Thread: How do I clean lots and lots of tiny white tiles?

I love my new bathroom but the huge shower area is covered with 1" light colored tiles! Floor and walls. Lovely, but what should I use to clean it? I want to use a natural cleaner. I'm thinking baking soda would be a real pain to rinse, I don't know.

Ideas? Thanks!

you can rinse baking soda as easily as any commercial product, like soft scrub. I think if you clean it very, very regularly, you will almost never need to scrub, though. Squeegee it each time you get out, and that will also really cut down on the amount of scrubbing. Mildew can't grow in a dry shower, and squeegeeing is the best thing you can do for that - also, if you have a shower door, leave it open for an hour to dry even more thoroughly.

This is how we used to rinse shower stalls when I cleaned houses (we had to be fast and thorough): We'd empty the trash. Then we'd put the trash can in the shower and fill it with water (you can do this as your water is heating for your shower). The walls would also be dampened in the process. We'd spray whatever we were using on the walls and agitate it with a scrubby. If we needed something more abrasive and/or a wide, stiff brush for the floor, we'd use it. Then we'd scoop a big plastic cup full of water and pour it from the top of the wall to rinse a section of the wall/floor, and proceed thusly all the way around. We'd squeegee at the end of the rinsing, which pulled down any residue.

Oh, and the trash can ended up clean, too, as a bonus. We'd even use the couple of inches of water left in the trash can to mop - we added a splash of vinegar or window cleaner (we just mopped bathrooms on hands and knees so we could get around the toilet better - it was just as fast and more thorough than a stick mop).

I don't actually own a squeegee right now, but I do think it's a very useful tool, especially if one has a difficult to clean bathroom with lots of tile.

Clearly, that was way more than you asked. I should go clean my bathroom now.

I know you want natural but all the jumps to mind

is

Scrubbing Bubbles!

Thank you XT - I didn't think of a squeege and I do have a small one I have used for cleaning windows. There isn't a door (just a curtain) but the area is large and the tile goes to the ceiling. I figured I'd need a scrub brush - esp. for the floor area. Your info was great! I love the trash can idea. How to rinse has been an issue since I've never had a shower that wasn't a part of a tub (where I could easily fill a pitcher from the faucet).


freedomlover - LOL about the scrubbing bubbles. My mom LOVES them and is always trying to get me to buy some (and I know it works since I've used them at her house!). The chemical smell is awful to me though and I loathe Dow.

Is it already dirty or are you thinking from a maintenance standpoint?

For the shower/shower liner/floor/sink I use baking soda. If something is really gunky I have one of those sponges with a "rough" side that I got a multi-pack of at the dollar store. I also have somewhere (it's lost again) a toothbrush, which is AWESOME on grout. Seriously, go to the dollar store or Grocery Outlet and get the cheapest sturdiest toothbrush they have. . . you will find a million uses for it.

For the toilet though I use bonami. I hate cleaning the toilet and it has been my job since I was really little (bathroom cleaning).

Another way to get tiles clean is to let your kid(s) have a bath in there and let them have a bath toy that squirts. Not only will the walls etc be clean but so will your floor after you dry it. When I'm too sick to do a good job this is what I do.

That's pretty much my clean-anything, baking soda. Then sometimes vinegar, dawn, or bonami in that order.

Dh doesn't care since I'm allergic or intolerant to chemicals. I can't even be around bleach for pete's sake. I can't do comet, bug spray, etc etc etc.

xt~ thank you! you have just taught me a new method to bathroom cleaning, I did it yesterday and followed your instructions, and it was so much easier your way!

YouTube - Clean Your Bathroom in Just 3.5 Minutes!

Originally Posted by Canon_Girl

Is it already dirty or are you thinking from a maintenance standpoint?

It is pretty clean now except for the floor area can use a scrubbing. The guest bath has the same tile and we haven't used it yet so it is very clean now so for the most part I am thinking of maintenance (and neither of those rooms has a tub - just a large shower - the downstairs bath has a tub).

I do also have and use Bon Ami for toilets and sinks (or 7th gen toilet stuff if I am feeling fancy).

Is the tile sealed? If it's not I'd seal it so the grout isn't porous. It would make the tile/grout easier to clean, too.

subbing so I can watch that video later.

Clean House Clean Planet has a scrub recipe using something like 1 and 1/3c baking soda mixed with 1/4c liquid soap (I use dr.bronners, usually peppermint), stirred with a fork to break up the chunks. add 1/4c water, stir well. add a few drops of any essentail oils. I like to keep my scrub mentholy so I use eucalyptus or rosemary, sometimes something citrusy, whatever I have on hand. tea tree would be good for you since you want to keep mildew gone. add 2Tbsp white vinegar to this, it will foam up, stir it again, put in some kind of container with a lid. as it settles, it may seperate a bit. Just stir it from the bottom up with a butterknife or fork or screwdriver.

I have been using this recipe for a few years now, for everything, from walls with heavy soil (that I am not concerned about paint scrubbing off), to really nasty tubs with years of soap scum (I clean houses, I have seen it all!).

I also recommend using Clorox Clean Up once in awhile to really keep that pink mildewy stuff from ever appearing. It is one of the only non natural cleaners I still use, mainly in bathrooms.