Ceramic Tile Flooring: A Historical Overview

There is a fascinating backstory to ceramic tile flooring. Ceramic tile flooring has a rich heritage that stretches back to distant civilizations. Institutional buildings like schools and government offices, residential buildings of all sizes (from apartment complexes to single-family homes), and places of worship like mosques and cathedrals are all examples of the many places and cultures where you might find them. The fact that clay, a naturally occurring substance that is abundant in supply, can be easily turned into a floor tile that is long-lasting, aesthetically pleasing, and requires little in the way of upkeep through relatively straightforward production processes like baking or firing explains its extensive historical use. The diverse range of ceramic floor tiles showcases the versatility of colorful glazes and decorations. From simple terracotta tiles to elaborately patterned flooring, there is something for everyone.

Because they come in standard units that can be easily adjusted to fit rooms of different sizes, ceramic floor tiles have a long history of appealing to homeowners.

A ceramic is any non-metallic substance that may be transformed into a solid by subjecting it to high heat during the firing process, including clay.

The evolution of ceramic tile flooring. Production process for tile

Clay can be worked into plastic when it’s wet; it loses its plasticity when it dries; and it becomes permanently hard when it’s baked or burned. Clay soils, which include sand, clay, and silt, are common places to find it combined with sand and is scattered throughout a large geographic area. Even though pure clay can be exposed by erosion on occasion, it is often not a surface deposit. Even within a single region, there are various types of clay. Some clays are better suited to certain forms of pottery than others due to their unique combination of properties, such as color, texture, hardness, lightness, and flexibility.

It is feasible to create the precise mixture of clay required for an application by combining different types of clay and adding other substances. Yet, crazing—the formation of tiny fissures in the tile glaze—or warping—the tile itself—are examples of expensive manufacturing issues that can arise from using the incorrect kind of clay. Because they burn to a beautiful white mass, perfect for decoration, chalk clays have long been the material of choice for many varieties of ceramic tile. To make the clay or grog harder, you can add calcined flint. If you want to make it more aerated, fire it faster, and reduce shrinkage, you can add ground burnt clay.

A variety of processes can be employed to create ceramic tile.

These include extrusion, compacting, powder-pressing, cutting from a clay sheet, and molding inside a metal or wooden framework. Quarry tiles are extruded, in contrast to the dust pressing process used to make most ceramic floor tiles (traditional encaustic, geometric, and ceramic “mosaic” tiles, among others). Encaustic tiles are formed by pressing dust, and what makes them unique is that the patterns aren’t just placed on top of the tile; they’re actually “incorporated” into it.

To avoid warping, the tile is dried slowly and uniformly after creation. A specialized kiln is used to maintain a consistent high temperature for 30 to 40 hours, reaching up to 1200°C. Raising the temperature makes the glazes and tiles denser and harder. To achieve a vitrified or grass-like look and low porosity, most ceramic tiles simply require a single firing. However, some, especially those with elaborate designs, may require numerous firings. The significantly larger porosity of unglazed and semi-glazed tiles is a result of the lower firing temperatures used to create them.

The Origins of Ceramic Tile Floors. Ceramic Tile’s Era

The Middle East and Far East have been using ceramic floor tiles from 4th century BCE. The Romans introduced tile manufacturing to Western Europe as they conquered the regions. But these masterpieces were forgotten in Europe for centuries until, in the 12th century, Cistercian monks developed a method to make encaustic floor tiles with inlaid designs, which were used to cover the floors of churches and cathedrals. Unfortunately, this skill was once again lost during the Reformation of the 16th century. Except for carefully decorated wall tiles made in Turkey and the Middle East and Delft tiles made in Holland in the 17th century, ceramic floor tiles did not resume production in Europe until nearly the middle of the 19th century.

When the fabled ship of Herbert Minton was an innovator in the field of encaustic tile manufacturing who greatly impacted the contemporary tile industry. The “dust pressing” technique, which was introduced in the 1840s and entailed compressing very dry clay between two metal dies, had a profound impact on the sector even further. Because dust pressing could substitute the labor-intensive hand-forming of tiles from wet clay, the ceramic tile industry was able to become more mechanized.

