How To Clean Mexican Tile Floors – Mexican is very difficult to work with, mainly because it is a very crumbly clay and partially fired, unlike its Spanish or French equivalents, which are completely fired and consequently much less crumbly. Although difficult to maintain, they are full of character and colour, so it is understandable why they are so popular.
This Mexican floor was installed in the kitchen and garden room of a house in Elswick, near Preston, about twenty years ago. The house had recently changed hands and the new owner wanted to renovate the floor in the courtyard, which had previously been carpeted and had now lost its color due to the dirt inside.
How To Clean Mexican Tile Floors
Some of the pictures show that the tiles were very dirty, so I knew that this floor really needed a deep clean to get the dirt out. I think the best way would be to apply tile doctor oxy gel and let it absorb This product is a stronger gel version of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean, a popular tile and grout cleaner, and requires a lot of time. It’s time to thoroughly break down the remains of the sealant, the matte glue and the dirt from the clay cracks.
Handmade Cotto Dark Natural Terracotta Tile
The product was then worked into the tile and grout using a black scorer mounted on a rotating floor buffer that slowly rotates. It worked as intended and now the dirty cleaning solution is removed from the floor by the wet vacuum. After this, the tile should be rinsed with plenty of water to remove all dirt and product residue I wanted to make sure that any residue from the alkaline cleaning solution was washed out of the soil pores, as if we left it in the soil it could cause problems with the new seal.
The floor was allowed to dry completely, which can take some time, so after sealing the floor a moisture meter reading was taken first so we could be sure it was completely dry. This is necessary because excess moisture can cloud the sealant and destroy its performance
Our sealant of choice is Tile Doctor Seal & Go, which provides excellent surface protection and the deep gloss finish the customer desires. The sealant is also water-based, so you won’t get that solvent smell when it dries
As you can see from the pictures, the end result was amazing and it just goes to show that even a twenty year old floor can be renovated and look almost new.
Tips To Keep Your Floor Tile Looking Like New
Amazing results on a tile floor that had a carpet on it so it was covered in glue and very dirty. Don’t hesitate to use them again A property in Whithampstead, near St Albans, had a Mexican tile floor laid in the kitchen several years ago. It was originally set and sealed using the classic Mox method and was still impossible to clean.
We began the cleaning process with Tile Doctor Pro-Clean Solution to remove excess dirt and grime from the tile surface. This is then mixed with a mixture of Tile Doctor Remove and Go 50/50 and Nanotech Ultra Clean at low speed with a brush attached to a scrubber. This helped break and remove the remaining wax seals, returning Mexico to its original state The resulting solution was washed with water and cleaned with neutral tile cleaner, followed by two more water washes. A wet vacuum cleaner is very useful at this stage to remove the liquid from the floor
We left the floor to dry and came back a few days later to seal We started the process with a swish of Tile Doctor color that really helps bring out the color of the tile, followed by 6-7 coats of Tile Doctor seal and gore. A very porous tile by nature, so it is not uncommon to require seven layers I have lived on a salt tile floor (terracotta tiles) for over twenty years. I love it so much I installed it in my new home It takes a little extra care to keep it looking good and I had a hard time finding information on how to remove and seal it because there are companies that base their entire business on salted tile care and guard their secrets very closely.
Saltillo tile is a type of terracotta that comes from Saltillo, Coahuila, Mexico. They are made of mineral clay, which is very crumbly
Mexican Tile Cleaning
SECOND IMPORTANT: USE A WATER BASED SEALER NOT EPOXY!!! The only way to really clear it is to turn it off Over-the-counter floor cleaners only work with water-based sealants Plus, water-based sealants are so easy to apply and easy to clean *I’ve heard that sometimes the only way to remove an epoxy based sealant is to grind/sand it. Then it will be cheaper to replace the entire floor
I recently removed and sealed about 1000 square feet of 30 year old salt tile and had trouble finding a floor remover that would work. Due to environmental standards and liability issues, strips are becoming weaker So if you find a stripper that works, stock up!!
I found a good floor remover at Home Depot (after spending $100 on unnecessary strippers and chemicals), but I had to use it at full strength (against label instructions) to get it to work.
Dirty salt floors that look dull, worn, dark and in need of replacement can usually be brought back to life with a good scrubbing. Underneath the dirty seal is a “new” salt plate
Saltillo Tile A Mess To Remove; Use Electric Chipping Hammer
This Jeep Heavy Duty Floor Stripper is the only floor stripper (Home Depot sells it for about $10 a gallon) that I’ve used, but I had to use it all up to get results. The instructions say to mix 32 oz with 1 gallon of water for heavy duty removal I don’t have mine
Thinner – worked somewhat but was a sticky mess and I had to spend about 10 minutes per tile to get it off.
Products I tried that did not remove the seal: liquid plum, very strong engine degreaser, lye, bleach, various paint removers, tire cleaner, tire remover, denatured alcohol, every clean strip product and other highly toxic products. And hazardous chemicals…
I found that the Easy Off Oven Cleaner helped remove the sealant and wasn’t really sticky or sticky. Not the point of course!! Terribly toxic fumes, I’m sure. And using it is probably illegal in most parts of the US I don’t recommend it in any way, but sometimes desperate times call for desperate measures and I thought I’d share my findings. Use at your own risk 🙂
How To Clean Saltillo Tile
I have not rented or used a commercial floor polisher or sander No machine It was old school – get down on your hands, knees and scrubs
I only worked on four tiles once I put it on about four plates with a scrub brush and let it sit for about 30 seconds and then start scrubbing. You don’t need to scrub too hard, you’ll see the sealant start to build up
Above is a release agent (full strength) that is applied liberally to the plate Leave for about 30 seconds
Below: After 30 seconds, start scrubbing with a scrub brush (any semi-firm scrub brush is fine) and you’ll see the sealant begin to rise. All the white bits below are old sealant
Deep Cleaning 20 Year Old Mexican Terracotta Tiles Near Preston
Wipe it with a damp cloth You may need to repeat these steps for tiles with multiple seal layers or stubborn areas.
Let it dry and see how it looks After all the release agent is removed, you can clean the tile and grate with some soapy water.
You can still see some shiny spots on the top where the seal didn’t come In some cases it may be that the sealant just doesn’t want to come out No problem, just take more
Once you’ve removed the entire floor, give it a good mop with water and let it dry completely before sealing.
What Is The Best Saltillo Tile Cleaner At Home Depot
I have a post about rounding up a new Saltillo tile, but this is how I round up these old tiles. Remember to use a water based sealant!!! Below is the sealant I used from Home Depot, but you can get one
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