Essential Tile Information - Maintenance

Information for ordering tiles and tile maintenance.

Use this essential guide for ordering tiles, what to do and not to do with your tiles after installation, maintaining your tiles, and frequently asked questions.


Tile Maintenance

Ceramic and Porcelain Glazed Tiles

Glazed tiles are great because of their almost impervious surface achieving high resistance to staining therefore making them an easy maintenance tile. Vacuum any dirt first and then simply mop with warm water. Avoid any type of detergent as this can leave a nasty film on your tile impregnating dirt, thereby making it a difficult surface to clean. If a deeper cleaning is necessary, an appropriate cleaner is recommended and always follow manufacturer’s instructions. Make sure you rinse the tile afterwards with warm water.

Post-Installation Tile and Grout Cleaning

After the installation you may notice some grout haze on the surface of your tiles. This will usually disappear after a few general cleaning applications however it is the responsibility of the tile contractor to remove excess grout from any floor or wall installations and hand over a clean, grout free tiled surface. Should you have difficulties removing grout haze there are specific tile and grout cleaners available from one of our Stores that will typically take care of the problem in one application.

Glass and decorative tiles

Use a soft towel or cloth to wipe the tile. Never use harsh abrasive cleaners since this may damage the tiles in some cases.

Routine Tile and Grout Cleaning

Throughout the life of your tiles the grout may become stained with a build-up of dirt, oils, mildew, or algae. To clean this we can provide a tile-and-grout cleaner and recommend following the manufacturers’ instructions for best results.

Stone Tiles

Since some stone tiles can scratch easily and are porous, this can be reduced by sealing them. You can vacuum and mop often too. For deeper cleaning, never use solutions that could etch the stone, if unsure do a small test in an inconspicuous area. Always buy specialty stone cleaner.