Tiles look great and are easy to maintain, but every so often they can become dirty with excess grime and bacteria build-up. If you’re wondering how to clean bathroom tiles, they can be kept looking as good as the day you installed them with some regular, light cleaning work. Like a lot of things, the more you do it, the easier it is to keep your bathroom tiles clean. And when left for too long, cleaning your bathroom tiles can become a big, overwhelming and laborious task.
If you’re wondering how to clean your bathroom tiles, there are a few steps you should consider before getting started with any harsh cleaning products and materials. As Australia’s leading tile retailer, we’ve dealt with our fair share of bathroom tiles at ExoTiles. Here are our top tips for the best ways to clean bathroom tiles:
How to Clean Bathroom Tiles
Step 1.
Before you get out any old cleaning products and start spraying them all over your bathroom tiles, you need to pick up a vacuum or broom and make sure you get all the loose dirt, dust and grit off the surface of the tiles. Pre-cleaning tiles is an overlooked but crucial step when thinking about how to clean bathroom tiles. A broom is preferred as its bristles will effectively remove the build-up on both the floor and the wall tiles in your bathroom.
Step 2.
You should always clean from top to bottom, starting at one side of the room to the other. It is preferable to finish cleaning at the entrance to avoid walking on any tiles until they are dry. This will improve efficiency and save time as you won’t have to re-clean any dirty water that runs down the wall or leftover grime left when walking back through a clean space.
Step 3.
Once you have finished cleaning your tiles, it’s time to rinse them down with some hot water; again, starting from top to bottom where possible. Wipe the tiles down with a dry towel, to remove any leftover cleaning product and pick up any remaining dirt that you missed with your vacuum or broom.
Learning the basic tile cleaning tips of: pre-cleaning, working from top to bottom and rinsing and drying is the is the first step in learning how to clean bathroom tiles. properly. Once you’ve got this part of the process down pat, you can move onto the specifics to ensure your bathroom is left sparkling clean.
How To Clean Dirt Between Bathroom Tiles
You can’t have tiles without grout; however, grout can unfortunately impact the overall look and cleanliness of your bathroom tiles. Grout is often light in colour and porous, which means dirt can build up on grout really easily and cause discolouration. Wondering how to clean dirt between bathroom tiles? After years of experience, some trial and error, and having that insider tile knowledge, we think we’re pretty qualified to provide advice on cleaning dirt between bathroom tiles. We’ve compiled our top tips and tricks at ExoTiles for tackling this hard to reach dirt and grime in your bathroom.
Our Top Tip:
When cleaning the dirt in bathroom grout you want to ‘clean as you go’; the more build-up of dirt, the more challenging it will be to clean. When it comes to bathroom grout, you want to minimise the use of harsh chemicals as they can eat away at grout, reducing the lifespan of your tiles. So, it’s best to try to clean the dirt away with warm water and a brush as often as you can. If this doesn’t remove the dirt you can try either of the following to work on those more stubborn dirt build-ups: baking soda and vinegar mixture, lemon juice, bleach, a steam cleaner or a combination of either.
How To Clean Marble Bathroom Tiles
If you’re scratching your head wondering how to clean marble bathroom tiles, you’re not alone. Due to the softness of marble, it is considered very difficult to keep clean. However, this doesn’t have to be the case. The best way to clean marble is to wipe up spills or messes straight away; immediate action will reduce the risk of staining and cleaning needed down the line.
Unlike grout, you don’t want to use anything too acidic – avoid vinegar, lemon juice and bleach when cleaning marble tiles. It would be best if you also avoided general or ‘all-purpose’ cleaners, unless they are marked safe for marble. Depending on the stubbornness or age of the stain, you can use the following to clean your marble tiles: water mixed with either a gentle dish soap, detergent, ammonia, mineral spirits. Tougher stains on marble may require a hydrogen peroxide and ammonia mix or poultice, but these should only be used if the previous products don’t work.
How To Clean Matte Bathroom Tiles
Matte tiles often have a rough, porous finish that means they do a good job of collecting dirt and grime. Like most surfaces with a matte finish, tiles will polish up well in time. If you’re wondering how to clean matte bathroom tiles without ruining the matte finish, you should keep the cleaning process relatively simple. Use a solution of vinegar and water, dish soap and water or a combination of the both and scrub with a stiff brush before patting dry with a clean cloth. Vinegar will also help to remove mould if you leave the solution to sit on the matte bathroom tile surface for a while.
The Best Way to Clean Bathroom Floor Tiles
Over time, your bathroom floor will collect a lot of dirt, hair and product spills, so identifying the best way to clean bathroom floor tiles will save you a lot of time and effort. Dirt, dust and hair can become hidden in-between the grout of your bathroom floor tiles and needs to be removed before you use any cleaning products. Failing to remove the build-up and grime before you clean will just result in moving this dirt from one location to another, making the whole cleaning process redundant and leaving you with a bathroom floor that is perpetually dirty.
The first step should always be to vacuum or sweep before you do anything else to your bathroom floor tiles. Once you’ve vacuumed or swept the surface, move onto getting rid of any stains. As mentioned previously, a vinegar and water solution is an efficient and cost-effective way to clean your bathroom floor tiles that actually works. Simply mix about half a cup to one cup of vinegar with 4 litres of warm water and a small amount of detergent. Scrub tiles down with this gentle solution before rinsing with water and drying the bathroom floor with a towel.
Choosing A Bathroom Tile Cleaner
A bathroom tile cleaner is a sure-fire way to get your bathroom floor tiles looking new again. Bathroom tile cleaners are made specifically for tiles, so you know they’re not going to harm the tiles or reduce the lifespan of the tiles. However, there are some heavy-duty tile cleaners available on the market that need to be used diligently.
An everyday tile cleaner is preferred and only needs to be used once every week or fortnight to maintain the new look of your tiles. Most everyday bathroom tile cleaners will almost always be acid-free – however, it’s important to double-check this as acid can be harmful for some surfaces. In cases of stubborn staining, an everyday cleaner might not do the trick, and you might need to get one of those heavy-duty cleaners mentioned above. There are bathroom tile cleaners that are made to remove stubborn grime build-up and stains which will contain harmful chemicals. Read the information and instructions on the packaging to ensure the correct and safe use of the cleaner before using on your bathroom tiles.
Advice From the Experts
Cleaning your bathroom tiles may seem a daunting task, but it doesn’t have to be. If you’re still wondering how to clean bathroom tiles, we believe the best solution is regular cleaning with warm soapy water and a soft lint-free cloth – it’s important to start with gentle materials before moving on to harsh chemicals.
Looking to purchase some new bathroom tiles? You’re in the right place. ExoTiles are Australia’s leading online tile retailer. With thousands of different high-quality bathroom, bathroom splashback and kitchen tiles to choose from, we’ve got you covered. Check out our full range of bathroom tiles and we’ll organise a sample for you today.