How to Install Tiles on a Concrete Basement Floor?

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At first glance, installing tiles might seem like tough work. Indeed, very few people choose to install their tiles themselves during renovation, instead choosing to let a professional handle it. If you want to tackle the job yourself, a basic overview can help you on your way.Pick the right tile. Concrete floors are dull, drab and boring, but oftentimes people lack the time or the necessity to lay down an alternative floor. Most often, concrete floors are seen in basements and other out of the way places. However, if you choose to remodel your basement and need a new floor, the first thing to consider is what type of floor you need. Several varieties of tiles, including ceramic and vinyl, can be used; choose the one that best suits your anticipated use.Clean the concrete surface. This is a vital step of the project. Accumulated mud, dirt and other debris must be removed completely to ensure that the tiles are laid properly and stick to the concrete. For this purpose, be sure to use a commercial or industrial strength cleaning agent, along with lots of water and a brush.Perform the concrete repairs and leveling. To lay an even surface, the underlying concrete needs to be uniform and level as well. To achieve this, get rid of any protrusions, bumps or cracks in the surface. Using sandpaper to level the bumps and concrete and other fillers to stop cracks, you should be able to get a smooth surface. Be sure to wash it after this is done and let it dry.Plan the layout. After preparing the surface, plan how you intend to lay down the tiles. Depending on size and shape, you can have a wide variety of patterns to choose from and you may even decide to get creative with your patterns and create something original. Be sure to plan this out carefully before starting the actual work to ensure that there are no mistakes.

How Cleaning Grout?

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Use 1 part bleach to 10 parts water on white grout. Whiten discolored white grout by mixing a solution of 1 part bleach to 10 parts water. Scrub grout with the solution and thoroughly wipe all bleach off with a water dampened sponge. Dry the area completely by wiping with a clean cloth and directing a fan on it.

Disinfect tiles grout with a vinegar and water solution. Mix a cleaning solution of one part water to one part white vinegar to clean tiles grout. Dip a scrub brush in the cleaner, scrub for about 30 seconds and rinse all vinegar off your stone with a water dampened sponge. Repeat with vinegar solution and water, until your grout is clean as a whistle. Dry the area with a clean, soft cloth.

Dissolve tile grease with acetone. Cooking grease, milk spills and makeup splatters don’t stand a chance against acetone. Dip a cotton ball in a small amount of acetone and lightly dab any oil-based stains. Immediately flush the area with water from a dampened sponge.

Wash water-based stains on tiles with hydrogen peroxide and ammonia. Get rid of stubborn stains from coffee, tea or pet urine with hydrogen peroxide and ammonia. Rub a small amount of 12% hydrogen peroxide and a drop of ammonia on stains with a soft cloth or sponge. Rinse the area immediately with a water dampened sponge.

Use a poultice on resistant stains. Stains that do not want to disappear with regular cleaning and stain removal techniques require the use of a poultice. Make a paste out of cleaner and a powder, like talc, powdered chalk or dry kaolin clay. Spread the mixture over stains a 1⁄4 to 1⁄2 inch (0.64 to 1.27 cm) thick, cover with plastic wrap, and let it sit for 24 to 48 hours. Mix a 1⁄2 cup (120 mL) baking soda with 1 tablespoon (15 mL) water for oil stains. Mix a 1⁄2 cup (120 mL) talc with 1 tablespoon (15 mL) acetone for water-based stains.

How to Clean Stone Tile Floors?

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Stone tile floors are a great investment, because they’re durable and beautiful. Plus, crumbs and dust bunnies are often hidden by the natural stone variation. Fortunately, since they’re so durable and naturally beautiful, cleaning stone tile floors is straightforward. Regularly clean them with a soft mop and gentle cleaner, scrub the grout, and remove stains if you need to.

Sweep with a soft broom every day. Dirt and crumbs can build up and potentially scratch your tile, so make sure you sweep it up every day. Use a soft bristle broom and a dustpan with a rubber edge. Make sure your vacuum has a hard floor setting. If you want to use your vacuum on your stone tile floors, make sure it has a hard floor setting. Look under your vacuum to be sure it doesn’t have rotating brush heads either. Don’t scratch your stone tile floors!

