QUESTION

How can I remove stains and scratches from my polished porcelain tile? - We recently bought a new home and purchased polished porcelain floor tiles. We noticed that they have a white haze on all of them and won't come off. We also had the painters dropped stain from painting the staircase and it absorbed into the tile. By scrubbing them to get off, they scuffed them. Should we get these tiles buffed to remove scuffs. Stain never came off. thanks

ANSWER

ANSWER - I don't have enough information to know what the white haze is on the tiles. Generally speaking the installers could have not cleaned the tiles properly when they completed the installation, which caused the haze. If it is a cement film then a slight acid cleaner should be able to remove it. If it is a latex haze that was caused by the latex or polymer in the adhesive then it will require a latex remover. There are various cleaners that can be bought for removing hazes on tiles. Go to our website at www.CTaSC.com to Expert Answers to find Resources and click on Cleaners and Sealers for a list of manufacturers.

Paint should not absorb into a polished porcelain tile. Porcelain should be less than 0.5% absorption. If it is in fact absorbing into the tile then maybe it isn't a true porcelain tile. Some porcelain tiles have microscopic pores where some materials can get trapped into, but I would not expect pain to do that. Normally you can easily remove paint with paint thinner and razor blade.

It is also odd that the polished surface scratched. Most porcelain or granite polished surfaces are very scratch resistant. Either they over scrubbed it or scrubbed it with the wrong material or maybe the tile is not a true porcelain and has a softer surface that is easier to scratch.

I would have an experienced stone restoration company (not a floor covering cleaner who doesn't specialize in stone) try to clean and re-polish the tiles. They normally have a lot of experience at removing stains, and they have the equipment to re-polish the tiles. Good Luck.