How to Clean Tile Floors & Brick Floors
Tile and brick floors are found mostly in the kitchen, the bathroom, the foyer, on screened in porches and around the fireplace. Keeping these areas clean should be part of your housekeeping ritual. Cleaning tile and brick floors involves physical work, but when done properly your floors will be left looking shiny and new. Does this Spark an idea?
Things You'll Need
- Bucket
- Water
- Mop
- Sponge
- Latex gloves
- Citric acid
- Vinegar
- Broom
- Dust pan
- Dry cloth
Instructions
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Cleaning Tile Floors
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1
Using your broom and dust pan, sweep the tile floor thoroughly, making sure you sweep up all of the dust, hair and dirt.
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2
Combine 1 cup of citric acid with 1 1/2 gallons of hot water in a bucket.
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3
Soak the floor with the water/citric acid mixture. To do this, dip your mop into the mixture then run it over your floor until the surface appears wet.
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4
Scrub stains with your sponge. According to How to Clean Things, as the tile floor soaks up the citric acid mixture, the stains and tough spots will be easier to scrub clean. Wear latex gloves for this step to protect your skin.
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5
Rinse the floor with clean hot water. To do this, empty your bucket and rinse it out. Rinse out the mop too. Fill the bucket with clean hot water. Dip the mop into the water and wring the mop out thoroughly. Run the mostly dry mop over the floor to soak up the citric acid and water mixture. Rinse the mop out and dip it back into the water. This time, don't wring the mop out all the way and run it over the floor to pick up and rinse off the last bit of the water/acid mixture.
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6
Let the floor dry completely before walking on it.
Cleaning Brick Floors
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7
Use your broom and dust pan to sweep up all of the dirt and dust from the brick floor.
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8
Mix 1 cup of vinegar with 1 gallon of water in a bucket.
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9
Dip the mop into the mixture and wring it out completely. Spread the damp mop over the brick floor to clean away dirt and stains.
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10
Use a dry towel to go over the damp floor. According to How to Clean Stuff, this will help the floor dry without streaks and will give the floor a nice dry, shine.
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1
Tips & Warnings
Citric acid can be purchased online or at a store that sells organic products.
Baking soda can also be used to clean stains on tile floors. Mix water with baking soda to create a paste, then scrub the stain with the paste and rinse it off with a vinegar/water mixture.
The cleaning techniques mentioned above are intended for floors that have been sealed. For unsealed floors, it is not recommended to get them wet; just use a broom to keep them free of dirt and dust.
