While Carpet Cleaning Tile Floors May Be Damaged

In many homes, floor covering can vary from room to room with carpeting in some of the rooms and tile or other types of floor covering in other rooms. For many companies that offer carpet cleaning, tile cleaning is also included in their services and many recommend that when having one done, the other be cleaned at the same time. First, by having both types of surfaces cleaned at the same time it saves money on return visits. It can also help preserve the appearance of the floors, especially tile that is more susceptible for damage from scratches.

Some home may have tile in the foyer in front of their entrance doors to help protect their carpeting and when performing carpet cleaning tile is usually presented with a lot of the detergents and water used to clean the rug. Some of the residential carpet cleaning machines are also good for cleaning tile floors, but the user has to be careful not to cause scratches on the tile from dust and dirt that may have been sent to the tile section of the floor.

In most homes, wall-to-wall carpeting is held in place with nail strips located around the perimeter of the floor. Tile floors are held down with tile cement and with some of the cleaners used in carpet cleaning tile cement may be loosened, causing the tile to come loose.

Work Around Tile To Protect Its Finish

Whenever scrubbing a carpet that is adjacent to tile, care must be taken so that not only the powerful detergents and other chemicals being used do not damage the surface of the tile. For carpet cleaning tile areas should be done with a small brush or by hand to prevent the scrubbing brushes from contacting the tile and ruining its finish. Any dirt that is passed onto the tile should be cleaned up promptly to prevent it from scratching is walked on and pushed into the tile's surface.

It may not be necessary to mask off tiles when carpet cleaning tile areas in the  house, just leave sufficient room between and moving brushes and the surface of the tile. If using a steam cleaner for carpet cleaning tile glue can be loosened and cause the tiles to become uneven at least, or totally free of being held in place. If there is any doubt about your ability to clean the rug without harming adjacent tile, it may be best to have the job done professionally.