R
Radley
Hi,
We have very pretty brown, green, blue, white and sand coloured tiles in our hallway (encaustic?). Am I correct in thinking I should treat these as unglazed quarry tiles? The house is edwardian and the floor looks like it hasn't been cleaned in some time. It is basically very grubby, but there's no cement or weird stuff stuck to it, just a few splashes of paint here and there and lots of ground in grub.
We cannot afford a pro at the moment - and believe me I would get one in if I could, as they are really lovely tiles. So, from reading this forum many people buy pro products (HG, Aquamix, etc) and have a go themseves. However, it seems to be a LOT of hardwork and also when they seal the floor, the dreaded white haze seems to appear no matter how well they previously rinsed the floor.
So I'm thinking I'm not going to go down that path. Until I can afford the pro's, what is the most mild cleaning substance I can use on the tiles just to get some of the dirt off and make it look slightly less grubby? I gather it's important not to let dirty water settle on the tiles so I'm planning to clean a couple of tiles at a time with a very mild cleaning solution (I was thinking baking soda?) and then rinse, rinse, rinse - and dry! I think I will not seal it at all, as it seems futile to seal the floor if it's not properly cleaned. It's a temporary fix just to make it look a wee bit better, but I don't want to damage it.
Is baking soda okay, or do you think just water and a bit of elbow grease? Does scrubbing the tiles damage them? What do I use to scrub? A bristle brush or a plastic brush? My main concern is that I do not damage them any further.
I know some would say it's best to do 'all or nothing' with these type of tiles, and I agree, but I would so love to clean them just a wee bit, without compromising the actual tiles. Any suggestions or advice very welcome!
Many thanks.
We have very pretty brown, green, blue, white and sand coloured tiles in our hallway (encaustic?). Am I correct in thinking I should treat these as unglazed quarry tiles? The house is edwardian and the floor looks like it hasn't been cleaned in some time. It is basically very grubby, but there's no cement or weird stuff stuck to it, just a few splashes of paint here and there and lots of ground in grub.
We cannot afford a pro at the moment - and believe me I would get one in if I could, as they are really lovely tiles. So, from reading this forum many people buy pro products (HG, Aquamix, etc) and have a go themseves. However, it seems to be a LOT of hardwork and also when they seal the floor, the dreaded white haze seems to appear no matter how well they previously rinsed the floor.
So I'm thinking I'm not going to go down that path. Until I can afford the pro's, what is the most mild cleaning substance I can use on the tiles just to get some of the dirt off and make it look slightly less grubby? I gather it's important not to let dirty water settle on the tiles so I'm planning to clean a couple of tiles at a time with a very mild cleaning solution (I was thinking baking soda?) and then rinse, rinse, rinse - and dry! I think I will not seal it at all, as it seems futile to seal the floor if it's not properly cleaned. It's a temporary fix just to make it look a wee bit better, but I don't want to damage it.
Is baking soda okay, or do you think just water and a bit of elbow grease? Does scrubbing the tiles damage them? What do I use to scrub? A bristle brush or a plastic brush? My main concern is that I do not damage them any further.
I know some would say it's best to do 'all or nothing' with these type of tiles, and I agree, but I would so love to clean them just a wee bit, without compromising the actual tiles. Any suggestions or advice very welcome!
Many thanks.