In 1843, the contemporary tile business was established by Herbert Minton, who brought back the long-lost technique of encaustic tile manufacturing in England. The “dust pressing” technique, which included putting almost dry clay between two metal dies, shook up the business in the 1840s. As a result of dust pressing, the tile industry was able to mechanize its hitherto labor-intensive process of creating tiles from wet clay.

Ceramic Tile Flooring: A Historical Overview Progress in American Tile Manufacturing

Although plain, unadorned ceramic tiles had long been the standard flooring material in many parts of the Americas, particularly in Latin and South America, it is probable that the North American colonies did not begin producing these tiles until the late 16th or early 17th century. But ceramic tile flooring first became popular in the US in the Victorian period. The ornamental tile industry in the United States peaked in the 1930s, having begun in the 1870s.

Ceramic tile floors were prominent in the United States at the time because of the work of the famous architect and critic Andrew Jackson Downing. Because of their practicality, especially in vestibules and entrance halls, Downing recommended encaustic floor tiles for residential usage in his 1850 book, The Architecture of Country Houses.

The 1876 Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia, which included ornamental floor tiles from Europe and even a few American states, considerably facilitated the adoption of ceramic tile floors in the United States. Most ceramic tiles, with the exception of floor tiles used mainly for their practicality, were originally imported from England and were first accessible only to the affluent Americans due to their exorbitant price. But when English tile merchants realized an opportunity for a profitable export, they wasted no time setting up agents in big American towns to manage their American company. Actually, by 1890, English imports had dropped drastically due to the growth of the American tile industry spurred by an almost monopoly in England in the 1870s.

Ceramic and ceramic tile manufacturers were free to choose their locations based on a number of factors, including the accessibility of raw materials like kaolin, feldspar, and china clay.

The factory’s success or failure was typically dictated by this, as the high cost of shipping goods meant that profitable sales could only be made to certain locations. Although the United States Pottery Company in Bennington, Vermont, is recognized to have manufactured encaustic tile as early as 1853, the first commercially successful American tile company, the Star Encaustic Tiling Company, later known as the Pittsburgh Encaustic Tile Company, began producing ceramic tile in 1876.

There were at least twenty-five ceramic tile manufacturers in the US between 1876 and 1894. Several prominent Eastern tile manufacturers, such as Low Art Tile Works, Chelsea Keramic Art Works, and Grueby Faience Company, were founded at this time in the Boston region. Several companies were founded on the East Coast around the beginning of the twentieth century. These included the International Tile & Trim Company in Brooklyn, New York; the Trent Tile Company, the Providential Tile Company, the Mueller Mosaic Tile Company, and the Maywood Tile Company in New Jersey; and the Moravian Pottery and Tile Works in Doylestown, Pennsylvania.

Ohio, Indiana, and Michigan were hotspots for manufacturing expansion in the Midwest. During the latter part of the nineteenth century, Zanesville, Ohio, was the center of tile and ceramic manufacturing on a global scale. Among the many industries that called Zanesville home were the following: the Mosaic Tile Company, the Zanesville Majolica Company, the Ohio Encaustic Tile Company, and the J.B. Owens Pottery, which evolved into the Empire Floor and Wall Tile Company. Among Zanesville’s earliest and most prosperous enterprises was the American Encaustic Tiling Company, which opened for operation in 1876. It was the biggest manufacturer in the country before it collapsed in 1935, during the Great Depression.

Ceramic Tile Flooring. Global tile manufacturer. It was a major manufacturer of both functional and aesthetically pleasing floor and wall tiles.

A few more prominent Midwestern pottery enterprises are Pewabic Pottery in Detroit, Michigan; Cambridge Art Tile Works in Covington, Kentucky; Rookwood Pottery in Cincinnati, Ohio; and the United States Encaustic Tile Company in Indianapolis, Indiana.

Around the start of the twentieth century, tile setters started opening pottery shops throughout the West, which led to the expansion of the business. Joseph Kirkham started the ceramic tile industry on the West Coast in 1900 when his Ohio business burned down. He did this at Tropico, California, at the Pacific Art Tile Company. From 1904 until its dissolution in 1909, the firm was known as the Western Art Tile Company. In 1904, it underwent a name change. At the turn of the twentieth century, additional businesses sprung up in the Los Angeles area and the rest of Southern California. The Arts and Crafts-style tile was a hit in the 1920s and 1930s for the Pasadena-based firm Batchelder & Brown, which later became Los Angeles’s Batchelder-Wilson.

