I know those dark grout lines are stressing you out. They’re unsightly and worse, if they’re hardened, it’s going to be a lot of extra work to clean them. Tiles are wonderful until you have to clean them!
Whether your kitchen tiles are dull and need some extra shine, or they can use some good and deep cleaning, you want to know the best way to clean your tiles and make them sparkle like new all over again.
As a homeowner, you know that kitchens can be notorious for getting dirty, grimy, and messy. There are food scraps everywhere, oil splatters, grease, and general dust and debris. Foot traffic is high and the kitchen can become a breeding ground for germs and deep stains in the farthest corner of any small area in your kitchen.
The kitchen remains the heart and center for most families and is the one room in your house where you spend time with everyone. Therefore, keeping your kitchen tiles looking clean can make a big difference, keeping things looking bright and more inviting.
As a first step, I have created a quick, helpful guide to help you clean your kitchen tiles or to clean tile floors.
Table of Contents
- Determine the Type of Kitchen Tile You Have
- Use Baking Soda
- Apply Borax
- Soapy Warm Water to the Rescue
- Clean Your Tiles with White Vinegar
- Vegetable Oil for Cleaning Kitchen Tiles
- Put Salt to Good Use
- What to Do After Cleaning Kitchen Tiles
- How to Clean Your Kitchen Floor Tiles
- Tips for Cleaning Grout
- Ways for Regular Maintenance of Kitchen Tiles
- Related Questions
- Looking for a Reasonably Priced Scrub Kit?
Determine the Type of Kitchen Tile You Have
One of the essential things you should do before cleaning your kitchen tiles determines the specific type of tile you have. The kind of kitchen tiles determines how and what you will use to clean them.
Ceramic kitchen tiles (ceramic tiles, in general), porcelain tile, natural stone tiles, linoleum floors, and plain tiles are often very hardwearing. You can clean them with a stricter cleaning cloth or a scourer with no need to worry about creating marks or scratches. Sometimes, a hardened dirty tile or tile grout may become so hardened that cleaning tiles with a soft bristle brush, alone, simply will not work. You may require a stronger grout brush and grout cleaner and a gallon of warm water, or rather clean water, using a circular motion which is the best thing for a good scrub.
If you have textured tiles or tiles with printed patterns, a scouring pad may end up damaging your tiles. Your best choice here would be a piece of soft microfiber cloth.
Use Baking Soda
Baking soda is undoubtedly one of the best and most practical items you can use to eliminate oil and grease stains from kitchen tiles. It is an effective way to avoid harsh chemicals to help clean tiles on your kitchen backsplash or to help clean ceramic tile floors.
To do this, all you have to do is sprinkle some baking soda on a gentle scrubber such as a sponge mop, clean rag, small scrub brush, or even a chamois mop to help wipe down the greasy kitchen tiles. Just make sure that you do this as gently as possible. The baking soda acts as a mild detergent and helps to clean grout and can be used as a natural cleaning solution for daily use. You only need to use a small amount of clear water.
After thoroughly rubbing down the baking soda, you can then use a clean, damp cloth to wipe everything down. The purpose of using a clean cloth is to remove baking soda residues from the tiles as it does come off a bit like soda paste. Rinse off the cloth with fresh water, or hot water, after every use to make your tiles look neat and sparkling.
Apply Borax
Borax, also known as sodium borate, is one of the best products you can use to keep your kitchen tiles free from oil and grease stains. You can turn it into a paste by mixing borax and lemon juice. Apply the paste over the stained areas on your tiles. Let the past settle for some time and use a clean sponge or cloth to wipe it off afterward.
As I researched for some ideas, I was surprised to learn that a mix of hydrogen peroxide and borax has been used as a home remedy to treat mange in pets. It is a popular home purpose cleaner, used to clean floors and any tile backsplash.
Soapy Warm Water to the Rescue
If the stains on your tiles are not that tough, or the tiles are not really that dirty, warm and soapy water is a good idea to help quickly get rid of greasy marks or debris. Use a lint-free cloth or clean towel to dry and clean off any soap residue.
If there are hardened stains on your tiles, you can try using a good quality tile cleaner. Using this cleaner may require some elbow grease, but you can be sure that it will lift off any grime and dirt from your tiles.
Clean Your Tiles with White Vinegar
White vinegar is one of the best natural solutions you can use for cleaning kitchen tiles. This common household item not just removes grease from tiles because it also disinfects and acts as a protective barrier, ensuring your tiles don’t produce any unwanted odors.
One more advantage of using white vinegar is that it also serves as a natural cleaning agent to fight off smoke stains. Using white vinegar directly on walls can also clean grease and smoke stains.
A cup of white vinegar and a cup of water is essentially natural ingredients and is a perfect solution for regular maintenance and cleaning of your kitchen floor tiles.
Vegetable Oil for Cleaning Kitchen Tiles
Vegetable oil is something that you might already have in your kitchen. However, many people are not aware that this oil is good for cooking as this can also help remove oil and grease stains. Vegetable oil is also an ideal alternative solution that can effectively and naturally clean kitchen tiles.
