Cleaning ceramic tile is not too difficult if you use the correct cleaning products and procedures.  Using improper cleaning products and techniques can actually harm your ceramic tiles as well as the grout.

 

 

Cleaning ceramic tile requires the four basic components necessary for cleaning any surface.  In the cleaning industry the acronym for these four cleaning components is TACT and they stand for:

1. Temperature:  The higher the temperature the more effective your cleaning process will be.

2. Agitation:  Agitation of the surface is necessary to generate effective cleaning results.

3. Chemicals:  The proper cleaning products for the surface to be cleaned.

4. Time:  The longer the cleaning products are allowed to work on the dirt and stains the better your cleaning results will be

Ceramic tile is a man made clay based material that is baked in an oven at extremely high temperatures. 

Ceramic tiles are resilient to most types of alkaline and acidic based cleaning products so damaging ceramic tiles with cleaning agents is generally not a concern.  Glazed porcelain tiles are made the same way as ceramic tiles only glazed porcelain tiles are baked longer and are denser then ceramic tiles.  The cleaning process for cleaning glazed porcelain tiles is the same as for cleaning ceramic tiles. 

Generally the dirt, grease and grime on ceramic tiles is of an acidic nature. 

Therefore it is necessary to use an alkaline cleaning product to react with the acidic grime on the tiles to dissolve it and make the tiles and grout easier to clean.  An alkaline tile cleaning product specifically made for cleaning tile and grout should be used for your cleaning process.  This is the Chemical component of the cleaning process.

Mix the alkaline clear with the hottest tap water available in the ratio on the instructions of the tile and grout cleaning product. 

This is the Temperature aspect of the cleaning process.

Apply the hot alkaline cleaning solution liberally to the ceramic tile surface and allow it to dwell there for at least 20 minutes. 

This is the Time component of the cleaning process.

While the cleaning solution is dwelling on the ceramic tile surface you should scrub the tile and especially the grout with a stiff brush or scrub pad. 

Do not use any type of steel wool or extremely abrasive pads that could potentially scratch the surface of the ceramic tile.  This is the Agitation component of the cleaning process. 

You should generally scrub the tile and grout until you are confident that all of the dirt, grease and grime and any other contaminates are loosened and dissolved from the tile and grout. 

Then you can use a shop vac to extract the loose dirt and excess cleaning agents from the tile and grout.  If you do not have a shop vac then you can use a mop and bucket to extract the dirt and excess cleaning solution from the tile and grout surface.  You should use a mop and bucket to thoroughly rinse any remaining dirt and cleaning residue from the tile and grout surface. 

Cleaning the ceramic tile surface is usually not too difficult but cleaning the grout lines is generally the most difficult aspect of cleaning ceramic tiles.

You may notice that even after you have cleaned the ceramic tiles with the alkaline cleaning solution that the grout lines still have some stains.  It may be necessary to re clean the tile and grout with the alkaline cleaning solution while scrubbing the grout lines to thoroughly clean the ceramic tile grout.  There may also be some types of stains like urine, red wine or other types of stains that will not come clean in the grout with the alkaline cleaning solution. 

It may be necessary to use a mild acidic cleaner to clean the grout lines to their fullest. 

Ceramic tiles will not be damaged with acidic based tile and grout cleaners so using an acidic tile cleaning product may be a good option to clean the ceramic tile grout to its cleanest state.  You can read about how to clean grout using acidic cleaning products in our grout cleaning section here.

You can read more about our recommended tile and grout cleaner products in our tile and grout cleaners section.