Cleaning and Maintaining your Ceramic Tile The easiest and best thing you can do for your floor is to remove loose dirt by sweeping or vacuuming often; this will protect your floor from scratching. Also beware of abrasive cleaners that can scratch or otherwise mar tiles. Your tile can be mopped or spot cleaned with clear water or a mild cleansing solution. Make sure that your cleaning product is safe for tile floors, while ceramic tile is very durable and fairly impervious to household cleaners the grout may be discolored if the cleaner contains bleach, ammonia or chlorine. Hardware and grocery stores sell many appropriate cleaning products for your tile. Home centers and tile specialty stores also make products designed specifically for cleaning tile. It is important to follow all of the manufacturer's instructions. If your tile is a natural stone such as granite, marble or travertine then clear water is the best cleaner. If something stronger is needed then be sure to use a product specifically designed for cleaning natural stone. Sealing, Cleaning and Maintaining Grout Grout is the cement like material used to fill the joints, or lines between each tile. Penetrating/Impregnating Sealer: You can seal your grout after the floor installation is completed, this is recommended especially if your floor gets a lot of traffic. Sealing the grout will help prevent staining. You should use a penetrating or impregnating sealer. The sealer can be applied directly to the grout with a sponge, brush or a handy applicator bottle that is designed specifically for that purpose. Sealing the grout will not affect the color of the grout but it simply prevents the absorption of moisture and helps prevent discoloration or staining. It will also simplify maintenance. There are many different grades of sealer available. Sealers are usually rated based on the maximum useful life of the sealer once applied to the floor. The longer it is expected to last the more you should expect to pay for it. You will have to reapply the sealer periodically depending upon its rating, your maintenance of the floor and the amount of traffic to the floor. You should refer to the sealer label for information regarding durability and technical product information, warnings and warranties. There are a variety of grout sealers available at your local home centers and specialty tile stores. Grout Maintenance: Even sealed grout needs to be cleaned regularly to remove surface build-up. Routine grout cleaning can be done with household cleaners as long as they do not contain acid, bleach, chlorine or ammonia. Don't use a cleanser like Comet (contains bleach) or Clorox. If heavy-duty grout cleaning becomes necessary, you can use a professional strength Tile & Grout Cleaner that to remove grease, soap scum, body oil, mildew stains, algae, and synthetic or acrylic waxes from the grout joints. Such a product can be purchased from most home centers. Grout Color Restoration: If your grout cannot be returned to its original color through cleaning, you can color it with a grout stain. This type of product is designed to permanently seal and color your grout. Prior to applying the grout stain it is necessary to prepare the grout as specified by the manufacturer. Home centers and specialty tile stores carry a variety of colors that most homeowners can apply themselves.