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Expert Answers
How do I clean the smudges and stains off my tile?
QUESTION
How do I clean the smudges and stains off my tile? - We built a new house less than a year ago the ceramic tile has smudges and stains that only partially clean with extreme effort by scrubbing. Marks on the floor do not simply wipe up. We bought a high quality steamer and it doesn't do the job either. We are looking to see if there is a problem with our tile that we could recover on or a process to keep our floors clean. ThanksANSWER
ANSWER - There are all sorts of different types of ceramic tiles and finishes, so depending on what type you have will determine what will explain your concerns about your tile.Glazed tiles have a glass-like substance that is fired onto the surface of a clay body that might be a dense porcelain body or a more porous clay body. Unglazed tiles do not have a glaze and is the same clay body from top to bottom, and the clay might be a dense porcelain body or a more porous clay body.
Today unglazed tiles are being honed (slight sheen surface), polished (high sheen surface), or left mat. Some of these tiles have a different composition on its surface mixing different clays or glazes to give different effects.
porous or impervious unglazed tiles can stain but in different ways. Glazed tiles can become etched if subjected to certain types of acids that can give a stained look that can't be removed. The honed or polished surfaces can stain, but they can be re-ground and polished.
There is a condition called an optical-haze, which can be seen on some honed or polished surfaces of tile. It tends to give a hazy or cloudy look, but only under certain lighting conditions. You can't feel it and you only see it when natural or other types of lighting is hitting the tile in a certain angle from where the viewer is looking. Some say it has to do with the quality of the polishing process at the factory. It is a debate whether this is a defect or not. The tile industry does warn that lighting can give a false impression of defects as it accentuates imperfections of the tile, which are otherwise within industry standards.
Be careful on what you use to try to remove this condition, as some products like acid could make it worst. After cleaning your floor to your satisfaction, you can seal the tile surface with a penetrating sealer, Miracle 511 Impregnator, whether the tile is glazed or unglazed or polished or otherwise. This will tend to help the floor stay cleaner and be easier to clean. It is important that on dense surfaces that the sealer is wiped dry with a clean lint free cloth within 5 minutes of applying or otherwise you can have problems if the surface remains tacky.
To access websites of manufacturers of tile cleaners and sealers, go to our website to select Cleaners and Sealers in the Resources column in Expert Answers. Good Luck.
12 thoughts on “How do I clean the smudges and stains off my tile?”
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Hi. We purchased our home in July and much of the kitchen in the living room has high gloss, shiny cream colored ceramic tiles. I have four dogs and in the past few months, have noticed smudges all over the tiles that’s have been very difficult to remove. There are also a couple of areas of optical haze but that is different than the smudging. What is the absolute best and most effective cleaner for smudges on high gloss ceramic tile? The realtor told us the tile was porcelain but I’m not sure if it is or not. We’ve tried tile cleaner, soap and water, ammonia, and vinegar and water but nothing seems to really work and I’m so unhappy with the floors. Thank you so much!
First you need to determine the source of the smudges. Were the smudges on the tile before they were installed? Or were the smudges on the tile after the installer installed the tile? Or did the smudges develop after you started using the tile?
If the smudges were on the tile when installed they shouldn’t have been installed if they couldn’t remove them. Sometimes tiles are packaged with a coating on its surface that prevents scratching during the tile’s transportation from the factory.
It is more likely that the smudges on the tile were caused by the tile installation thin-set or grout. If so they have cement cleaners and latex cleaners for removing cementitious or latex hazes. You can go to a tile distributor location to buy them.
If the smudges developed after you started using the floors then it must have something to do with what the floors were subjected to. Could be the cleaners that were used on it. Or maybe the tile was sealed that is causing the smudges. Once you know what caused the smudge then you can figure out what to use to remove it. It is possible that a tile can etch from too strong of an acid or the tile can be abraded causing damage to the tile surface. Those conditions can’t be repaired.
Hi we are building a new home and have purchased lappato tiles . After grouting them , & washing 3 or more times – there is still a very visible haze and wash marks , does this mean they are stained or could this still just be grout Residue ? Unsure what to do .
When you say lappato tiles, I assume it is a porcelain tile with a semi-polish/shine to it.