Mop with a soft sponge or mophead weekly. Keep grime at bay by mopping stone tile floors weekly. Use a soft mop head or sponge and don’t drench the floors with water. Dampen a mop with the cleaning solution and wash dirt away. Use diluted general floor cleaner on harder stone floors, such as granite and slate. Use stone cleaner on softer stone, such as marble and limestone.

Use a stone cleaner on soft stone. Marble and limestone can scratch easily, so make sure you mop them weekly with a stone tile cleaner. Strong cleaner will damage the surface of soft stone. Purchase a specially formulated stone tile cleaner at your local home store, or ask your tile dealer for a good recommendation.

Scrub grout with a soft brush. Use a soft scrub brush to get to spaces between tiles. Use a stone cleaner on soft stone and try an all-purpose cleaner on granite and slate. Dip a small to medium-sized brush in your cleaner of choice and scrub grout vigorously. Wipe cleaner off with a water-dampened sponge.

How Knocking Out the Tiles?

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Locate a broken tile or section of loose grout. Look for pieces of tile that have chipped or are cracked around the edges. Another good place to start is at any spot where the grout has started coming loose. This is the spot that will be easiest to start removing the tile.

If there isn’t a chipped tile or loose grout, try to start loosening a tile at one of the ends of the floor, or hit the middle of the tile with your chisel so that it breaks. Hold a chisel underneath the loose tile at a slight angle. Try to situate the chisel under the tile at an angle of about 30 degrees so that you can easily lift it from the ground. Use a masonry chisel that’s about 1 in (2.5 cm) wide for best results.

Hit the chisel with a mallet to lift the tile from the floor. As you hit the chisel, the tile should begin to separate from the ground. Continue hitting the chisel until the piece of tile you’re working on completely breaks. The tile might not come off in one solid piece, so don’t worry if it splits and breaks into smaller pieces as you’re chipping away. A small sledge hammer also works instead of a mallet.

Continue removing the tiles using a chisel and mallet. Move on to the next piece of tile, situating the chisel under the tile and hitting it with the mallet. Repeat this process to lift the tile from the entire floor. Once you remove the first few pieces of tile, it’ll be much easier to maneuver the chisel underneath the next pieces. This process will likely take a while, so be patient and go slowly so that you don’t injure yourself.

Strike the top of the tile with the chisel if it’s not breaking easily. Place the end of the chisel right on top of the tile and hit the opposite end with the mallet. This should break the tile, making it easier for you to remove it at a new angle. Move the broken pieces of tile out of the way so that you can reach the attached pieces more easily.

How Taking out a Single Tile?

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Remove the grout around the tile with a grout saw. Grout saws resemble utility knives and are used to remove grout surrounding tiles. Hold your grout saw firmly in your dominant hand and work around the tile you want to remove. Use long strokes as you apply firm pressure to cut into the grout so the tile comes up easier. Grout saws can be purchased at any hardware or home improvement store.

Hit the tile with a hammer to loosen it. Set the hammerhead directly in the center of the tile. Lift the hammer up and bring it back down in the middle of the tile with a firm amount of pressure. This helps loosen the tile more and break apart some of the adhesive on the bottom. For larger tiles, use a 3–5 lb (1.4–2.3 kg) sledgehammer.

If your tile is smaller than 3 in × 3 in (7.6 cm × 7.6 cm) and you don’t want to damage the ones surrounding it, drill 5 holes in an X-shape through the tile with a carbide masonry drill bit. Use a hammer and a chisel on the holes to chip the tile out.

Pry up the edge of the tile with a chisel. Slide the end blade of your chisel underneath the tile and pull up on the handle to lift it. If the tile is still stuck, hit the end of the chisel’s handle with your hammer to break apart your tile. Work slowly so you don’t accidentally chip any of the tiles next to the one you’re trying to remove. If you don’t have a chisel, use the back of a claw hammer to lift and pry the tile off of the surface.

Use your chisel to scrape off the mortar. Set the chisel blade on the surface next to the adhesive mortar. Apply a firm amount of pressure to the chisel, working in short back and forth motions to scrape the mortar off. Once you’ve removed it all, use a vacuum to get rid of the residue. Make sure the surface is completely smooth or else you won’t be able to lay another tile in flat.

How to Clean Tile and Grout?

