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Can someone please tell me what this is??
I can get rid of them with the steam cleaner but always comes back.
It has gone through the whole house.
I have tried everything. I got a product from specialist at bunnings and that didn't work either.
Im in a rental and I never had this for 3 years but all of a sudden .. its getting worse.
Please help?
Hi @chubb,
Welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community! It is awesome you have joined and thank you for asking about cleaning your floor tiles. Our resident DIY expert @EricL will be online this afternoon to assist but I'll also tag our great Workshop members @diy_hausdesigns and @raymond265 who have tiled floors of their own and may have some great tips.
What products have you tried so far? This can help us narrow down the suggestions. In the meantime, I suggest checking out this great Bunnings video guide How to clean tile floors.
Katie
Hello @chubb
It's possible that your steamer has been contaminated with a bit of oil in it and has left a film of oil and grease on the surface. I suggest trying this experiment. Spray one tile with Simple Green 750ml Glass Cleaner and use a paper towel to dry the surface. Don't use any cotton or polyester cloth to clean it just the paper towel.
Use a second sheet of paper towel to thoroughly clean the surface of the tile. If successful there should be no indication of the oil film on top of the tile.
However, if there is still a residue left on the surface of the tile, I suggest trying the next procedure with detergent and hot water. I propose using very hot water in a bucket with washing detergent and wiping the surface with a new Oates Massive Four Post Squeeze Mop.
After washing the surface with hot water and detergent, rinse the floor with plain hot water to remove the soap. Do not use any other rags or wiping cloths on the floor. Repeat the procedure until all the soap is gone. Allow the surface to air dry and finish it off with Morgan Microfibre Cleaning Cloth.
In regards to your steam cleaner, I suggest soaking the steam head cloth in hot water, bleach and detergent to to remove all contaminants. I also suggest rinsing the reservoir of the steam cleaner to remove any oil contaminants in it.
Please keep us updated with your progress, we look forward to seeing your tiles free of blemish.
Eric
The only peculiar issue is that you haven't experienced this problem in three years, and now it's suddenly happening @chubb. When walking on glossy tiles with bare feet, it's to be expected that you'll see oil marks left on them. Unfortunately, that's just part of having tiles; some colours show it worse than others. You'd likely not notice if these were stark white tiles. Black tiles are the worst and show oily marks all the time.
So, some constants that we know: when you try to clean, you can remove the marks, and when you walk on the clean tiles, it leaves oily footprints. Now, if you're using the same product you always have, there is some other variable at play here. Have you changed the lights in the room recently, and could they be highlighting the issue that was always there? It could be something as silly as a change of footwear that's not so breathable, and when you are removing your shoes, your feet are a little damper leaving more noticeable marks.
I just wanted to point out that your first image shows that the floor was damp after being cleaned and then air-dried, leaving water-staining marks. This is a completely different issue than the footprints, though possibly related. That's the same reason why you need to dry a car with a shammy after washing, or you'll end up with watermarks on the windows and paintwork. Are you going back over your floor with a dry mop to remove excess water?
Please let me know if you have any questions.
Mitchell
Do you remember what that floor cleaner was that you used that one-time @chubb? Would it have been a "self-shining" floor cleaner? Quite a few floor cleaners, especially those that add shine, have an ingredient that sticks to the floor. I'm just wondering whether you coated the floor, and there is still a residual amount left which is highlighting the footprints.
Mitchell
if it's a build up of product residue.. how do u get it off??
I've tried most things 😪
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