The questions are: first, was the haze there before you installed the tile? What kind of grout did you use e.g. cementitious regular grout or the cementitious polymer modified grout or an epoxy grout or a urethane premixed grout? What did you use to clean/wash the tiles with?
Depending on the answers to those questions, you need to test out some various cleaning methods to see what gives you acceptable results.
If there is a cement haze, you can use some diluted vinegar or a tile cleaner for that purpose to see if it removes it. If it is a latex haze there are special latex remover cleaners for tile that you can try. If by chance the cleaner you used to wash it etched the surface of the tile and it is a unglazed/thorough body porcelain tile, you can repolish/hone/lappato the surface.
It is also possible that the tile came from the factory that way. Some factories but a kind of a wax-like coating over the tile surface so it doesn’t scratch during transportation. It is suppose to come off during the grouting/cleaning process. Some polished porcelain tiles can have what is called an optical haze, which is caused by not polishing it properly at the factory. Normally you can only notice the haze under certain lighting conditions when the light is shining on it. In theory, if it is an unglazed/through body porcelain tile, you can repolish the surface.
I used a Magic Eraser on my ceramic tile and now it looks smudgey. How can I fix this? It looks awful. Thanks so much!
According to the internet the Magic Eraser is abrasive and it is not recommended to being used on shinny surfaces or any natural stone. So you might have scratch the tile surface and it might not be repairable. The Mr Clean Magic Eraser says it can be used on grout. There doesn’t seem to be any chemicals that it would have left on the surface of the tile to make it smudge. If the smudge area fills a little rough that might be an indication that you need scratch the tile surface. If so the only thing you can do is remove that time if you have replacement tiles.
Hello
We have only been in our new house for a few weeks and our kitchen floor is driving me mad! We have beigey cream Mat ceramic tiles and increasingly water like smudges appear aswell as scuff which are a nightmare to try and remove and at times impossible
Any advice would be greatly appreciated on how to clean smudges and scuff of Mat tiles?
To understand what may be the cause of the floor tile leaving scuffs and smudges, we need to know what kind of tile is it.
If it is an unglazed tile or even a polished unglazed tile there could be a sealer on the surface that is causing the smudges. Some mat unglazed tiles could be sealed. The unglazed or glazed porcelain tiles are very hard and not likely to have that problem. It could be a ceramic tile that is not porcelain and depending on what type of body or surface it has will make a difference.
Some tiles are textured that makes them more slip resistant, but those tiles will tend to pick up dirt and require more effort and frequency to keep it clean. In those cases applying a penetrating type sealer on the tile will make it easier to maintain.
I have travertine look porcelain tiles that I have just put on my bathroom wall, I can’t seem to get them clean, there are still streaks on them, that you can see on an angle, I want to seal them, but can’t until they are streak free
A porcelain tile doesn’t need to be sealed as it is impervious with less than 0.5% absorption. Sometimes people do seal them to help make it easier to clean, but it doesn’t last long.
The question is what is causing the streak. If it is a cementitious film then diluted vinegar should remove it. You can test a small spot to see if it works. If it doesn’t work then it could be a latex/polymer film. At the tile stores they should sell a latex remover that you can test out. Some manufacturers of tile do put a temporary coating over the surface of the tile so they don’t rub together in the box it came in. But that should remove with detergent in water, but only test a small spot to make sure it works before you clean all of the tiles.
Pamesa Matte Tresana Blanco porcelain tile was installed in my house about a month ago and after mopping several times with Bona, Vinegar/Water, and Simple Green (rinsing afterward), and nothing is removing the smudges and film. Is there anything else I can use that will help?
The name doesn’t indicate whether the tile is a glazed surfaced tile or a throughbody porcelain tile. Both are impervious, but they can react differently to different materials and conditions. The throughbody tiles can be polished and repolished if necessary. To determine what has caused the smudges you have to determine what caused them through trial and error.
Vinegar is acidic and can remove cementitious materials, but it won’t affect latex residuals or any petroleum based materials. If you use too corrosive of an acid it can etch the surface which chemically alters the surface of the tile. If it is a glazed tile there isn’t any way to remediate it. If it is an unglazed material it can possibly be buffed out. Best to only use products cleaning products that are specifically made for the respective material.