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This article details a way for tile owners to clean tile themselves. Cleaning floor tiles for the do it yourself is a difficult, but doable project if the proper steps are taken. Assemble the necessary tools. A grout brush that is made to go down into the grout while you are standing up. A hand held pump up sprayer (it does not need to be chemical resistant) A mop of some kind to remove the slurry you will create (or a wet/dry vacuum)

The proper alkaline or acid grout cleaner. Do not try to get the most aggressive acids or alkaline chemicals. Find an approved cleaner, perhaps at a local janitorial supply house. Mask areas you might be concerned with that could be harmed by chemicals. Stainless steel appliances need to be masked with plastic and taped. Carpet needs to be protected.

Sweep or vacuum area to be cleaned. Mix cleaning solution according to manufacturers directions. If you want to truly do your best you will use both an acid and an alkaline. If you have heavy grease use the alkaline first, if not use the acid first.

Apply solution to the grout joint and scrub with the grout brush. Use plenty of solution and let it dwell for at least 10 minutes, but do not let the solution dry. Add more if it is drying too fast, but keep it wet for 10 minutes at least. Your biggest advantage – beside using the correct supplies, is to let the chemical dwell. Dwell time is your friend.

After 10 minutes mop up slurry with clean water. You may also use a wet vac to remove slurry. Additional agitation with grout brush may be necessary. We suggest using microfiber mops. Repeat process if you are using alkaline as well as acid cleaners.

When your grout dries, if it is really clean, you may wish to add a sealer. We recommend a water based sealer as they are easier to work with when applying to a grout joint. Take care not to get sealer on the tile as it can form a sticky residue that will attract soil to the tile. If it is not really clean we don’t recommend you seal it because you will be essentially sealing the soil you couldn’t get off under the sealer, and if you are able to get it cleaned professionally in the future it will hamper that person’s effort. Do not use a topical, acrylic, mop n glow or any product designed for vinyl. Find an application tool to apply the sealer, and apply it to the grout only.

How Cleaning Grout in Tile Flooring?

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Try using a pencil eraser to wipe the tiles. This household trick is great for cleaning small sections of stained grout. Simply run the eraser of a number 2 pencil over the stain until it is gone. Use a clean white or pink eraser. Sandpaper or an abrasive grout tool may be more effective for stubborn surface stains.

Use baking soda. Make a paste with baking soda and water. Apply it to the dirty grout using an old toothbrush. Scrub the paste into the grout well. Wash the grout with warm water when you are finished. Most dirty grout can be brightened using this natural method. For the tougher stains, allow the paste to sit for a few minutes before you start scrubbing.

Use bleach to remove stains that are more difficult to remove on tiles. If natural methods don’t work, try a bleach solution. Mix a 75/25 solution of bleach and water if your grout is white. If the grout is colored, you will have to use plain water. Do not use bleach on colored grout as it may remove the coloring. Use a toothbrush or the edge of a sponge to clean the grout with the solution. Rinse the floor with warm water after you are done to remove all traces of bleach.

Be careful to not get the bleach solution on the tiles. While using the bleach, wear a pair of rubber gloves to protect your hands. After the floor is completely dry, carefully apply a coat of grout sealer to the grout between the tiles to prevent it from absorbing dirt in the future.

If you don’t like using bleach, you may be able to find a commercial grout cleaner that will be stronger than a natural cleaning product. However, check the label to make sure it doesn’t list bleach as an ingredient.

How Deep Cleaning Techniques?

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Mop the floor with warm water and a vinegar solution. Mix 1/2 cup vinegar with a gallon of water and proceed to mop as usual. If the floor still doesn’t look as clean as you would like, mop the floor again using fresh water and detergent.

Rinse the floor with clean warm water after you are done washing it. It is important to remove all residual soap from the tiles so it doesn’t remain on the floor to attract and hold dirt. Do not use vinegar or chemicals on marble flooring. See How to Clean Marble for information on safely cleaning stone floors.

Remove stains from tile floors. Prepare a paste using a 50/50 mixture of scouring powder and warm water. Rub the paste on the stain using a clean cloth, and then allow it to sit for five to 10 minutes. Scrub the area with a soft brush, then wash the area with warm water and a cloth to remove all remains of the paste. Repeat the process if the stain is still visible. If a spill is left to sit for awhile, it can stain your tile floor.