The Golden State had risen to prominence as a major American tile producer by the early 1940s.

Ceramic engineers, potters, and artists frequently changed employment and even went into business for themselves after losing their jobs. Acquiring a ceramics company, rebranding it, adding new products, and putting an old factory to new uses were all regular occurrences for corporations. Consequently, a great number of today’s successful companies may be traced to those pioneering firms.

The Development of Ceramic Tile Flooring and Its Impact on the Tile Market

The majority of American ceramic floor tile was encaustic before 1890, but as time went on, more and more companies started making diverse kinds of tile. Manufacturers of ceramic mosaics, such as the Trent Tile Company, began making both white and colored tiles in the middle of the 1890s. The Grueby Faience and Tile Company introduced a variety of faience glazes in 1894, which other potteries swiftly replicated, and white vitreous wall tiles were another option.

At the start of the twentieth century, a lot of ceramic tile manufacturers had their own engraving departments, and some even employed commercially printed designs that were already in stock. Oftentimes, a corporation will recruit well-known designers to work on a limited range of products. Because these designers worked for multiple companies in a row, competitors were able to copy their designs. (The name of the maker or designer would typically be the only marking on the back of an old ceramic floor tile.) It was also feasible to purchase pre-mixed glazes and colors by the end of the nineteenth century.

This was a tremendous boon for potters who, up until then, had to make their own dyes and glazes.

Much like the nineteenth century, the twentieth saw tremendous growth in the floor tile sector. New materials, advanced technology, and decorative techniques were all part of modern manufacturing procedures. There were a lot of improvements in the sector following WWII. Traditional dust-pressed tile production took over 70 hours in the kiln, while modern commercial production can finish, package, and ship in under two hours. Conveyors automatically and uniformly applied the colored glaze as they transported the dried, unglazed tiles to the tunnel kilns. The uniform thickness and size of the tiles were further guaranteed by the extrusion process.

The Origins of Ceramic Tile Floors. Modern Ceramic Tile

The year 2000 saw a decline in the use of encaustic floor tiles, particularly in residential construction. The rise of ceramic mosaic tile flooring is thought to have contributed to its demise. Encaustic and other ceramic flooring materials fell out of favor after rubber floor tiles were introduced in 1894 and other, longer-lasting flooring options were introduced. Lighter, thinner, less brittle, and less expensive than before, these new materials were also easier to install.

A discovery that made it easier to install such small tiles contributed to the widespread usage of ceramic mosaic tiles in the 1930s. After being mounted in ornamental patterns on 12 × 12-inch sheets of paper, the tiles were marketed ready-to-install in cement. The tile installer had an easier time of it, and this probably had a role in ceramic mosaics were in high demand. The lobbies of both public and private buildings began to have intricate mosaic floor patterns. Smaller, white, unglazed tiles in round, square, octagonal, or hexagonal forms were marketed for their hygienic qualities, particularly for usage as bathroom flooring, in contrast to larger, rectangular, glazed tiles that were utilized for bathroom walls or paneling. Colored tiles, particularly in wet areas like kitchens and bathrooms, were also quite trendy.

In private households, entryways, dining rooms, living rooms, and even small workplaces would frequently feature quarry tiles, which were larger and thicker compared to other ceramic floor tiles from the same period. Since artistic tiles were no longer in vogue, most people regarded floor tiles more as practical characteristics than major ornamental components by the 1930s.

Ceramic Tile Flooring: A Historical Overview Varieties of Ceramic Tile for Floors

The thickness of ceramic floor tiles from the past varied substantially according to their intended use and the time period in which they were manufactured. Harder and thicker were the floor tiles as compared to the ceiling and wall tiles. The original purpose of kiln tiles, which can be several inches thick, was to trap heat during the kilning process. In comparison to their mediaeval equivalents, which were roughly an inch thick, Victorian encaustic floor tiles were sometimes rather thinner. With the exception of a few art ceramic tiles, the modern 20th century’s tiles are the thinnest because of the advanced manufacturing procedures. To improve the tile’s bond strength, the backs of most (but not all) ceramic floor tiles feature raised (or occasionally recessed) ridges, circles, or squares.

