The best way to clean and maintain cement tiles

If spills are not quickly cleaned and dried then its possible that your cement tiles might become stained. Drinks such as wine, coffee and tea can stain cement tiles whilst common foods like tomato sauce, lemon juice and oil can also lead to the sealant becoming worn and the cement tile becoming stained. To deal with particularly stubborn stains on your cement tiles, we would first of all recommend deep cleaning the tiles using a product like Lithofin Powerclean diluted 1:5 and using a white emulsifying pad. This process can be repeated until the desired effect is achieve. If this doesn't work to remove the stains, the next step would be to strip off the sealant using a product like Lithofin Wax Off, deep clean the cement tiles using Powerclean, then re-seal using Lithofin Stainstop MN. Your cement tiles should be given the opportunity to fully dry out between each step of the process. As a final resort, these tiles can be sanded using a very fine grit – we would recommend consulting with a professional to carry out this kind of work – please get in touch for recommendations.

If cared for properly, your cement tiles will last for a long time. The beauty of cement tiles is that they can be stripped sanded and re-sealed, a bit like stone or wood, so even if your cement tiles have built up a lot of dirt, they can easily be restored to their former glory. Clean up spills immediately and make sure to sweep up and dirt and debris on a daily basis. We suggest mopping your cement tiles every week with clean water mixed with a squirt of Lithofin Easy care. Most importantly, you should never use any acid or bleach-based cleaning solutions because this can degrade the sealant a permanently damage cement tile surfaces.

As a general rule of thumb, we recommend resealing every 12-18 months. If you have laid your cement tiles in a wet area, such as on a shower wall, or in a wet room, we would recommend re-sealing cement tiles every 12 months, and periodically cleaning with Lithofin Powerclean in order to prevent any limescale build up. Your cement tiles should have been laid with a coat of Lithofin Stainstop MN before grouting and an another coat of Stainstop after grouting and making sure that any grout residue has been removed by Lithofin Powerclean. If this has been done correctly and you have been maintaining your tiles with Lithofin Easycare, then re-sealing should be a simple process. To achieve the best result, we suggest stripping any old sealant of Lithofin Wax Off, then give the tiles a deep clean with Lithofin Powerclean. Once your cement tiles are fully dry, you can re-seal them with Lithofin Stainstop MN. We recommend two coats. In non-wet rooms such as hallways and kitchens we think that a final coat of Lithofin Multiseal will help to keep your tiles clean and shiny.