Polished Porcelain Tiles & optical hazing
When a floor is tiled with polished porcelain, especially in lighter tones, it adds a new dimension to any area of our home or commercial building. Polished tiles reflect light and make an area brighter, more inviting and create an illusion of space. But, there are a few things to keep in mind.
How Do They Make Them Shiny?
Porcelain tiles are a very high quality variety of ceramic, which is so dense it can be polished by special polishing stones to a very high finish. Beaumont Tiles sells 3 main types of porcelain tiles:
◊ Normal porcelain tiles are a matt finish and are used in very high traffic area or areas where anti-skid properties are important. They can be made in matt or textured.
◊ Glazed porcelain tiles are the most popular type of porcelain tiles and are made by applying a glaze, which can be matt or gloss, over the porcelain base.
◊ Polished porcelain is simply normal porcelain, which has been polished.
Will They Be Perfectly Shiny, Like A Mirror?
No. Mirrors are made in a very different way and can be near perfect.
◊ Polished tiles (whether they are stone or porcelain) are made by polishing the surface of the tile with very hard fine grinding stones. As the polishing process opens up microscopic pores on the surface of the tiles, these pores will reflect light differently and therefore you can expect that sometimes you will see a variation in shininess appearing as a slight haze on part of the surface of the tiles under certain light conditions.
◊ In the same way slightly varying thicknesses of sealer may be perceived as variations in shininess.
These are normal characteristics of polished porcelain and should be expected.
Sealing And Cleaning
Virtually all polished porcelain tiles sold by Beaumont Tiles are pre-sealed with a very special penetrative sealer to make them more resistant to staining.
◊ It is still important, however, to promptly clean off any substance which is likely to cause a stain, as polishing and sealing a tile does not make it as resistant to staining as a glazed tile.
◊ If the tile you choose is not pre-sealed, it is then important to seal the tiles when they are laid and before they are grouted to avoid future problems with stains.
◊ Most of the polished porcelains also come from the factory with a layer of protective wax on the surface of the tiles. This wax is normally water soluble and not very hard to remove, in fact most will be removed by the grouting process. However some wax may still remain on the tiles and therefore will need to be removed by you, your tiler, or a professional cleaner.
Cleaning
As with any surface, the rule is to quickly wipe off anything which is likely to stain the surface!
◊ The initial clean of your tiles needs to be done thoroughly to get off any building remnants such as grout residue. This residue can create a dull haze and will actually aid dirt sticking to the fine coating. The good news is that it’s easily washed off with Lithofin Cement Residue Remover (follow the instructions on the label).
◊ For week to week maintenance, use Lithofin KF Vitra-Clean with warm water and a damp microfibre mop (avoid the use of cotton and sponge mops). Avoid all soap based products as they can leave a thin film on the tiles that will attract more dirt.
◊ Never use polishes or gritty, abrasive cleaners on tiles.
◊ Steam mops are a popular choice for polished porcelain tiles.