Ceramic Floor Tiles: Glazed and Unglazed Tiles Through Time

Ceramic floor tiles can be either glazed or unglazed. Some types of tiles that do not have a protective coating on them are quarry tiles, encaustic and geometric tiles, and ceramic mosaic tiles. Glazed ceramic floor tile is another popular option.

The Origins of Ceramic Tile Floors. Ceramic surfaces without a glaze

Quarry tile is the simplest form of antique ceramic floor tile. A machine-produced variant, initially made from stone quarried by hand, uses the extrusion process. Pitched clay slabs cut into squares or rectangles and baked in a kiln are called quarry tiles. They might be vitreous, semi-glazed, or even unglazed. Due to the clay and, to a lesser degree, the fire’s temperature and duration, quarry tiles take on organic earth tones, grays, reds, and browns.

The thickness of the tiles can be anything from ½” to ½” and they come in both square and rectangular forms. There are squares measuring 3″, 4⁳, 6″, 9″, and 12″; rectangles measuring 6″ x 12″, 6″ x 9″, 4⁳ x 9″, 3″ x 6″, and 3″ x 9″; and hexagonal forms measuring 4″ x 8″.

A less intricate and typically heavier variety of stone tile is paving stones or slabs. Typically, they lack a gloss and are somewhat thicker compared to stone tiles. Paving stones manufactured by machines are often dust-pressed or extruded, and they are either vitreous or semi-vitreous. The stones used for paving in southern Europe and Mexico are not vitreous; they are natural.

The Origins of Ceramic Tile Floors. Marble and Encaustic Tiles

An exquisite, time-honored method of creating unglazed floor tiles, dust pressing yields encaustic tiles.

Blue, brown, and white encaustic tiles laid out in a broad circular design. Both classic and contemporary designs can be found on encaustic floor tiles. The decorations can wear down with time from all the foot traffic.

One defining feature of encaustic tiles is the inlaid pattern of decorative designs that occurs throughout the production process. This is in contrast to the majority of ceramic tiles that include surface decorations or embossed designs created using molds. At first, the mold with a relief design on the bottom was used to press a thin layer of fine clay, around ¼ inch thick and nearly as dry as powder, into the tile’s surface, forming a depression. Coarser clay was spread over the bottom layer, and then finer clay was spread over that. The tile’s body became solid and its surface became fine and smooth thanks to this “sandwich” that also prevented the tile from warping.

The clay “dust” was compacted using presses, and the final tile featured an indented or concave pattern on top. After that, the matrix was removed by inverting the mold. Colored the tile after it had dried or pigmented liquid white clay. It was necessary to wait for the paste of each color to dry before adding another. Overfilling the recess allowed for shrinkage. A rotary knife was used to scrape off the surplus slip before firing, resulting in a surface that was flat but slightly uneven. It was a lengthy procedure.

Layers of clay

Because different types of clay shrink at different rates, inlaid clay can either become dirty from the pigments in the design being unstable or contaminated, or it can shrink too much and fall out of the tile recesses.

The dust pressing technique was the exclusive method for making encaustic tiles from nearly dry clay in the 1840s. This allowed for the usage of many colors on a single tile while preventing the tile body from being colored. The intricacy of the pattern and color palette, therefore, can occasionally establish the date of an encaustic tile. Typically, buff and brown tiles came after red ones with white figurative patterns. In the 1860s, buff or yellow designs took the place of the traditional blue tiles with subtle color combinations of “chocolate” red and soft grey. As early as 1860, it was possible to use up to six different colors on a single tile.

Intricately designed tiles in pink, green, blue, black, and white, as well as white encaustic tiles with black or gold patterns, were fashionable at the century’s end.

Traditional and distinctive motifs were decorated on encaustic tiles. The tile was not inlaid but rather covered with opaque colored glazes that depicted multiple elaborate motifs. The majority of the major tile producers’ catalogs featured numerous pre-formed encaustic floor tile styles. Encaustic tiles were available in a wide range of sizes, the most common of which were square and octagonal, and practically any pattern could be made to order. During the nineteenth century, encaustic tiles were usually somewhat thinner than one inch, or around fifteen sixteenths of an inch. Tiles of lower grade and cheaper quality were also made using clay or cement.

