Care & Maintenance

Care & Maintenance of Your Tile, Stone & Grout

Porcelain Tile, Ceramic Tile and Stone Tile

To sustain the life and beauty of your porcelain tile, ceramic tile or natural stone tile installation effective cleaning and maintenance is required. This is easily accomplished with the correct choice of products. It is important that the cleaners are non-oil, non-animal fat, and non-soap based cleaners. These components may cause problems due to residues left behind in the cleaning process, which can trap dirt on your tile. Ceramic Tileworks offers a complete line of Stone Tech products by Laticrete to clean, seal, and maintain your porcelain, ceramic or natural stone tile installations.

The Ceramic Tileworks Suggested Maintenance Program & Products

Everyday Cleaning: All Purpose Cleaner
This cleaner is a highly effective neutral cleaner specifically designed to clean porcelain, ceramic and stone tile. Many of our customers return to our showroom repeatedly to buy this product because of its great performance. This is a daily cleaner that will not strip away any sealers.

Heavy Duty Cleaning: KlenzAll
May be used on all porcelain, ceramic or stone tile that requires a thorough cleaning. It is a professional strength alkaline cleaner. It will not etch stone. This is the product that will remove heavy construction dirt and is a good first cleaner for stone before sealing.

Sealing: BulletProof
This impregnating sealer is the best product that we have found to seal natural stone surfaces. Its advanced micro bond penetration provides the best protection. In addition it can be used as a grout sealer.

Key Specialty Product: Revitalizer
For natural stone installations you may choose to use Revitalizer as a regular cleaner. It is unique in that it allows for easy dirt removal and contains a small amount of sealer for ongoing maintenance.

Key Specialty Product: Enhancer
If you wish to deepen the color of your natural stone and bring out the unique character you may choose an enhancer. Enhancers are very popular for use with slates. This color enhancing penetrating sealer offers stain protection while enriching the color of stone. For maximum protection Ceramic Tileworks recommends Bulletproof sealer as a second application for enhanced stone surfaces that require superior sealing performance, including heavy use entryways, backsplashes that are exposed to heavy oils, and showers.

Please contact us for additional information on any specific Stone Tech product questions.

Grout

The care and maintenance of grout is a common concern for all potential tile users. It is important to have a basic understanding of grout types and their care requirements. Ceramic Tileworks distributes the full line of Laticrete products and offers the following grout information.

Laticrete cement based grout
For a cement based grout, we recommend Laticrete’s Permacolor Select. Permacolor select is designed for virtually all types of residential and commercial installations, interior and exterior applications as well as floor or wall applications. It is easy to mix, fast setting and simple to clean up. Once your tile installation has been properly cleaned and dried all cement-based grout must be sealed.

Laticrete Spectra-Lock Pro grout
Spectra-Lock Pro grout is our preferred recommendation for your tile installation. A non-cement based epoxy type grout, Spectra-Lock is a stain resistant grout that never needs sealing. It is a 3-part system that has superior color uniformity, stain resistance and durability.

The Laticrete website offers full product details with warranty and installation information as well as product data sheets and information about Greenguard certification. Greenguard products have been certified to meet high standards for indoor air quality.

General Care and Maintenance Do’s & Don’ts

1. Do use a sealer on all cement based grouts and all natural stones.
2. Do use proper cleaning products specifically designed for your tile type.
3. Do not use cleaners containing acids for routine maintenance.
4. Do not use wax type cleaners or oil-based detergents to maintain your tile.
5. Do not use ammonia based cleaning products.
6. Do not use harsh cleaning tools such as steel wool, scouring pads or metal.