Over time, scratches and wear, the tiles in the bathroom or kitchen tend to become dull, in particular because of limescale. The shine of yesteryear is now replaced by endless traces and a visibly dirty floor. The joints accumulate stains and lose their whiteness. However, sometimes you just need to know some good grandmother’s tips and cleaning products to restore a little shine to everything. So, how do you clean and degrease your floors while making them shine? A little elbow grease, a soft cloth and some economical and non-toxic natural products will make all the difference in renovating your old, tired tiles and making them shine without damaging them.
1) Keep the cooking water from the potatoes
When boiling potatoes in water, save the cooking water! Let it cool a little and use it to clean the floor. Indeed, his starch will help capture the fat which clogs the tiles to make them shine again. Preferably, do this trick once a month for brilliant shine and cleanliness.
2) Vinegar or lemon to make the tiles shine
Ecological and economical, white vinegar shines once again with its multiple uses! On old tiles, it degreases and erases dust, dirt and grime very efficiently. And what’s more, it has an effect powerful anti-limescale for regular maintenance of tiled floors or for heavy cleaning. This helps remove limescale deposits tarnishing the tiled floor. The easiest way is to use it when mopping the floor. To do this, pour between 4 tablespoons and two cups (depending on how dirty the floor is) into a large bucket of hot water and start scrubbing!
And if you can’t stand the smell, replace it with the juice of a few lemons. Lemon juice indeed shares the same properties. Pour it pure on the floor and leave to act for 2 hours before rinsing. Lemon can also be combined with salt to remove a rust stain on tiles.
3) Baking soda to remove stains
Baking soda is one of the most popular natural products for gentle abrasive effect. In fact, it acts a bit like very fine sandpaper which allows you to erase stains that can tarnish tiles. It is ideal on terracotta, ceramic, stoneware or cement tiles. To use it, simply sprinkle a little on your damp sponge. Then rub.
4) Linseed oil to shine dull tiles
Some materials need to be nourished and therefore become less shiny. This is particularly the case for terracotta, cement and even ceramic tiles. And of all the natural ingredients, flaxseed oil is undoubtedly the better cut to feed these slabs ! However, be careful: only a few drops on a clean cloth will be enough to make the tiles shine without turning it into an ice rink. SO, have a light hand and allow the oil to permeate the floor well as it dries. You can then reapply if necessary.
5) Milk or window cleaner!
We don’t know which of these two solutions is more unusual! Of course, window cleaner is chemical based, which is not ideal. However, it allows make a light or white tile shine like no other. Just add a little to the bucket with your usual cleaning products to mop the floor. Then rinse well. As for milk, it is undoubtedly the ally of dark or colored tiles. Pure milk is poured on the ground and rubbed to spread it all over the ground. Then simply let it dry and remove the excess and buff with a clean cloth. To finish, wipe with a cloth soaked in vinegar water.
6) Black soap, especially for matte tiles
Black soap helps clean, nourish, protect and add shine to tiles lacking shine. In addition, there is a type of ready-to-use black soap with linseed oil allowing the soil to be nourished even more effectively. Its use is easy: just dilute it in hot water like vinegar and use this soapy water for cleaning. It will also help remove stains. Good to know: Clay stone can also revive matte tiles!