Porcelain tile with etching

[laterno]

Hello,

I hope to find some help on how to clean porcelain tile that I have in my foyer, hallways, and bathrooms. The tile is very light, nuetral in color. It's been installed for about two years. The problem is that when light hits the tiles in certain ways you can see all sorts of water spots, smudges, etching, etc. It also leaves marks when you have damp socks on and then walk on the tile and they won't clean off. It's driving us crazy because my wife is a clean freak and we can't figure out how to clean them. We have tried quite a few things but nothing works. We have to little ones and noticed that a recent vomit episode etched the surface. You can actually see where the vomit splattered on the tile.

We had a cleaning company out to our house not too long ago and he said he sees this all of the time and it wouldn't be a problem to get the stains out. I believe he would be buffing the floor but I'm not 100% sure. He also said that after he cleaned it, the same thing would happen over and over, so to us it didn't make much sense to pay the money.

Does anyone have any suggestions as to how I can fix this problem or am I stuck with these issues as a result of the tile we chose? Any help would be appreciated.

Thank you,
Lee

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[doitright]

Hi Lee, Welcome! :)

Is this polished porcelain?

What have you been using to clean the floor with?

Pictures would help, but because of forum rules, you need a few more posts.

[laterno]

It is not polished. I believe it is just glazed.

As far as cleaning, we have used just water, windex, and several nuetral stone and tile cleaners.

I will try and get some pictures and post tomorrow.

Thanks,
Lee

[thegroutguy]

It sounds like you might have epoxy grout left on the tile. Contact the contractor if you can!

[Trask]

Can you really etch porcelian?

[laterno]

OK, sorry for the delay but I was having camera issues. I have attached 4 pictures that hopefully show the problem. When light hits the tile you can see smudges, splatters, etc. I don't think it is epoxy grout because after the tile was first installed it looked great.

It is so bad, for example, that after I come in from washing the car and my socks are a little damp the tile shows every foot/toe print from that point on. It's like it becomes permanent. Again it's only when the light hits at certain angles, but still aggrevating nonetheless.

Please let me know what you think from the pictures. I could really use some help to try and fix this problem.

Thanks,
Lee

[Davestone]

Yes you can etch porcelain but it ain't easy.The socks leaving marks makes me think you have build up on the tile.If you are cleaning the tile but not rinsing well,or using a wetvac you have problems.I'd say you should try a neutral tile cleaner with a buffer and a black pad,let the cleaner dwell on the tile awhile hit it with the buffer, then use a wetvac to clean it up, then rinse and see what you've got.Also,a cleaning co. could use the buffer and a pressure extractor that would do wonders on it. :bow:

[laterno]

Is the cleaning with a buffer something I should try myself or should leave to a cleaning company? Also, if I were to hire a cleaning company, what can I do to prevent this from happening in the future. Because when I had the cleaning company out originally and he gave me the bid, he said that the same thing would happen over time. If that is the case then it doesn't make much sense to spend the money to have it done in the first place.

[Trask]

My first reaction is that it's sealer residue or as Davestone said some type of build up residue or solids left behind from cleaning. It does look like an "etch splatter " in the first photo.

[doitright]

Hi Lee :)

I suggest you try a few simple Tests. First try some acetone on a problematic area, with a white (no print) paper towel.

You could also do a TEST with vinegar (and white paper towel).

Another TEST can be with Aqua Mix Nano Scrub.

Was your floor ever sealed? If so, you you could have problems with the sealer etching.

Personally, I'd do all these TEST's by hand, avoid a buffer, and the black pad for now.

Let us know what you come up with.

[Trask]

John I've not heard of sealer etching. What is it and how does it happen?

[laterno]

The photo that shows the splatter next to the baseboard is a splatter from where my 2 yr old got sick and we could not get her to the bathroom in time. We cleaned it up immediately and the splatter marks still remained and would not come up.

I do not believe the actual tile was ever sealed. They sealed the grout but not the tile. Is it common to seal porcelain or ceramic tile? I thought that was only done with stone, granite, etc. type tile. I will try some of these tests and see what the results are.

Thanks for all of your responses! It gives me hope that I may be able to getting these tiles back to their original look.

Thanks,
Lee

[doitright]

Hi Trask :)

No sealers are totally acid resistant. If a sealer is applied to a dense surface, it will act like a topical coating. Depending on the strength of the acid, it can literally burn the sealer off the surface.

Hi Lee :)

Did you watch your floor grout get sealed? It's not uncommon for the floor tile to get sealed (even though the grout was the main target).

[laterno]

Hello John,

I am about 95% sure he only sealed the grout. I was here but wasn't watching the whole time. If somehow he did seal the tile as well, where does that leave me? Is that a bad thing if they sealed the tile?

Lee

[laterno]

Also, where can I buy acetone...HD, Lowe, etc?

