4 Wax-Free Ways to Make Tile Floors Shine

Tile flooring is among the classy flooring options with an ever-rising market demand. The flooring comes in a wide range of colors that blends fantastically with nearly all the stylish interior décor. Due to their resistance to abrasion and scouring, floor tiles are increase versatility in designs and interior décor. With tile flooring, your styles and patterns are endless as you can use them in the living room, kitchen, bathroom, and any other part of the house.

However, all tile floors can become grimy and dull when neglected. Tile floors lose their shine due to masking by stains, dirt and dust spread over it by the footwear. Even though many people use wax to shine tile floors, there are other ways to shine tile floors without wax. Below are some of the do-it-yourself means of making floor tiles shine without wax.

1. Soapy water

A mixture of soap and warm water can be of great help in this process. To make your soapy solution, you should add detergent into a mop bucket containing warm water and mix thoroughly to form a soapy solution. Once the solution is ready, you need a mop to apply the soapy solution in the following procedure.

1. Dip the mop in the soapy solution and wring appropriately before using it on the floor.
2. Mop the floor using the cleaning solution and a mop.
3. Replace the solution when it turns dirty to avoid leaving dirt streaks on the floor.
4. Use a soft brush or a sponge to scrub the stain spots gently.
5. Rinse the floor using clean water.

2. Baking soda

Baking soda may be useful in cleaning stains on the tile floor. The baking soda is one of the best cleaners that work well on stains and dirt. All you will have to do is to make your soda cleaning solution using the following procedure:

1. Warm two gallons of water and pour it in a mop bucket
2. In the warm water, add ¼ cup baking soda, one tablespoon liquid dish washing shop and ¼ cup white vinegar
3. You can also consider adding a few drops of lavender essential oil to keep your house with a fresh scent.
4. Mix the baking soda thoroughly with warm water to form a paste.
5. Allow the baking soda to settle on the tiles for about 10 minutes before rinsing the floor tiles with clean water.
6. Repeat the previous process in case of persistent stains on the tile floor.
7. Dry the surface to remove excess moisture.

3. Ammonia-water solution

Ammonia is one of the best floor cleaners with remarkable result in removing floor stains and restoring the shine on floor tiles. You can add a few drops of ammonia into warm water in a mop bucket and mix well.  After that, dip the mop into the cleaning solution and wring thoroughly to avoid excessive application of the cleaning solution. Thoroughly mop the floor, removing stains, dirt and disinfecting the floor at the same time.

In case of persistent stains, use a sponge soaked with the cleaning solution and scrub the stains gently. After cleaning with ammonia solution, you should rinse the floor adequately with freshwater and dry-mop the floor.

4. Use of vinegar solution

Vinegar provides a natural tile cleaning solution that is effective for both cleaning the soil and disinfecting the floor. When the vinegar dries up, it leaves a natural scent on the floor that makes the room smell fresh. Ensure the floor is swept clean before using the vinegar solution. The following steps will guide you on how to make a vinegar solution for cleaning floor tiles.

1. Ensure the windows are fully open for proper air circulation.
2. Mix a half-cup full white vinegar into two-gallons of water in a mop bucket.
3. Dip your mop into the cleaning solution and wring it up to avoid applying the excess solution onto the floor.
4. Thoroughly clean the floor using the solution while moving your mop in forth-backward motions to ensure that you remove all the dirt.
5. Dry-mop the floor using a clean towel to ensure you clean all the moisture and leave the floor to dry.
6. In case of stubborn stains, sprinkle some baking soda and scrub gently until the stain comes out. Remember does not mix the vinegar solution with any form of bleach to avoid health hazards.

Having the basic knowledge on how to make tile floors shine, you can make your effective cleaning solution at a lower price. You can make your choice from the above options or use a combination of some of the methods to maintain a shine on your floor tile surface. The techniques are simple to use, and the materials are available too at an affordable price. If you are not sure of how to work it out, you can use commercial cleaners.