5 Tips to Keep Your Saltillo Looking Fresh

Saltillo tile has a natural beauty that is ideal for the Southwest aesthetic that is so popular across Arizona. Plus, the stone is durable and easy to maintain, which makes it a great choice for the desert environment, which is both dusty and full of gravel and other bits of debris that gets tracked inside. Saltillo stands up to damage far better than hardwoods or carpet would.

Yet you still do need to take care to keep your Saltillo tile looking fresh. Otherwise, the tile will look more like the dirt and clay you see outside instead of showing off its earthen tones in striations and gradations of reds, yellows, and oranges. Here are five things you can do to keep your Saltillo floors looking fresh and beautiful:

Sweep Every Day

Arizona is a dusty landscape. You may not think that your home is very dusty, but the dust is hanging right there in the air even when you can’t see it. The dust is settling over everything in your home, including your tile floors, and you won’t know it until enough has gathered for you to see it. By then, the dust has also settled deep into the pores of your tile and grout, making it all but impossible to get out. That dust discolors and damages your tile over time.

You might be able to rescue your floors with professional Saltillo tile cleaning, but it’s better to take preventive action instead. Sweep your floors every day to keep the dust and other debris off them. Sweep TWICE. Sweep thoroughly the first time, and then sweep again to get up any dust or dirt that is left behind. Trust us: There will be dust and dirt left behind, no matter how good a job you think you did the first time.

Vacuum after Sweeping

Know how we said that the dust settles deep into the pores of your tile and grout? Well, even if you are sweeping your floors twice every day, there will still be some dust down in there. It may take longer to notice the affects since you are not letting the dust build up as fast, but eventually, the floors will discolor, the grout will break down, and you may even get an odor in the room that you can’t seem to eliminate.

You need to vacuum your floors right after sweeping them. Doing so will get out as much of the dust as is possible without a professional tile and grout cleaning. If you hire a cleaning service, make sure they know how to properly care for tile floors. Otherwise, you’ll be putting in a call to a tile floor cleaning company to try to rescue your floors.

Mop

Even after you’ve swept twice and vacuumed, you need to mop. Fortunately, you don’t need to mop every day. But you do need to mop about once a week to get that lingering dust and other debris that clings to the tile and the grout. It’s important that you use the right cleaners so that you don’t strip the sealer from the floors or otherwise damage them.

When you mop, use two buckets: One with the cleaner and water solution and one with just water. Each time you need to re-dip the mop, rinse it first in the bucket of plain water. That way, you get more of the dirt off the mop and aren’t just dirtying the water with your cleanser.

Seal the Floors

Sealing penetrates the pores and cracks in the Saltillo tile and grout so that it creates a barrier against dirt and debris. The sealing makes it easier to clean the floors, and it protects the grout from damage, which protects the tile and the subflooring.

You should have the floors sealed once a year after you’ve had professional Saltillo tile cleaning performed. However, you should keep an eye on the sealant and have it performed earlier if it needs it.

Keep an Eye on Cracks

Saltillo is durable but not invincible. It can still be damaged. You can drop something and crack the tile. You can even crack the tile by vacuuming it carelessly or pushing a heavy piece of furniture across it. If the tile becomes cracked and you don’t notice it, the tile can allow dirt and other contaminating agents inside.

Keep an eye out for cracks so that you can have them filled or otherwise repaired as soon as possible. You may also want to put something on the floor to cover the crack until it can be repaired. Otherwise, it will be essentially impossible to keep the crack clean, and you can have bigger problems on your hands.

Following these tips will help you keep your Saltillo tile looking great. Then hiring a tile floor cleaning company once or twice a year to perform a deeper cleaning will ensure that the colors in the tile stay vibrant and that the structural integrity of the floor stays intact.

Desert Tile and Grout Care can help. We are a top tile floor cleaning company in Arizona, and we perform tile and grout cleaning for all types of popular tile, including Saltillo, travertine, porcelain, and ceramic. Our professionals can revive your stone, making it look nearly as good as the day it was installed. They can help to restore your tile floors and offer advice on a maintenance plan that will keep them looking great. Call us in Arizona today to schedule your tile and grout cleaning.