Slate floors can give your home a cool, stylish feel. Cleaning slate floors needs to be approached with care, though, as some commercially available cleaners might damage them. Here’s how to care for slate floors and keep them clean and stain-free.
Use a steam cleaner or steam mop on your slate floor. This is a good way of targeting both tiles and grout in a gentle process that won’t damage your tiles.
How to clean slate floors
When it comes to regular maintenance, cleaning slate floors is easy – just go over the surface with a normal mop to lift away dust and dirt. Then, when you need to give it a deep clean (which you’ll want to do every month or so), the best way to clean a slate floor is as follows:
Vacuum. This is the best way to ensure that any loose dust or dirt is removed from the floor before you start mopping
Make up a cleaning solution using a slate floor cleaner. These cleaners are designed to remove stains and dirt from slate floors without damaging them. Following the instructions on the packaging and wear safety clothing
Start mopping. Work in small sections so you don’t miss any spots and make sure the mop is rung out thoroughly to avoid making the floor too wet
Rinse with clean water. Again, making sure your mop is well rung out.
Leave it to dry. Make sure the room is well-ventilated so that the floor dries as quickly as possible. You can also use a sponge mop to soak up excess water
Use an old toothbrush to clean grout. You can use a specialised grout cleaner for this. In some cases, your slate floor cleaning solution can double as a grout cleaner – check the packaging to see if this is the case
How to remove stains
So far, so good – you know how to clean slate floors and how to keep them dust-free between deep cleanings. But what if you spill something on your slate floor? You don’t need to break out the mop immediately. Instead, follow these simple steps:
Act fast. Porous surface like slate absorb liquid and can be damaged by anything acidic, so use a soft cotton cloth to pick up as much of the stain as possible
Use a sponge to mop the area. There’s no need to attack the entire floor for a small spillage; just dampen a sponge with warm soapy water and wipe the stained area
Dry up. Use a clean, dry sponge or cloth to soak up any excess moisture and leave the floor to dry fully
And there you have it – how to clean slate floors and get rid of any stains without damaging the tiles.
Before you start
Make sure your floor is properly sealed! Slate absorbs water, so make sure you don’t need to reapply any sealant before you begin washing the floor.
Make sure your slate floor is properly sealed before cleaning
Remove any loose dirt with a soft brush or dry mop
Use a specialised slate cleaner, diluted in water, to mop the floor
Soak up any excess moisture once you’ve finished with a dry cloth or sponge mop
Clean the grout between tiles with an old toothbrush