When shopping for tiles, you can be overwhelmed by the variety of designs, materials and colours on offer and that can become very confusing. Make things simple when refurbishing, renovating or building your dream home. Reclaimed tiles have many advantages that standard tile options simply do not offer. However, some homeowners may feel that caring for antique or reclaimed tiles may require extra maintenance and dedicated time or attention. Let us try to put your mind at ease, because caring for your reclaimed tiles after installation is actually very easy and not a daunting task at all. Here is all you need to know.

Clean Regularly

Cleaning is a part of everyday housework and cleaning your tiled floors is easier than you might think. Where wood floors and carpets often require special equipment and cleaning measures, reclaimed tile does not. All it takes for general maintenance is a simple sweep to remove dust and a quick clean with a damp mop. For more intensive stains, you can use an all purpose cleaning solution lightly sprayed onto the floor, but due to the non-porous nature of most reclaimed tiles, there is little need for a lot of cleaning. Best of all as your reclaimed tiles have a previous long history and many years of sealing and care this will stand the test of time and help prevent most stains from penetrating the actual tile; this makes them a great option for a busy family with children and pets.

No Abrasive Materials

Although very tough and durable, reclaimed tiles should be given a little care when being cleaned. As stated above, simply dusting or a light mopping should generally be all that is needed to maintain the beauty of your tiles. However, some homeowners often feel it necessary to take more drastic measures to ensure their floors are sparkling clean. Scrubbing your reclaimed tiles with a brush is fine, but always ensure that the brush you are using has soft bristles. Hard bristled brushes, steel wool, or intensely strong chemicals are not recommended for cleaning reclaimed encaustic tiles.

Maintaining a gentle hand when cleaning your reclaimed tiles is beast all round and scrubbing too hard on the surface with abrasive materials can potentially scratch the tile’s outer coating leading to a diminished appearance and possibly even more damage as moisture can seep into worn chips and crevasses. Harsh chemicals may also attribute to bleaching out tile colours leading to a dull and unflattering appearance.

Buy Extra

Your reclaimed tiles are ideal for any room or space throughout your home. They add value and a certain special quality to your home that modern tiles simply cannot achieve. The only downside to tiles, if you even want to call it that, is the fact that they are not manufactured in mass quantities as with modern tiles. These tiles are rare and unusual finds; sourced and reclaimed from ancient homes and buildings so many feature unique and limited batch designs, supplies are often limited.

That is not necessarily a bad thing. People who invest their money in antique and reclaimed tiles enjoy the chance to have something unique and different to everyone else around them. But do bear in mind that accidents can happen leading to tiles cracking from time to time.  Its always advisable to simply buy more than what’s needed for your project just in case. You will enjoy the fact that you need not worry about a cracked tile or two as they can be easily replaced and you always have extra for any other projects around your home.

Maitland & Poate

Maitland & Poate is your number one resource for all reclaimed tiles needs. We have the designs, colours and ideal period tiles for every room in your home.