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Please checkout the following advertisement.
In desperation, I've come to the experts..

We have some Wickes Riga tiles laid by a professional:
[h=1]WICKES RIGA BEIGE MATT PORCELAIN FLOOR TILE 300X600MM[/h]They look great.

But...they attract dirt really badly and they are very difficult to clean.
The surface appears to be too much like sandpaper - they are really non-slip. This means they get lots of black marks off shoes, and this is nigh impossible to clean off.

Using a mop, rag, or sponge doesn't work as the surface grabs the material and you can feel the cleaning tool getting roughed up by the tiles. I've tried a deck scrubber, but it's ineffective.

The Wickes product details say no sealer required.

The finish is inconsistent. Some of the tiles have more of a glaze then others - this is only apparent after they have been washed. Now I know the differences are there, I can tell which ones have more glaze by the feel of them, but it is quite a subtle difference.

I have tried a kitchen cleaner with bleach, and that works but it seems rather aggressive for a kitchen floor, and I'm not sure if it is wise.

Help please!
 

Lithofin BOB

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Hi Paul , I would suggest a test with our intensive cleaner for porcelain ( other specific deeper alkali cleaners available) , these textured tiles can be tricky to maintain, I would try a test 2-4 tiles at 1-3 dilution with scrubbing brush/ white pad,deck brush( stiff) let your product work 5-10 min scrub every 1-2 min. Rinse, if your test tiles are clean work through in sections- I wonder if you may have a light polymer smear from install this can be invisible but can grab dirt, this should sort this and dirt contaminants if there.

Once floor is back to clean , use a daily specific cleaner to mop through- we have conditioning cleaner ,and when req back to the deeper cleaner. We do have porc impregnators, but if you find yourself using the deeper cleaner a lot , this will cut into this impreg and can remove this fairly quickly . These impregnators will give greater oil and water protection to the grout and take up porosity to the tile but will not aid with scuffing.
 
OP
J

Just Rizzle

ask your tiler what he used to clean off the grout residue. if hes used say a acid based cleaner this may of caused a reaction with the tiles you may have to use say wex off to strip the tiles then re seal with porceline sealer by lithofin.
 
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Paul Drawmer

Thanks for all the suggestions, I'll ask what was used to clean the grout off.

What is a 'polymer smear' and what causes it?

It looks as if I've ended up with a kitchen floor that's impossible to keep clean without a lot of effort. :-(
 
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R

Rizzle from the Portizzle

non slip tiles are made to give grip and that means they grip the dirt to. fact in the uk we walk over tiles that are non slip at least 4 times a day that means over 240 million times a day if you believe health and safty we should all be on crutches
 

Diggy

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People also put this style of tile (wall version) in showers! Bonkers , dirt collectors, LAJA. by porcelanosa being one of many ill thought out designs at this point im time.
Diggy
 

Lithofin BOB

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Thanks for all the suggestions, I'll ask what was used to clean the grout off.

What is a 'polymer smear' and what causes it?

It looks as if I've ended up with a kitchen floor that's impossible to keep clean without a lot of effort. :-(

polymer smear can be a light to heavy smear dropped from the grout as it is washed up on installation- mostly on textured tiles or if over washed- polymer adheres to the tile as cementisiouse part is washed away , nothing to worry about-sometimes you can see it, most not- if there, it can often grab dirt and make maintenance harder.

with these tiles-the correct maintenance products or correct application of these - should make it easier
 
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Paul Drawmer

Thank you all for your comments. I had complained to Wickes about the tiles, and they have put both LTP and Intervo in touch with me direct to try and sort out what's going wrong.
 
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Paul Drawmer

I thought an update on this was due.
After quite a bit of discussion with Wickes, and the rep from the tile manufacturer coming out; I have reached a settlement with Wickes. They do not accept any liability in respect of the tiles, but they made a contribution to removing the laid floor, and refunded the cost of the tiles.

I'm still deciding what to do with the floor, whilst it slowly looks more and more grubby. I might even just lay a vinyl over it.
 

Lithofin BOB

TF
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I thought an update on this was due.
After quite a bit of discussion with Wickes, and the rep from the tile manufacturer coming out; I have reached a settlement with Wickes. They do not accept any liability in respect of the tiles, but they made a contribution to removing the laid floor, and refunded the cost of the tiles.

I'm still deciding what to do with the floor, whilst it slowly looks more and more grubby. I might even just lay a vinyl over it.

Did you carry out any of the cleaning suggestions above?
 

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