Improve the standard of washroom floor cleaning

The fine stone tile is now a preferred building material in toilet, changing and shower areas, since it has a microporous structure which gives it outstanding slip resistance. In addition, it is especially acid and alkali-resistant and is available in almost any colour and surface structure (sanded, polished, matt, structured or natural). However, as a result of its porous nature, fine stone has the capacity to hold dirt, which is then difficult to remove again.

For this reason, fine stone tile floors in washroom areas often have a polymer coating to reduce soiling. Not only does the coating reduce the floor’s slip resistance, but it also does not last long in heavily used areas. The cleaning method described below is suitable for coated or uncoated floors. If the coating is to be removed, the following steps can also be taken but with use of a highly active stripping agent (pH 13) instead of the detergents mentioned.

Cleaning fine stone floor tiles with microfibre rollers

Step 1- A highly alkaline special cleaner (such as Kärcher’s RM 776) should be applied pure and thinly with a spray bottle, section by section, and left to soak for around five minutes. 

Step 2- After this, the surface should be scrubbed thoroughly with a scrubber drier featuring roller cleaning head technology. Most Kärcher scrubber driers feature interchangeable cleaning heads, allowing easy switching between discs and rollers for different floor types, without the need for separate cleaning machines.

Kärcher’s roller scrubbers also have microfibre rollers that can get right into the microporous surface of fine stone tiles to provide an impressive deep clean. Unlike microfibre disc pads, microfibre rollers self-clean thanks to their high rotation speed, preventing clogging and increasing productivity. Therefore, there is no need to change the microfibre rollers during cleaning. 

This scrubbing step should be carried out using a deep floor cleaner like Kärcher’s RM 752 (alkaline) or RM 751 (acid), following the dosage guidelines on the container, depending on the dirtiness of the floor. A deeper clean can be achieved by scrubbing the floor with the vacuum turned off. This gives the detergent greater contact time with the floor, and more water to scrub with. Once the floor has been scrubbed, turn the vacuum back on to remove all of the cleaning solution from the floor.

Step 3- After the deep cleaning, the surface is cleaned again with clear water (with the vacuum turned on) in order to wash off and take in any cleaning agent residue. Now tiles and joins appear in their original form. If a coating has been removed the natural slip resistance of the tiles returns. The only difference being that instead of a stripping agent, a floor basic cleaner is used (alkaline RM 752, acidic RM 751) – in the corresponding dosage, according to the degree of contamination. It is essential to take care when emptying the scrubber drier tank to ensure no detergent is spilt or splashed.

Kärcher machines feature easy emptying systems (separate, easy to carry tanks on smaller models and drain hoses on larger machines), and several models feature a built-in tank rinsing system, to ensure the dirty water tank is clean and free of bacteria after every use. Because of the ‘self-cleaning’ nature of microfibre rollers, and the rinsing of the floor in step 3, the rollers should not need to be maintained after every clean.