Clean mildew from tile floors. Prepare a 50/50 solution of water and ammonia. Scrub the area using a soft brush and the ammonia solution. Rinse the floor with clean water after the mildew is gone. Tile floors in bathrooms tend to get mildew sometimes. The best prevention method is to air out the room after you’ve showered and keep the floors dry. If mildew does accumulate, an ammonia solution should take care of it. Put on a pair of rubber gloves to protect your hands. Also, make sure the room is well ventilated.

Remove rust spots from tile floors. Put on a pair of rubber gloves to protect your hands. Dampen a clean cloth with kerosene. Rub the rust stain away using the kerosene rag. Wash the area with warm water to remove residual rust and kerosene, then repeat the process if the rust is not entirely gone. You probably won’t have to do this often, but if you do, cleaning with kerosene does the trick on rust.

How to Clean Tile Flooring?

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Tile flooring is a durable choice for kitchens, bathrooms, and other areas of the home that might get wet from time to time. With the proper care, tile flooring can look like new for years. Learn basic tile flooring care, deep cleaning techniques, and how to clean stained grout. These techniques are appropriate for both ceramic and faux tile flooring. However, don’t over clean or use too much soap, which can cause streaking or soap film on your tiles.

Sweep or vacuum the floor daily. This removes loose dirt, food crumbs and other pieces of debris that can accumulate on tile floors. Dirt that is allowed to sit in wet areas can quickly turn into hard-to-remove grime. You should also sweep or vacuum the floor before mopping or cleaning it.

Run a dry cloth duster or dust mop over the floors after they have been swept. If you have marble or natural stone flooring, make sure you use a soft broom for sweeping. A rough broom can scratch natural flooring. Mop the floor with warm water. If the floor doesn’t have stains or require heavy cleaning, running a damp mop over the floor will be sufficient to keep it clean. Cleanse the mop in fresh warm water after mopping one section of the room, and repeat until the entire floor is mopped.

You may opt to add a small amount of dish soap to the mix to pick up everyday dust and debris. For everyday shine, simply run a clean damp dusting cloth over the floor, or consider using a dry mop such as a Swiffer. Dry the floor. Whether you use water or water mixed with detergent, run a dry mop over the floor in small sections as you work across the room with your mop. This will prevent new dirt from quickly accumulating and staining the grout.

Clean up spills promptly. If you drop a glass of juice or even water, clean it up right away. The longer it sits, the more time it will have to soak into the grout. Dried orange juice and other sugary liquids also tend to become annoyingly sticky.

Clean the dirtier spills with disinfectant. If your pet has an accident or you drop raw meat on the floor, spray a disinfectant directly over the spot and wipe it up right away. If possible, limit the disinfectant to the area where the spill occurred. Strong chemicals may degrade or stain tile flooring.

How to Remove Floor Tile?

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Whether you’re doing a complete renovation or just need to replace a single tile, removing floor tiles is a relatively easy task to do yourself. If you have a smaller project, you can take out your tiles by hand. For larger projects, consider renting an electric chisel hammer to finish the job quickly. Once you remove all of your ceramic and its adhesive, you’ll have a clear and clean surface to start fresh!

Removing tile from your floor can be done with a few tools and dedicated time. By positioning a chisel under a tile, you’ll be able to loosen each one and remove the floor. Taking your time with this project will ensure you finish with a beautiful, tile-free floor. Don’t forget to wear leather gloves, a dust mask, protective glasses, and clothing that covers your arms and legs to prevent injuries.

Remove the grout around the floor tile with a grout saw. Grout saws resemble utility knives and are used to remove grout surrounding tiles. Hold your grout saw firmly in your dominant hand and work around the tile you want to remove. Use long strokes as you apply firm pressure to cut into the grout so the tile comes up easier. Grout saws can be purchased at any hardware or home improvement store.

Hit the tile with a hammer to loosen it. Set the hammerhead directly in the center of the tile. Lift the hammer up and bring it back down in the middle of the tile with a firm amount of pressure. This helps loosen the tile more and break apart some of the adhesive on the bottom. For larger tiles, use a 3–5 lb (1.4–2.3 kg) sledgehammer.