The method is what you call fighting oil with oil. To use this, all you have to do is pour some of this oil on a paper towel and scrub it on your greasy tiles to remove the stains.
Put Salt to Good Use
All kitchens have salt available, but did you know that you can also use it to clean your tiles? Just sprinkle some salt over oil and grease stains. Salt will soak up the stains. Spray some borax solution or vinegar over the area and wipe it down with a damp sponge, rag, or cloth to get the best results.
What to Do After Cleaning Kitchen Tiles
After removing stains and dirt, use a clean cloth and warm water to wipe the tiles and remove any leftover cleaning products. Use another clean cloth or kitchen roll to dry the tiles and enjoy a glossy finish.
How to Clean Your Kitchen Floor Tiles
Kitchen floor tiles can get messy with tough stains because of accidental spills and lots of traffic they get.
The following ideas will help make your kitchen floor tiles sparkle:
| Before you clean your kitchen floor, use a vacuum cleaner first to remove any loose dirt and excess debris that you wouldn’t want to end up becoming more deeply embedded into the tiles.Mix equal parts of warm water and high-quality floor cleaner. Use this to scrub your floor either with a mop or soft microfiber cloth, depending on your preference. |
| Let the floor dry off entirely first and avoid walking on it until you are sure it has dried. Repeat the process on spots that require more attention and do it until you are satisfied with what you see. |
Tips for Cleaning Grout
Dirty grout is often the trickiest and most challenging part of tiles to clean. Grout can lead to discoloration over time because of all the grease and dirt in the kitchen. Even if your tiles are sparkling clean, discolored grout can still make your kitchen look unclean and uninviting.
Although there are many cleaning products such as a grout bleach solution that you can use for cleaning, a simple and easy way is to use an old stiff brush (toothbrush), warm water, and baking soda.
| If you mix equal parts of warm water and baking soda, you create a nice paste. White vinegar is also a good choice over warm water. |
| Use the old toothbrush to scrub the dirty grout between the kitchen tiles. |
| Let the paste settle for 30 minutes before rinsing it off with a clean cloth and warm water. |
| Repeat the process in areas that require more attention and additional work. |
However, this can be hard work if the grout is really bad. Many people consider a steam cleaner or steam mop as options for deep cleaning. In this day and age, why not make life a little easier with a power tool or device used for grout cleaning. You can steam bad grout while you scrub and wash away the dirty water for a nice, clean finish.
Ways for Regular Maintenance of Kitchen Tiles
When it comes to kitchen tiles, there are times when it is better to be proactive than reactive. It means that if you want to ensure that your kitchen floor and kitchen wall tiles look fresher and cleaner for a long time, there are several things you can do to easily and quickly maintain your tiles:
| Vacuum your kitchen floor tiles regularly so no dirt or food will get stuck on the tiles for a long time. |
| Remove any spills right after they happen to prevent stains from forming. |
| Wipe your tiles regularly to avoid a buildup of grease and dirt. |
If you do these simple tips regularly, it will be easier to clean your kitchen tiles and make life easier. This way, you can be sure that there will be no buildup of dirt in this part of your home and make your kitchen look clean and fresh all the time.
Related Questions
Can You Use Vinegar Alone to Clean Your Kitchen Tiles?
While vinegar alone might be good enough for cleaning kitchen tiles that are well cared for, you might need to use a strong degreaser first if your tiles are noticeably grimy and greasy. After using the degreaser, you can use diluted vinegar solution as a finishing touch for shiny and streak-free tiles.
How Can You Deep Clean Your Kitchen Tiles?
If you’re deep cleaning your kitchen tiles with ingrained dirt, you must prepare a vinegar solution and warm water, then mix a one-half cup with a dash of detergent and water to be used in mopping your tiles. Rinse the tiles properly to remove any soap residues that might only attract more dirt to the tiles.
Are there Home Remedies for Cleaning Kitchen Tiles?
You can combine equal parts of water, rubbing alcohol, and white vinegar. Add some drops of peppermint essential oils and half a teaspoon of liquid dish soap. This solution can work well whether you use a spray bottle or a bucket to apply this on the floor while mopping.
Looking for a Reasonably Priced Scrub Kit?
Sold on Amazon and at many other home retailers, Libman’s should do the trick. I have used a similar product in another country when I was traveling, and I loved the bristles because they were flexible, could reach tight corners, and really clean out the grim and grout.
You can see the product and some Amazon reviews by clicking on the image. Or you can visit this link.
- About the Author
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John Thompson, Writer and Commentator, EvolutDesign.com
Soldier, writer, researcher, consultant, and bon vivant, John Thompson is the author of numerous columns, op-eds, reports, briefs, short stories and books as the “Felicity Files” and “Spirit Over Steel: A Chronology of the Second World War” (version III). Often found hunched over his computer, or in his garden, and now often found doing both. His diverse talent has led him to work in industries and projects such as energy, security and home construction and renovation. To see the entire team at Evolutdesign.com, visit Our Team page.