[Davestone]

It's not a bad thing if they sealed the tile other than creating the problem you have now.Even if they only sealed the grout they may have inadvertantly wiped the sealer over the face of the tile when they wiped the grout lines,kind of sealin the face of the tile,or rather putting a coating of sealer over it creating the problem you have.You may have to strip the sealer to cure this problem.I like using the pad and buffer myself, it saves a lot of time.Try a straight white vinegar and a towel on that vomit stain, see if it cleans it up,apply the vinegar wait a couple minutes,scrub it a little, then wipe with clean water,wait for it to dry and see what you've got.You can buy acetone anywhere.

[laterno]

OK, here are some results from two cleaning tests. I did the tests on the tile next to the baseboard with the vomit splatter stain.

Acetone: The acetone dissolved / disappeared right away (almost like when water is applied to an oil stain). I went ahead and scrubbed and then cleaned with paper towel and clean water. After it dried, the splatter mark was still there, so it didn't help.

White vinegar (crystal distilled, 5% acidity). Did the same as above and after it dried, the splatter mark was gone! So it worked!

From those results, does anyone have any suggestions as to what is on the tile surface? Do you suggest that I just clean all of the tile in this manner? And once cleaned will this type of thing keep happening or is there a way to prevent it from happening? I'm willing to do whatever it takes, just as long I can get these tiles looking great again. It would be a great Christmas present for my wife!

[Davestone]

It's obvious whatever it is be it sealer or something else an acidic cleaner will remove it.Now if it's sealer you will need to reseal of course if you want to,but just seal the grout not the tile.Anyway,i think a tile and grout cleaner any type will work,or you could use sulfamic acid crtystals in water.Whatever you use just let it dwell a few minutes, use a scrubby pad(i like a blue or black) or acid brush and mop it up, or wetvac it, then rinse well.

[doitright]

Hi Lee :)

There's no reason to not continue what you're doing with the entire floor. Follow this with a rinse of ammonia and water (1 part ammonia to 3 parts water). Don't worry about the grout for now. See how the floor holds up to future staining, etches, footprints, etc. Maintain the floor with a tile & stone specific neutral pH cleaner.

[laterno]

Just wanted to stop in and say thanks to everyone for their help. I really appreciate it. I took a few pictures to show how the tiles cleaned up. The first one by the baseboard is the same tile that had the vomit splatters shown earlier in the thread.

For now, I just used the vinegar and it worked pretty well. I think come springtime I may get some use some stonetech restore and see if that does any better. Do you think the "restore" product is the best choice in the stonetech line of products?

Thanks,
Lee

[Davestone]

Glad to hear it worked,i amaze myself. :clap1: Don't know about the Restore, but you didn't tell us there was polished marble in the floor, hope it wasn't etched.

[GeorgeT]

Hi Lee -

Restore is a great acidic cleaner for ceramic tile and grout and would probably do a great job of cleaning the rest of your tile.
However, it will also make short work of the polish on a marble tile.
If you want to keep that shine on the marble, please don't use the Restore.

[laterno]

I did not use the vinegar on the marble knowing the acid would ruin the polished finish. I taped it off to make sure it did not get on the marble. So when I use the restore product I would make sure to do the same.

[doitright]

Hi Lee :)

I'm glad to hear you had the common sense or knowledge to not use the vinegar on the marble. As long as you protect the marble (tape isn't a guarantee), the Stone Tech's Restore is an excellent product for use on the porcelain tile. I still like to neutralize afterwards.

[laterno]

Even though I taped it off, I still was very, very careful not to get any on the tape/marble. So, it worked out and nothing got on the marble.

Dave and John, thanks for all of your help!!! The tile looks great.

PS. Since being cleaned, I can now do my Tom Cruise "Risky Business" slide across the tile. My wife loves that :)

Happy holidays to everyone!

Lee

[doitright]

Hi Lee :)

That's what this forum is all about. Our pleasure :tup2:

Speaking of Tom Cruise, I just finished watching Mission Impossible III ! :D

[sam999]

hello all,
It looks like a nasty messy tile to clean, have you found any help with it yet?

Did you try the vinegar test, that would be my best guess for it?

Or I was was thinking that you could ask someone in the hotel industry, maybe they know some good cleaners. Just a thought for you to try or check this site for information as well----

[doitright]

Hi Sam, Welcome! :)

The problem was solved. Check post #20. ;)

[Catharine]

Hi there,
I have massive (24 x 36) porcelain tiles in my new home and am having the exact same problem with the water marks. The tile is a matte finish, which I think even shows the problem more prominently. Did you conclude that the problem was that there was residue on the tile which was being smeared around? I have tried diluted vinegar, steam cleaning, the hottest water possible. It's a large area and I'm wondering if I should get the professionals in. Has the problem been recurring for you?
Thanks
C