Mopping a tile floor is not as easy as it seems.   If you do not regularly ring your mop out and change your mop water frequently you will just me moving dirt from one are of the floor to another.   Also using improper cleaners while mopping a tile floor can harm the tiles and also damage the grout.

 

 

It is important to regularly mop a tile floor to keep it looking clean and sanitary. In many cases the wrong mopping techniques only serve to move dirt from one area of the tile floor to another area. Also dirt moved from the surface of the tiles can get deposited in the grout lines making the grout extremely difficult to get clean.

Another problem people have when mopping a tile floor is that they use the wrong type of tile cleaner products. Many types of cleaning products not designed for cleaning a tile floor will leave a film on the tiles and grout that quickly attracts more dirt and grime.

Before you begin mopping your tile floor you should always sweep up and remove all of the loose dirt and debris from the floor.

 

 

When mopping a tile floor it helps to have a good quality professional grade mop bucket and wringer.  Cheaper types of mop buckets may be adequate for small kitchens but a professional level mop bucket and wringer will save you a lot of valuable time and energy when mopping a tile floor.

 

 

It is important to choose the correct type of mop to use for mopping a tile floor.  You should always use a string mop when mopping a tile floor. Microfiber and short loop mops do not hold a sufficient amount of water to effectively clean tile floors and grout. If you have glazed tiles that are relatively smooth then you can use an ordinary cotton mop for mopping your ceramic tile floor. Cotton mops can hold a lot of water and they are relatively inexpensive.

 

 

Synthetic blend mops should be used for unglazed tiles and tiles with a course type of finish. Synthetic blend mops will hold their shape longer and will not get caught on the course tile surfaces.  Using a cotton mop on these types of coarse surfaces will leave behind small mop pieces that must be cleaned up later. Synthetic blend mops do not hold as much water as cotton mops which makes it a little more time consuming to mop a tile floor. Also synthetic blend mops are more expensive than ordinary cotton mops. If you are unsure of what mop to purchase then you can use a synthetic blend mop for cleaning all types of tile floors as well as all of your other tile, grout and stone surfaces.

 

 

Choosing the correct cleaning product is essential to get your ceramic tile floors clean.  When mopping your tile floors on a daily or weekly basis you should only use a pH neutral tile and grout cleaning product. This type of tile floor cleaner requires only using 3-5 ounces of cleaner per gallon of hot water. The pH neutral tile cleaning solution will rinse freely from the tile floor without mopping the floor a second or third time with hot water to rinse the floor clean.  PH neutral cleaning solutions are safe to use on all types of tile grout and stone and they will not dull or etch even the most sensitive stone tiles.

 

 

You should mix the pH neutral tile cleaner with hot water in a mop bucket and insert your mop head into the mop bucket.  Wring the mop out as much as possible and go over the floor with the mop in only small 3 ft by 3 ft sections. Then go over the same 3 ft by 3 ft section of  tile with the other side of the mop. You should not attempt to mop larger areas of the tile and grout or you will end up just moving dirty water from one area of the tile floor to another area. After you mop one section of the tile floor then you should thoroughly ring out your mop and continue mopping the next section of the floor.

Changing out the mop water is very important when mopping tile floors.  It is important to frequently change out the mop water on a regular basis. If you are wringing your mop out in dirty mop water when you mop your tile floors you will be just moving dirt around and you will leave a film of dirt on the tiles and grout. Also much of the dirty mop water will get deposited in the grout lines. Accumulated dirt in the grout will be very difficult to clean up and remove with a mop and bucket of water.

For extremely dirty tile and grout more aggressive scrub brushes may be needed to get the tile and grout clean.  A deck brush will enable you to more aggressively scrub the tile and grout than a mop can.  When using a deck brush to scrub your tile and grout you should always follow up the cleaning procedure by mopping down and thoroughly rinsing your tile floor clean.  It is always important to use a mop to rinse and remove all the dirt and excess cleaning solution from your tile and grout.

 

 

Often times the grout can be extremely difficult to get clean and the deck brush is not effective at getting deep into the grout lines to clean the grout.  In these cases a specially designed grout brush will work to effectively scrub the grout lines to get the grout as clean as possible.  A grout brush works similar to the deck brush but you can get in every grout line and scrub the grout without resorting to getting on your hands and knees to scrub out the grout.

 

 

When mopping greasy and extremely dirty ceramic tile floors an alkaline cleaning solution can be used to more effectively clean up the dirt and grime on a tile floor.  Alkaline tile and grout cleaning products are specifically designed to break up and emulsify grease, dirt and grime from tile and grout. An alkaline cleaning product for tile and grout will be required for mopping up extremely dirty and greasy tile floors and grout.  Alkaline cleaning solutions that are specifically designed for cleaning tile and grout are generally safe to use on all types of ceramic, porcelain and stone tiles.  You should only use an alkaline cleaning solution designed for tile, grout and stone.  Some types of alkaline cleaning solutions that are not designed for cleaning tile, grout and stone can dull the finish of some delicate stone tiles

You should mix the alkaline cleaning solution in the ratio on the cleaner bottle with hot water. Then mop the alkaline cleaning solution on the tile and grout and allow the alkaline cleaner to dwell on the tile and grout for 20 minutes. If you see extremely dirty areas of tile and grout then you may be forced to use a deck brush and grout brush to loosen up the dirt on the tile and grout before you mop the floor.

After using an alkaline cleaning solution on your dirty tile floors you will need to go over the entire area with a mop and bucket using clean hot water to thoroughly rinse the tile floor. Alkaline cleaning solutions require you to thoroughly rinse the alkaline cleaning residue off of the tile and grout one or two times to remove all of the cleaning residue off of the tile and grout.  You want to ensure that you mop up and remove all traces of the alkaline cleaning solution from the tile and grout.

For extremely dirty tile and grout you may still notice that it is extremely difficult to get the grout totally clean.   You may be forced to get down on your hands and knees and do a thorough grout cleaning procedure.  Scrubbing down the grout this way is sometimes the only way to get the grout as clean as possible. 

For extremely dirty ceramic tile floors you may want to hire a tile and grout professional to steam clean your tile and grout. Many tile installations will require more aggressive cleaning procedures than just using a mop and bucket to clean. Often steam cleaning the tile and grout is the best option to save you from getting on your hands and knees scrubbing the grout to get the grout lines as clean as possible. Also professional tile cleaning contractors can use more aggressive acidic cleaning solutions if necessary to get your tile and grout cleaner than you ever could with a mop and bucket.

 

You can read some valuable information and tips on how to hire a tile, grout and stone cleaning and restoration contractor on our tile cleaning information page here. Tile and Grout Cleaning Service.