General

There are several factors that are involved in the cleaning, sealing and maintenance of tiles and stone. The type of tile (perhaps you are using travertine tiles, ceramic tiles or maybe granite tiles), and the type of deposits of soiling that you need to remove will determine the type of materials you can use for cleaning your tiles. Ceramic tiles, for instance, are unaffected by the majority of chemicals, whereas stone on the other hand can become damaged with the use of acidic cleaners. When using chemical applications you must check and follow any health and safety advice.

Below are some basic tips and pieces of advice for sealing, cleaning and maintaining tile and stone, including travertine.

Builders Clean

As the name Builders Clean suggests this is to clean residues created from the building process: this is usually cement grouts or adhesives. For granite tiles or for ceramic tiles you can use TileTech Power Stripper. If you have natural stone to clean use HG Marble and Cement Lime Film Remover or Lithofin Power Clean. You will find these completely safe to use as they do not contain any acid. However as they do not have any acid in it is only effective with fresh residues that are not totally set.

Sealing

Following the installation of terracotta tiles, textured and polished tiles and quarry tiles and almost all natural stone tiles, you need to seal the tiles.  There is no need for you to seal glazed floor and wall tiles or quality unpolished porcelain tiles which are flat.  The kind of tile seal and the amount of sealer needed will vary and will depend on the product’s absorbency. It is important that you use the right seal for natural stone, as the wrong kind can cause irrevocable damage to the tile and result in an expensive renovation.

Make sure that you know the type of tile that you have.

Maintenance and renovation

Regular maintenance with the correct products is the answer to prolonging the life or any floor or wall finish. Natural stone tiles and ceramic tiles are no exception. Your choice of maintenance products is important: you must choose maintenance products that are compatible with any seals used as some branded product, such as Flash, will manage to clean the surface but will also strip the seals over time. Lithofin Easy Care is a cleaner that is versatile and good for the daily maintenance of most natural stone tiles, quarry tiles and terracotta tiles.  Lithofin Wexa is used for maintaining glazed floor tiles on a daily basis and can be used with KF Ceramic Clean for glazed wall tiles.