Vinegar in water works well for ceramic tile, so I believe it should also work for what you have. You can still use soap with it, but soap leaves a residue and vinegar doesn't. Vinegar is also used with baking soda in laundry to help with stubborn odors.
I don't have saltillo, but I have lots of tile in my house and I would HIGHLY recommend getting a Shark (it's a cordless vacuum that is rechargeable). You can get them at Home Depot, I think and they're around $50. I've had mine for over a year and it works great. I personally hate sweeping, so I love my shark, and then I do a good mopping once a week with vinegar and water.
Hi Faith,
My name is Lisa Gonzales and I own a small business too. I know how hectic the schedule can get. I am a Mom too so I can relate. But about your floors... I use to be in business with my sister and we specialized in floor refinishing, mainly saltillo tile. Saltillo can be a really beautiful floor covering but it is also one of the most high maintenance floors you can have installed. I know you purchased the house with the flooring already so this was not a full I want it kind of choice. Faith you have three choices: 1. Call a professional, my sister still is in business. Her name is Gail Gonzales of Custom Floor Finishers (575)650-4123 she is the best in town. She is the person most contractors call when someone else has made a mess of thier customers floors. It does cost a bit more to have anybody come in and do the work but with saltillo this is your best choice. 2. You can take care of the floor yourself by cleaning or stripping it down and refinishing it with a special waterbase or solvent based sealer. But here again if you don't know what you are doing or know the products it can be very intimidating and time consuming. 3. Give it a good clean with an industrial strength cleaner and seal it very well. The thing about saltillo is that once you get it cleaned up and sealed right it can be as low maintenance as using a dust mop daily which is much quicker than sweeping. and maintenance cuts back once you have layered enough sealer properly to coat the floor good enough. I said saltillo is high maintenance earlier because it is if it is not sealed properly. once it is then you can drop maintenance to the regular dust mopping and once a year sealing in high traffic areas. Should you have any other questions regarding your floors I can be reached at [email protected] or you can give Gail a call and she could answer or give you a free quote on your floors.
My mom has alot of tile and she uses a steamer. She found this to be easiest for cleaning (once a week) She also has a shark sweeper and this works well on tile and hardwood. When she sweeps she uses a dusting syle broom not a traditional broom. It looks like a mop kind of and keeps everything form just being spread around. Good luck!
Be thankful you do not have carpet. Get yourself one of those long droopy looking mops( very wide one) and eithr spray it with furniture polish or just a cleaning solution and go over the floor once every other day. Make sure to do this before or after the kids are in bed. Things will not stick to the floor. One thing I found to be very helpful is to let the kids be involved and get a reward system so they will be willing to help you and get something in return. Whatever you do since you are stuck with the floor do not see it as a downer, enjoy it I know I enjoy mine.
I would use a swiffer wet jet or a clorox ready mop they are really good at getting the crumbs and the sticky spots. i had the same kind of tiles and some wood floor in our house when my youngest was 4 months old and if i set her on the floor to play her clothes would be black after a few minutes. The clorox ready mop was a little better for me the floors seemed a little sticky after the swiffer dried.
I have all Saltillo in my house with 5 people as well. I use the vaccums that have the bare floor option and then I will use the swifter on the floors almost everyday but it fast and keeps them somewhat clear throughout the work week. On the weekneds I will use the hose on the vaccum to get the corners and then use the good ol fashion soap and mop. It also helps to have someone or yourself strip them down (they have the stuff at home depot) and then reseal them it helps to keep them clean as well, good luck I don't like to have dirty feet either.
We have brick floors, same kind of problem. I just have a simple vacuum and had the same problem you are talking about, I took it to a vacuum shop and got a special attachment for the hose to vacuum the floors with, it cost 15$! I use it for everyting, bricks, tiles, wood and the area rugs!!
RUGS, lots of huge and runner rugs!
actually, water is good maybe a mild disinfectant that is very diluted. if you use anything stronger it will wear out the finish on the tile faster. i use the swiffer sweeper on my floors and found it works the best. to clean up the messy stuff i use the swiffer mop. it doesnt affect the finish and it cleans great. i also have one for the wood floors, they have a special cleaner for that one . i have 3 of them. the wood floor one, one for the kitchen and bathrooms and one for the rest of the house. they are really inexpensive. i got mine at the dollar store. also you dont have to wring out a nasty mop you just throw the pad away and replace it. hope it works
My mom has these in her home too & they can be a pain & stained. Those yellow steamers work well. A vinegar & water solution is a healthy way to clean with out build-up. Using rugs & runners throughout helps with the dirt. Being "Chinese" LOL & leaving all shoes at the door AT ALL TIMES ...REALLY HELPS!!! I have found the little electric brooms are great for quick sweeps as well as the infamous Swivel sweepers IF it is not used for a floor/dirt/stains that does need a "a little elbow grease" because it just goes right over. The Roomba robot self floor cleaner IMHO is more money & takes longer.
Be careful with vinegar. It works really well, but it can eat away your grout over time, especially if you don't dillute it well enough.
I think you might need a new vacuum. I vacuum my tile floors all the time and don't have a problem. I have large area rugs so I vacuum everything. I used to have wood floors in another house with a cheaper vacuum and it also worked fine. Just make sure the vacuum has a "bare floor" setting.
thanks everyone for the great tips! being that it’s a rental and we just moved in, i’m waiting til more boxes are unpacked and more of the floor is showing before i try any of this! i think i will try the vinegar and water and then seal it myself. also hate moping but will have too and i think i’ll get an electric broom since most suggested that. Saltillo tiles are not even so the swifer’s won’t work because it’s not flat. thank you all! i appreciate your help!