My "new" house is approx. 50-60 years old and has the original tile in what will now be the guest bathroom. I think that it is ceramic tile. The tile is on the floor and on the walls and it is yellow which is bad enough but even worse is the state that the tile on the floor is in. Not only is it yellow but it is dirty- the tile itself and the grout. I have tried a water/bleach solution and I have tried Tilex but nothing so far has worked!! It is driving me crazy. Any suggestions on cleaning solutions or techniques? Thanks!

 

I think you are going to have to strip and reseal the tile. You can find everything that you need at your local home improvement store. Check the condition of the grout for any missing or damaged areas. These will have to be regrouted before any sealing is done. After you seal it..acidic pH cleaners should work well.

 

I am pretty new at all this- when you say "strip it" do you mean take the tile completely up?

 

There are commercial tile and grout cleaners available for ceramic tile. Do you have ceramic tile or some man-made material that was installed at some time to give the look of tile. Scratched, worn, and dull kiln-fired glaze on ceramic tile can not be repaired. Because glaze is kiln-fired, it can not be reglazed. There are penetrating tile sealers for ceramic tile. These are applied to unglazed tile and absorbed. Surface sealers on glazed tile will tend to have adhesion problems.

I once was in a turn-of-the-century pharmacy turned restaurant that had the original tile. It gleamed. The owner maintained the floor with paste wax.

 

By strip i mean- removing all old sealers and soil.