Patterns comparable to those on encaustic tiles were applied using transfer printing, multi-color lithography, or screen printing. Produced until this day, they continue to enjoy immense popularity on a global scale.

Patterned Mosaics

In English, “geometric tiles” mean little encaustic tiles of a single color that, when put together, form a pattern. On the other hand, encaustic tiles are frequently mistaken for them in the US. Shaped after the geometrical components of a six-inch square, they were often rectangular, square, triangular, or hexagonal, and their thickness was comparable to that of patterned encaustic tiles. Decorative borders worked wonderfully with geometric tiles because to their wide range of forms, sizes, and colors. A variety of floor designs could be achieved by using them alone or in conjunction with patterned encaustic tiles. The production cost of geometric tiles was significantly lower than that of encaustic tiles since each tile only required one kind of clay and one color.

Around the turn of the nineteenth century, geometric tiles came in a rainbow of colors and shapes, ranging from buff and beige to salmon, light grey, dark grey, red, chocolate, blue, white, and black.

Ceramic Tiles for Mosaics

Typically, ceramic mosaic tiles come in a variety of shapes and sizes, including square, rectangular, oblong, hexagonal, pentagonal, and trapezoidal, and their diameters range from half an inch to two and a half inches. The typical thickness is less than 1/4″. There was an infinite variety of glazed and unglazed mosaic tile colors available, as well as solid and varied tones with a matte finish. The use of a mold to provide the impression of recessed mortar joints (grouts) separated the individual “mosaics” was another option for single-piece tiles.

Reflective Tiles

The only ceramic floor tiles that aren’t often glazed are mosaics, encaustic tiles, and quarry tiles. Glaze, whether glossy or matte, is what gives glazed tiles their color; oxides, dyes, and pigments added to clay give unglazed tiles their color. The distinctive glazes used by some ceramic styles have contributed to their widespread renown. On the most well-known and long-standing As a decorative technique, tin glazes—basically translucent lead glazes—were employed on clay tiles. The tiles were dipped or brushed with glaze to cover their surfaces.

Glazes were usually made by grinding white lead, flint, or china clay with finely powdered metal oxides. A common name for colored glazes was “enamels.” Blue came from cobalt, green from copper, purple from manganese, yellow from antimony and lead, and red and brown from iron. Opaque glazes were made using tin oxide.

Putting in Antique Ceramic Floors the Old-Fashioned Way

With the exception of better equipment and materials, installation methods have hardly altered much since the middle of the nineteenth century. An 1857 method for laying geometric and encaustic tiles was given by M. Digby Wyatt, an architect for the leading 19th-century British maker of encaustic tiles, Maw & Co.:

The tiles were set on a level brick foundation, a 2.5-inch layer of gravel and quicklime, or a combination of clean, sharp sand and Portland cement. Tiles were set in position by removing the old floors, cutting them into little pieces, and inserting them between the joists if the floor was wood. Concrete filled the spaces, brought the base level with the joists’ tops, and smoothed out the surface to within an inch of the finished floor line, making it flat. Next, a small amount of cement mortar was spread. Since the tiles were able to fill the same area as the old flooring, the job was done.

It is recommended to remove the skirting boards before laying the tiles and then replace them afterward. Because of this, the exterior tiles didn’t have to be precisely cut, and the end result looked cleaner.

In order to divide the space into four equal halves, the floor plan was then marked out using a mason’s string or chalk line. A pair of guides, each four inches broad, were used to mark out the initial section. A consistent coating of cement separated each of these sections. When the tiles were fully immersed, they were set in the cement and leveled using a straightedge. In order to lay the tiles properly, it was required to maintain the subfloor wet. In order to keep the complicated designs simple, movable wooden battens were temporarily positioned at right angles to the guides.

When the seams were dry, they were filled with a creamy mixture of clean cement mortar that was occasionally colored with red ochre, lampblack, or another natural shade. The tiles were rubbed clean of any excess mortar using a sponge or cloth.

Until the cement had fully cured, it was not safe to walk on a newly installed tile floor for at least four or six days. Periodic washing could eliminate the salt sludge that frequently formed on the surface soon after the tiles were installed.

