Wet Weather and Tile Floors

Most tile floors are extremely water resistant. In order to keep your tile floors safe and maintained during periods of wet weather, some due diligence is required. To keep your floors in good shape, keep an eye on the grout lines between the tiles. This is where water problems can develop when moisture seeps through cracks or breakages in the grout.

If you notice any cracking in the grout lines, call a professional tile installation contractor for repairs or do the repair yourself as soon as possible. There is plenty of how-to information on how to re-grout and seal cracked grout. When the seams are sealed, there is very little opportunity for moisture to leak through to the substrate. Grout and seam lines of tile must be kept sound and waterproof, otherwise, water will seep through. If this happens, it can mean a whole new tile installation, so keep an eye on those grout lines.

Keeping Tiled Floor Surfaces Safe

Both porcelain and ceramic tiles make for attractive, durable floors. A major drawback of smooth finish tile floors is that they are slippery when wet. In entry areas, it is wise to use tile with a rougher, more non-slip surface. However, the fact is that many constructions have beautiful smooth tile flooring, which is easy to clean and maintain, but also poses a dangerous fall risk when wet. Entry mats are widely available and mandatory equipment for all businesses and high traffic entrances in commercial or residential constructions. The larger and more absorbent the entry mat, the better it will keep the surrounding floors dry.

When rainy days mean water is getting tracked in on shoes, a bright yellow caution sign goes a long way to warm people of potentially slippery floors. These are available at janitorial supply and home improvement stores. Keep a dust-mop covered in an absorbent microfiber material, or a clean dry sponge or string mop strategically placed near entries where water tends to accumulate and designate someone to wipe up water on tile floors as soon as possible.