A common question Centaur gets asked often is: “How do I use a floor machine to clean tile and grout?” Although cleaning tile and grout with a machine is one of the best ways to get deep down dirt, debris, and mildew out of your floor and grout, there are some important things a professional cleaner should know before getting started.
In this article, we’ll cover some of the most important things a professional cleaner must first consider before choosing a floor machine to clean tile and grout.
Step 1: Determine what type of tile and flooring you have
There are many different types of tile and flooring, and each of them has different properties, so it’s important to first determine what kind of tile flooring you are cleaning before you get started.
Knowing the type of floor you are working on will determine the type of floor cleaning pads, brushes, diamonds and chemicals you’ll use to clean, restore and rejuvenate the tile flooring.
Here are 4 common types of tiles:
Ceramic Tile:
Ceramic is a versatile and durable material that is commonly used for commercial tiles. It also has the ability to withstand high heat, making it perfect for outdoor use as well. The only downside of ceramic tile is they tend to get chipped over time especially when inferior ceramic tiles are used. So, it is important to look for chipped tiles before cleaning as you could do more damage to these tiles during tile cleaning with a floor machine and cleaning brush head.
Porcelain Tile:
Porcelain is stronger than Ceramic and has better resistance to chipping, scratches and wear-and-tear. Porcelain is also highly resistant to moisture, frosting, spills and other liquids in general which makes it a great choice for use in places such as kitchens, bathrooms, lobbies and entryways to buildings.
Marble Tile:
Marble tiles are beautiful, but they can also be expensive. Although marble is a durable material, it does require some maintenance to stay looking its best. Since marble is not resistant to all types of stains, when marble does get stained or scratched, the process to restore a marble floor is more involved. Cleaning or rejuvenating a marble floor requires a multi-step process of grinding, honing and polishing a marble floor with diamond tools and a floor machine.
Granite Tile:
Granite is a harder material than marble and that makes it more resistant to scratches and damage. However, like marble, granite is also porous which means that liquids can penetrate the marble and stain the floor. Like marble, the process to clean (restore) is a multi-step process involving grinding, honing and polishing the granite floor with diamonds.
Step 2: Choose a machine that is appropriate for the type of tile, and size of floor space you are cleaning.
Once you know what type of tile material you are working with, the next thing to consider is the size of the floor space you are working on.
Since labor is your biggest cost in cleaning, you’ll want to choose a machine that will allow you to get your job done in the most cost-efficient manner.
For example, if you’re cleaning 10,000 sq ft of ceramic flooring, you’ll be better off using a push-behind or ride-on floor scrubber (autoscrubber) to cover that amount of area.
Or if you had to rejuvenate 2,000 sq ft of marble flooring in a home, where you have stairs to navigate, you’re better off using a stone/marble floor grinding and polishing machine like the Centaur Stonechat.
Step 3: Select the right type of cleaning device/tool that is appropriate for the type of tile, and the type of machine you are using.
The most important consideration when cleaning tile flooring with a floor machine is the type of cleaning tool, or accessory you’ll be using. Here are some examples:
Floor Cleaning Pads
Floor cleaning pads are suitable for everyday floor cleaning and floor maintenance type of jobs on most tiles. The pads are typically used for scrubbing, polishing, and buffing floors.
Floor Cleaning Brushes
Floor cleaning brushes are more durable and last longer than floor pads. They may also provide better cleaning results if you are looking to clean thin grout lines between tiles. Then there are also tile and grout brushes available that have a pad and brush combination.
Diamond Pads
Diamond pads are like floor pads but with impregnated diamonds on them. These pads come in different grit (200 grit to 6000 grit) and they can be used on marble, granite, and engineered stone tiles. They are considered as the GREEN method of cleaning stone surfaces because all you need is water and no chemical for cleaning. Diamond pads are also more affordable than the traditional resin diamond tools (discs) that are used when honing and polishing stone flooring.
Conclusion:
While floor cleaning machines are a great choice when it comes to cleaning tile flooring, it is first important to know what type of tile you are cleaning, and the size of the floor space you’re working on. Once you know this, then the next thing to consider is the type of floor cleaning pad or brush to use to get the best results.
If you have a tile floor cleaning business or have a tile cleaning job coming up and you’re not sure of the method, tools or equipment to use, contact Centaur Floor Machines and an advisor will be happy to help you out.