Techniques Used in the 1900s

Nearly half a century later, in 1904, American tile makers attempted to standardize tile installation by publishing recommendations for the process. It was very much like Wyatt’s counsel. Some things were different, though, including the foundation being made of clay blocks and heavy felt being used to shield the flooring from the wet mortar mixture. A long-lasting tile floor was made with the finest cement, sand, and water. Soaking the tiles before setting them was no longer needed, but a tougher mortar was suggested to keep it from rising in between the tiles.

Towards the end of the twentieth century, new materials and technology brought about a dramatic shift in the methods used to lay tiles. During the 1920s, a paper “skin” was used to hold together 12-inch sheets of small ceramic mosaic tiles. Because of this, the 12-inch square of tiles could be laid in one continuous pattern instead of being set in little pieces. When placed straight into the cement, the tiles stuck really effectively. The tile installer had a hard time seeing if the tiles were straight due to the paper that was stuck to the surface. Leaving the paper in place until the tiles were completely bonded made leveling mismatched tiles more challenging.

An alternative to the paper “skin” was a mesh backing made of cloth. This made it possible to swiftly remove a single tile from the mesh and relocate it, and it also made it possible to level the tiles as soon as the bonding agent’s wetness loosened the mesh on their back. Fabric mesh accelerated the bonding process, but it also reduced the area of contact between the bonding layer and the tile backing, which could result in a weaker bond.

Ceramic Tile Flooring. Methods for Making Ceramic Tiles Following WWII

To facilitate the installation of novel materials including expanded metal, polyethylene, reinforced concrete, and waterproof plywood, a number of methods for laying ceramic tile subfloors were devised in the 2000s. Furthermore, the introduction of innovative grouts and adhesives has simplified the process of installing tiles, and the availability of a greater variety of cementitious and epoxy mortars has allowed for the customization of bonding layer thickness. After fifty years of practical usage, several of these “new” materials—including oriented strand board, plywood, particleboard, and other wood panels—are no longer approved for use with ceramic tile.

Lighter, more pliable, and significantly thinner than before, the mortar layer’s thickness has dropped from several inches to a mere 3/32 inch. Waterproof membranes and bonding agents are among the many materials used in the installation of ceramic floor tiles. While the specific methods for laying tile may differ according to the subfloor, the fundamentals remain the same. While problems with adhesion and uneven subfloors persist, the ease and speed with which tiles can be installed represent a significant improvement in tile installation technology.

The present technique of chopping off the original floorboards and inserting them between the joists to maintain a low profile floor often leads to cracked tiles and other failures. If the existing floors are in good enough shape, you can use a cementitious backer board (CBU) to lay the subfloor before you lay the tiles. The thickness of the CBU can range from ¼” to 5/8″.

Ceramic tile flooring: a historical overview. Cleaning and Sealing Ceramic Floors

Prior to performing any work beyond routine maintenance or very minor repairs on any historically significant ceramic tile floor—or any historically significant floor that has sustained substantial damage—it is advised to seek the advice of a professional ceramic conservator, historic architect, architectural historian, or chemist who specializes in this area. This will make sure that all future work, from simple upkeep to more involved repairs and renovations, follows the guidelines set out by the Secretary of the Interior for the care of historic assets.

Ceramic Tile Floors: A Historical Outline. Methods for Cleaning

Ceramic tile is a practical and low-maintenance option for flooring. In high-traffic areas or areas prone to greasy, oily, or food stains, even glazed tiles can become stained and discolored due to their porosity. While most ceramic tile floors are easy to clean, particularly in particularly grimy areas, it may be next to impossible. Even something as basic as rinsing with warm water can be the most delicate approach to clean. As part of your regular maintenance, sweep, vacuum, and mop (dry or wet) as needed to reduce grit. Any soap-free home floor cleaner, or one of the many commercially available products designed specifically for cleaning ceramic tile floors, should do the trick when it comes to cleaning tiles.

One item in our inventory that can be used to clean ceramic tiles is BETOFF-U. The new universal cleanser is both safe and highly effective. The product is made entirely of cosmetic raw components and is completely biodegradable.

A look back at ceramic tile flooring

An all-purpose cleanser for ceramic tiles

Any cleaning or stain removal product should be tested in a small, inconspicuous area before usage. Because they can wear down the protective layer and ruin the beautiful pattern, abrasive materials and mechanical instruments are not recommended for cleaning ceramic tile floors. Powder cleansers and “gently” abrasive lotions are all part of this category. Because of the complex silicates in the glaze, acid-based cleaning solutions are often not recommended for use on ceramic tile floors.

