipped in white primer, white latex paint, or a dollop of toothpaste (which also works well to hide nail holes in drywall).

If the ceramic tile grout remains reddish, consider becoming seriously aggressive. No, you don't have to put on your Wonder Woman outfit (although your husband or significant other might like that); just grab the hydrogen peroxide out of the medicine cabinet and douse the stain thoroughly. Then cover it with a cloth saturated with more hydrogen peroxide. Why the double whammy? Because over-the-counter (OTC) hydrogen peroxide is rarely more than three percent active ingredients.

If, after a half-hour, the stains remain on either ceramic tile or ceramic tile grout, it is time to go to phase three, which involves mixing alum and lemon juice in a paste and repeating step one. Yes, I know this may involve a trip to the store, but alum—hydrated potassium aluminum sulfate, used to make pickles crunchier, whipped cream frothier, and shaving cuts less Draculean—is nice to have on hand in any case. Cooking hint #1: a cold brew of canned milk and alum, in a blender, can (almost) fake it as whipping cream. Alum also has other uses, but at least one is too prurient to mention here.

If the alum paste doesn't produce cleaner ceramic tile or cleaner grout, you may decide to use a very environmentally unfriendly cleaner, namely bleach, as a second-to-last resort. The difficulty with bleach is not only its toxic odor and its tendency to burn exposed tissue (particularly eyes), but also the fact that chlorine bleach can trigger allergies, including asthma-like symptoms, even in those who have no previous history of respiratory difficulties. Listed by the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, or ATSDR, chlorine causes "corrosive tissue damage" (goodbye top layer of skin if you forget to wear gloves) that can lead to pulmonary edema, or water on the lungs, after extensive exposure, even though the effect is often delayed several hours.

Instead of bleach on ceramic tile or tile grout, consider Barkeeper's Friend, a liquid cleaner that contains oxalic acid. Oxalic acid, in lesser amounts, is also found in food, namely chives, parsley, rhubarb and spinach, and is dangerous only to people who are inclined to kidney stones. Moreover, you can use the cleaner without wearing gloves and not lose any skin, so it clearly falls in the category of environmentally friendly.

More Ceramic Tile and Grout Cleaning Tips

An ounce of prevention is worth an hour of cleaning, so seal your ceramic tile grout at least once every two or three years. In high-traffic, high-exposure areas—the shower, around the kitchen sink, the laundry room floor—yearly or twice-yearly resealing is recommended.

Tile professionals agree that many floor cleaning products on the market actually attract dirt, and may also affect the performance of your ceramic tile floor. Choose simple over complex (Ivory Pure, but not regular dish detergent, over Pine-Sol), and eco-friendly over a plethora of unpronounceable ingredients. Your family's immune systems will love you for it.

Cotton rugs and ceramic tile are not synergistic (think thousand-dollar ER visits for a broken something-or-other, usually something vital). But many rugs nowadays are made with nonskid reverse surfaces which prevent falls, and they are inexpensive enough to replace when seriously worn.

If rugs over ceramic isn't quite the fashion statement you had in mind when you started decorating, just think how many other things have also failed to meet your expectations—some of whom may be waiting on dinner as you read this.