CERAMIC TILE:
Ceramic tile is referring to any tile that is made of a substance that does not contain natural stone. Ceramic tile is man made, it is a very hard tile, which will be nearly impossible to scratch. Many times the grout lines will become much more dirty than the actual tiles themselves. This happens, do to the fact, that when you clean your tile, most people use some sort of mopping process, where the dirt comes off the tiles and when the mop crosses the grout lines, which are much more porous, and more coarse, the dirt sticks in the grout lines. We have two process we use at Fountain Hills Carpet Cleaning. The first process is called general maintenance where we clean your tiles. How this process works is we pre spray your tiles and grout lines with an alkaline cleaner, this cleaner breaks down the dirt and grim that has collected on your tiles and grout lines. Then we run a machine over your tile, this machine is self contained, which means none of the cleaning products will be sprayed on your cabinets, appliances, etc. This machine has a very high pressure system, an example would be a high pressure car wash, the machine picks up all the pre spray and cleans the tile and grout, this machine does an amazing job, restoring your tile and grout back to it’s original form. Your tile and grout will be dry in under an hour. Some people use a side by side to clean tile with, this contraption has a bonnet that spins, spinning cleaning products on to your cabinets and appliances, which can ruin them, and this machines performance is satisfactory at best. We use the machine that the industry standards suggest, a Turbo Force Hybrid TH- 40, the best machine on the market!
The second process we use for cleaning ceramic tile and grout is exactly the same as the first step mentioned above, but we add in another step, once we pre spray the tile and grout, we clean the grout lines by brushing them with a grout brush that is attached to pole, this is a crucial process if your grout lines are real dirty, this step agitates the grime and sediment on the grout lines so it will all be lifted off when we run the Turbo Force over the tile. Many customers like to have this process done in the kitchen, hallways, etc. where the grout lines are abnormally dirty.
NATURAL TILE:
Natural tile is anything that is not man made, such as, travertine, slate, saltillo, marble, etc. These tiles are always softer than man made tile. These tiles come in different types of softness, many will scratch very easily. Many times Travertine has pock marks in it (Small Holes in the tile), some travertine is so soft that the small pieces of rock that comes out of the holes can scratch you tiles if they adhere to your shoes, children’s toys, etc. Also, if you use the wrong machine, one with a plastic boot on the bottom of it, instead of one with a bristle brush on it, you can end up with a floor full of scratches, as the small, gritty pieces of sand get trapped under the plastic boot of the machine, and when you move the machine back and forth, it scratches your tile, these scratches i am referring to are not minute, it’s not like you will have to be on your hands and knees searching for them, they will be clearly visible from yards away, and your tile will be ruined.
I have seen a lot of other companies ruin natural tile. You as a consumer, always want to qualify the person you are hiring, to make sure they know what they are doing. Most of the time, how mistakes are made, is either by using the wrong equipment or by apply an acid to the tile to try and clean it. Natural tile is a porous material, unlike ceramic tile, if you put and acidic cleaner on natural tile, it will open up the pores in the tile and all the dirt and grime will soak into the tiles leaving your tiles dirtier than when you started. You always want to use a neutral or alkaline cleaner on natural tile. As I mentioned before, some natural tile is softer than others, I have also seen instances where cleaners have used to much pressure in their machines, and this makes circles in the tiles, especially common in saltillo and slate.
Weekly cleaning of your natural stone: When you clean it, make sure you, your maid, etc. doesn’t use a store bought cleaner such as mop and glow, pledge, etc. these leave a residue behind that builds up over time.
The proper technique for cleaning natural stone is to pre spray it using an alkaline cleaner, if the grout lines are dirty, we can scrub them for you, then run the Turbo Force over the tiles to clean them. Often times people don’t realize how dirty their tiles are as travertine is especially good at hiding dirt, grime, etc. as they are usually multi colored.
I would suggest that once you clean your natural tile that you seal it, this will protect it from spills, or other mishaps that get on your tile. Since natural tile is very porous it tends to soak up things, such as spills, wine, soda, coffee, tea, etc. that is why it is important to seal your tile so if anything does spill on the floor you can get if off without it setting and sinking into your tile. We use a water based sealer that counter sinks into the tile and grout, this give you the added feeling of comfort that if anything is spilled on the tile you can get it out without you tile being ruined.