QUESTION

How to Remove Bleach Stains from Mexican Tiles? - I have old (60-70 yrs) mexican tiles on my exterior front porch. It is not sealed and has many irregularities, which is ok for us. My housekeeper sprayed the wooden furniture with half water/half bleach and it has whitened and splotched the tiles. It appears to scratch off when dry, but returns to the original white bleached look. I'm pretty sure the bleach has gotten into the porous tile and I don't know what to do. HELP!

ANSWER

 ANSWER - There are many different types of Mexican tile.  There are the Saltillo Tiles, the Tecate Tiles, the Talavera Tiles, and many more.  I will assume you have the unglazed Saltillo or Tecate tiles.  The bleach could have stained/bleached the clay body of the tile.  Just as with fabric the color can be bleached away from the clay.  If that is the case then I would think that you could restain the tile.  You will have to experiment a bit.

Sometimes you can stain and seal these types of tiles with an oil such as linseed oil or even motor oil.  Some sealer manufacturers sell sealers with stains in them to make them more red or brown or etc just like they do with wood stains or concrete sealers.   You will have to experiment with it carefully to make sure you don't make it worse than what it is.

Before you start to test these stains out, first use a degreaser cleaner to thoroughly clean the tile.  Test this out too on a tile or two, that is out of sight, to make sure it gives you the results you are satisfied with before applying it to the entire floor.  Here is a list of manufacturers who produce Cleaners and Sealers. Good Luck.