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.