Ceramic Tile Flooring. Restoring and Maintaining Ceramic Tiles

Older ceramic tiles require more care while cleaning. Ceramic tile floors can be cleaned and their coatings removed with the help of acid-based cleansers. To get rid of cement, lime, or mortar stains and discolorations, an acid-based cleanser may be required on occasion. Nevertheless, it is recommended to do a pre-application test, use caution, and restrict application to completely wet tile surfaces that have had any surplus water removed.

Such BETOFF-BIO is an entirely tile-safe liquid that may be used to remove surplus lime and cement slurry or cement mortar.

Ceramic Tile Flooring. Removing dry concrete with a liquid

This is BETOFF-BIO. Cleaning solution for ceramic tiles that dissolves cement slurry and cured concrete

When cleaning ceramic tile floors, make sure to use the cleaning solution according to the manufacturer’s instructions for wetting the floors first. Chemicals and other cleaning products will not be able to penetrate the porous tile since it is soaked with water. It is imperative to properly rinse floor tiles thoroughly following cleaning.

Ceramic Tile Flooring: A Historical Overview

You can use plastic pot scrubbers to remove surface debris and grime from stoneware or glazed tile without damaging the surface. If you’re having trouble removing oil stains, scratches, or grime from tiles, try using ammonia or a tile cleaning spray. You can gently clean pre-moistened tiles with a solvent if needed, but be cautious not to leave them wet for too long or they will discolor. It is always helpful to know what kind of filth it is before deciding which product to use to remove the stain. A growing number of people are of the belief that ammonia should not be used. Our company’s cleaning products are made with solely biodegradable, surface-safe ingredients. Products from the BETOFF brand are both very effective and completely safe to use.

Ceramic Tile Flooring. BETOFF-U

Another option is to use BETOFF-U liquid for organic dirt removal, such mould. Scrubbing the floor with a nylon or natural bristle brush and rinsing it with clean water may be required after applying this cleaning solution.

A whitish mist of salts that dissolve in water can cause efflorescence, which can cause streaks and stains on ceramic tiles. Additionally, BETOFF-U liquid can be used in this situation.

Before doing any other basic maintenance on ceramic tile floors, be sure to vacuum the floor thoroughly to remove any loose dirt or grit. After that, apply a mild cleaning solution and let it sit on the floor for ten to fifteen minutes; do not let it dry on the tiles. Use a nylon or natural bristle brush to scrub particularly grimy areas of tile to eliminate dirt. Lastly, use two passes of clean water to thoroughly scrub the floor. If needed, dry it with terry cloth towels. Always read and follow the manufacturer’s directions while using proprietary cleaning products.

Ceramic Tile Flooring. Cleaner for grout. Grout, cement, and mortar cleaning

Use BETOFF-F grout cleaner if you want a thorough cleaning without getting fatigued. Scrubbing is unnecessary with our revolutionary grout cleaner. After you apply the liquid to the grout, use a sponge or cloth to remove any dirt that has been dislodged from the grout.

Ceramic Tile Flooring. Using impregnated ceramic tiles

Except for wax, traditional ceramic tile floors probably wouldn’t have gotten any kind of treatment or protective covering. While linseed oil may have been used to coat some encaustic tile floors in the 1800s, it is no longer advised because of the dirt and grime it attracts with age. The majority of antique ceramic tile floors have developed a sheen or “polish” from years of foot traffic. Additional protective coatings are typically unnecessary on ceramic tile surfaces due to the baked-on coating or glaze’s inherent protection from the elements.

Opinions differ on whether ceramic tile floors, particularly historic ceramic tile floors, are suitable for protection from waxes, penetrating sealers, and protective coatings. Coatings are only useful for interior floors and, when applied properly and maintained, can be an effective maintenance option. Despite their claims to make ceramic tile floors in high-traffic areas easier to maintain, these coatings can actually make traffic patterns more noticeable as they wear or get scratched. Additionally, the coating can crack or make the tile look foggy if not done properly or if the tiles aren’t thoroughly cleaned before its application.

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