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Steam cleaning unglazed tiles?

(9 Posts)
eddiecat78 Tue 24-Oct-17 09:03:20

We have put down a large area of stone-effect unglazed tiles in a cottage we have renovated. Now the builders have left the tiles are in dire need of cleaning. I borrowed a Shark steam mop but the instructions say it should not be used on un-glazed tiles.
Any thoughts? I can`t see that the steam would cause more damage than a bucket of hot water (and my back isn`t up to going down on my hands and knees to do the job!)

Chewbacca Tue 24-Oct-17 09:08:36

I had a look on line eddiecat and found this:

Mix your cleaning solution. ...
Scrub the dry tile hard with a stiff scrub brush. ...
Moisten a rag with the vinegar solution and wipe down the tile. ...
Rinse the entire area with clear water and a clean rag.

Doesn't mention steam cleaning anywhere on the website though, I'm afraid.

MawBroon Tue 24-Oct-17 09:15:09

Maybe the advice refers to industrial steam cleaning which could be much more vigorous and erode the surface.
You could try a small patch in a not very obvious place ?

annsixty Tue 24-Oct-17 09:19:38

I have some stone tiles and told not to steam clean them.
On first clean they were so rough that the cloth
I was using rubbed off leaving bits all over them, I had to let it dry thoroughly them brush the bits off, it was very hard work.
They just get mopped once a week now.

eddiecat78 Tue 24-Oct-17 09:31:55

Blimey Chewbacca - I feel exhausted just reading that!
The advice was in the instruction booklet for the steam mop. The tiles aren`t natural stone and are fairly smooth.
I will experiment on a small section.

The cottage is going to be rented out so I won`t have control over how they are cleaned in future anyway but I want them to start off looking good

Primrose65 Tue 24-Oct-17 10:09:03

I would imagine the issue is that unglazed tiles are porous, so the steam could penetrate and be absorbed by them. It could leave watermarks and the dirt would be inside the actual tile.

eddiecat78 Tue 24-Oct-17 13:51:44

I`ve spoken to the tile suppliers and they tell me they don`t recommend steam on any tiles as they drive too much moisture into the grout & tile which increases the chance of them lifting and cracking - so it`s back to an old fashioned mop for me!

Willow500 Tue 24-Oct-17 14:02:16

You could try one of the mops which has a water canister that squirts a solution onto the tiles before cleaning with the head. I have highly polished tiles and use the steam mop on them but have to then go over it all with a fluffy mop to dry them as they are both slippy and get water marks.

Primrose65 Tue 24-Oct-17 15:01:46

Maybe have something in the tenancy agreement too about how to clean the tiles if you're thinking of renting the property - easy for tenants not to know the correct way to clean unglazed tiles and to think they're doing a good thing by steam cleaning them.