seal my tile please!

I installed ceramic tile 2 1/2 yrs ago and never got around to sealing them.

Should I scrub them and seal them or can I start using "mop and glow" stuff on them?

thanks

 

Glazed ceramic tile does not get sealed, only the grout lines do.

If you are actually talking about the grout, then scrub them clean with typical soap and water, allow to dry, and seal.

 

Ceramic tile has a glaze. It's like melted glass that was molten to seal when cooled. It's similar to a finish on a porcelain tub.

You do not seal this, and sealers can peel and complicate matters. You can seal the porous grout with a penetrating sealer and some patience to seal each grout line to seal out dirt, oils, and soils.

Do not buy that product you mention for anything in your home. It builds up and seals in dirt and soil if floor was not properly cleaned and rinsed. Avoid no rinse products. If you purchase them, rinse anyway until the rinse water is clear.

The important issue that was always taught by my old Home Ec teachers of so many years ago is that you have to rinse floors after mopping. That is with plain water. This is a lost art.

We've moved into the 'modern' age of ease where no one wants to spend any extra time cleaning or maintaining surfaces. Modern housekeepers tend not to be savvy. They fall for the no-rinse products and the instant shine products as marketed on TV, especially late night. The marketers take advantage of consumer ignorance.

For example, you have a Saturday that you think you need to do something to the floor. You pull out the 'as sold on TV' product' and swarp it around the floor. (I say 'swarp' because my mother used to accuse me of improper sweeping and mopping and swarping. She was a perfectionist. I don't pick up a mop or broom unless I hear her voice and accusations of swarping.) You sweep. You wash. You rinse. It may take more than one rinse to get the water to come clear, but you keep rinsing until water is clear.

You are in the shower. You wash; you rinse. You stand there and rub and massage until all soap or gel residues are gone. Why would your floors deserve less?

Proper washing and rinsing goes a long way toward preventing soil buildup. We get many posts here about dingie floors, dirt in texture of vinyl and tile floors. "My vinyl is looking gray, etc." Homeowners are clueless why. They don't properly wash and rinse to remove dirty mop water and residues. They fail to follow manufacturers instructions for care and maintenance. It may two or three rinses to get the floor sparkling after washing, depending on amount of soiling. But homeowners persist in using the quickie products that are among the popularly marketed cleaners.

Another example, you purchase one of the little 'stick' products 'as advertised on TV' with the disposable wipes. Swarp it around the floor. Spread the soil around. Is your floor clean? Then, they tell you to simply click and dispose of the wipe in the trash. Was floor properly washed and rinsed?

I hope in the past 2 1/2 years that you have been rinsing floors after mopping and that you have not applied a wax or oil product or an oil or wax based cleaner to ceramic tile. If you have built up soil, there are strippers and cleaners available. Rinse until water is clear.

You can seal the grout with a penetrating sealer if oils, soils, and stains are an issue. If grout is stained, then there are grout cleaners available that can be used before sealing. If you have buildup of soils and oils and stains, then there are ceramic tile strippers/cleaners available.

 

Anyone ever use a dishwasher liquid soap in water to clean grout??

I figured since dishwasher soap is a low sudzing detergent so I was just wondering how that might work since soap, generally, attracts dirt.

 

mop and glow will lead to problems down the road...tiles do not need sealed... go with a good solvent based penetrating sealer..apply using a grout wheel...note this is long process but worth it

but scrub it and allow to dry serveral days before sealing

 

I've got an idea..... How about use a "Tile & Grout" cleaner for that once a year heavy-duty cleaning? Then seal the grout per directions.

Jaz

 

sealing the grout should only be needed on the average of 5 years..depending on location and soil load

 

Well...yes. It all depends on the sealer and the amount of traffic and maintenance routine and products used. A cheap sealer might not last more than a year, while some high end sealer claim up to 15 years of protection.....yeah right?

In any case some people do a heavy duty cleaning at least once a year if they get heavy usage. For most, just weekly cleaning is plenty, then sealing once in a great while if you think of it. My kitchen floor has been sealed twice in 14 years and looks like installed recently. I used a sealer that cost me about 4x more than the cheap stuff did back then. I bought it without knowing then price then got a shock when the invoice came.

Jaz

 

Good to see a little humor around here every once in a while.

Definitely maybe. Depends, yeah definitely maybe.