Human nature tends to love versatility. It prefers things that can do multiple things compared to things that have just one expertise. Especially in cases when they have to spend a high amount on a product. Take a cleaning machine as an example. Generally, no matter what type of flooring we install, there always are two or more types. If it’s hardwood, it will have carpets all over, and the bathrooms and kitchen will have tile, vinyl, or mosaic, and carpets. Let’s keep hardwood flooring and carpets aside and bring an affordable floor type at the forefront, say tile floors. Even in that case, there will be carpets everywhere as floor protectors.
So, the point is, often, cleaning two or more types of flooring becomes tough as it requires two completely different kinds of tools and cleaning products. The carpet and tile floors are like chalk and cheese. One is the hard surface, the other delicate, soft. So, it is no rocket science that both will require a completely different type of cleaning machine.
Which One Needs a Cleaning Machine
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When it comes to picking the floor type to decide which ones need a cleaning machine, it is always carpets that win. None needs cleaning machines to clean the tile floor when it’s the most convenient floor that needs only plain warm water for mopping and upkeep. On the other hand, you have carpets. They are too pricey and cushy not to handle delicately. But they stain easily. Besides they can’t handle harsh chemicals, and they get dirt ground-in in the most inner of fabric. The dirt seeps in the carpet where you can never reach manually.
So, a cleaning machine is needed unless you are ready to hire a carpet cleaning service, which, by the way, is unnecessary when you can invest in a carpet cleaner in way less, and the machine doesn’t even provide one-time service. So, you are happy with cleaning your pretty tile flooring with warm water and at best adding vinegar and dishwashing soap when it requires a thorough cleaning, and you have bought a cleaning machine for cleaning the carpets and providing optimum maintenance to those expensive units.
Can You Use a Carpet Cleaner On Tile Floors?
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Now, one fine day, you start operating the carpet cleaner. And the more you push the cleaner and remove the suds and filth, the more you realize it cleans so thoroughly and quickly. Cleaning the tile flooring with a stick mop turns a tough job for you when you compare. So, you ask yourself, why not use it on the tile floor? The next thing is you wondering can you use a carpet cleaner on tile floors and pretty much decide then and there that let’s turn this expensive carpet cleaning machine into a two-in-one carpet-cum-tile floor cleaner machine and satisfy the frugal mind.
It’s A No
However, the fact is you should never use a carpet cleaner to clean hard floors. Yes, there are cleaner machines which clean both. But those are actual two-in-one, versatile machines designed to clean both tiles and carpets. A machine that is for carpet cleaning can never be a tile floor cleaning machine. And there is just one reason for that. To make you understand that reason, let’s talk a little about a carpet cleaner.
Carpet Cleaner
A carpet cleaner is a regular cleaner machine similar to a stick mop that releases cleaning solution, spritzes warm water on the carpet, and scrubs it thoroughly. Then the mechanism works towards extracting and suctioning the suds and sending it to the dirty water tank. As the carpet is fluffy and soft and needs to be cleaned deeper into the fabrics, the mop head has sharp brushes, and sometimes it is metal. The sharp brushes will thoroughly clean the carpet, reaching and moving every fabric of the carpet, but the same brushes will leave scratches and some undoable ones on your tile floor due to its sharpness. Hence, if you do not want to turn your glossy tile floor into a surface full of scratches, avoid using a carpet cleaner on tile floors. It is made to clean carpets, so keep it that way.
Carpet Cleaners That Are Safe On Tile Floors
Now, let’s come to the carpet cleaners that could be used on the tile floor safely. The carpet cleaners that don’t have any metal components beneath and around the mop head area and scrubs the carpets only with soft bristles could be safe on tile floors. Hoover, Bissell, and a few more popular brands make carpet cleaners that you can use to clean both carpets and tile floors. But no matter how well made these cleaning machines are, do not make them a regular tool to clean your tile floors.
Heads Up
Tile floors require frequent cleaning, and these machines, even with the soft bristles, will damage your floor. When your tile floor requires thorough cleaning or while leaning the carpets, rather than switching products, continue washing the carpets and mopping the floor with the same cleaner. Otherwise, on regular days use a conventional stick mop.
The Next Best Option for Tile Floors
Therefore, if not a carpet cleaner, what is the best way to clean a tile floor without losing its glossy vibe? We say with a Swiffer Sweeper stick mop. The dry microfiber pads and wet pads work efficiently to clean the stickiest of mess and absorb and lock the dirt in them until you throw them away. The absorbed filth doesn’t even spread on the surface.
The Quintessential Tile Floor Cleaning Products
If not that, you already have your regular strand mop and bucket. Take a gallon of warm water, add a cup of vinegar and regularly clean your tile floor. Do not forget to do the thorough dusting before you mop, and even on the days you are not mopping. To remove the grime and sticky mess, you can use a sponge or soft scrub pad and dishwashing soap and rub the stuck-on oily dirt and grime till removed. The slippery tile surface, anyhow, doesn’t let the grime stick on it that badly. So, it is super easy to clean.
Ensuring a product’s usage to its full potential is always excellent and practical, but a thing made for a specific chore should always be avoided applying on other stuff or at least need to ensure minimal use. So, let’s conclude the topic this way, cleaning a tile floor with your expensive tile flooring has nothing to do with using the machine to its full potential. If it’s cleaning your carpet thoroughly, it’s already a great machine. Avoid using it on tile floors, reduce the machine’s life shelf, and damage the tiles.
