Homeowners love porcelain tiles for their durability and ease of maintenance. When it comes to durability, it is important to know how long your tiles will remain in good shape and whether minor misses in your cleaning routine can compromise their aesthetics by scratching your porcelain tiles.
So, can porcelain tile get scratched? Like other stone tiles, porcelain can get scratched. Scratching could occur if you drag a metallic chair leg on the tile or slide heavy appliances across the floor. In most cases, these scratches are repairable with DIY items such as soapy water and toothpaste. However, in case of a deep visible scratch or crack, it will be wise to replace the affected tile.
Investing in a home renovation comes with the hope of spending a few more decades in your home with the details in good shape. To understand the implications of maintaining your tiled home in perfect shape understanding whether porcelain tiles get scratched, if polished porcelain tiles are scratch-resistant, whether high gloss floor tiles scratch easily, and how to get scratches out of high gloss porcelain tiles is important.
Porcelain tiles are available in different patterns and colors that can easily blend with your home décor. However, a common concern for most homeowners is how long porcelain tile surfaces can remain in good shape, given their smooth tops.
Porcelain tile can get scratched from normal wear and tear or room activities. Room activities that can cause porcelain tile to be scratched include pulling appliances and furniture on your floor. If there is sand present on the floor, scratching will occur. Equally, if your furniture’s leg is metallic, it will scratch your porcelain tiles.
You can buff out porcelain tile scratches with proper cleaning, but it may warrant replacement if the scratch is too deep. Scratches on porcelain tiles will be more in high traffic areas such as the entryway and kitchen. Your office tiles may also have a high probability of scratches from the steel ball bearings in the office chairs.
Most of the scratches in porcelain tiles take a 90 degrees pattern to the tile edges. The scratches are parallel to the tile edges and can run the tile’s length. In some instances, the scratches may go deep and damage the glazer or past the porcelain to the tile’s body. They can also be wide, hence more visible.
Scratches degrade your home aesthetics with the level of degradation worsening with any increase in size and number of scratches. Even then, a scratch should not be why you consider a complete renovation, as you could do minor repairs.
If your tile has scratches, use furniture polish or wax to disguise them. While doing this, test a small hidden part first to ensure the polish or wax does not damage your tiles. Other hacks you can try to hide the scratches are rubbing a white pencil eraser across the scratch and using a commercial scratch remover.
Are Polished Porcelain Tiles Scratch Resistant?
Polished porcelain tiles have a polished surface with a diamond disk. This polish conceals the microscopic pores on these tiles, increasing their resistance to elements such as water.
Polished porcelain tiles are not scratch resistant. They can scratch during installation, after installation operations, due to daily use, from foot traffic to furniture and appliances scratching the surfaces. These tiles can also chip or crack, especially on the edges when you slide furniture and appliances on them.
These tiles have lower scratch resistance in the tile industry. They have a hardness of 3, which is significantly lower than sand at 7. This means that sand can easily scratch polished porcelain tiles.
With the above in mind, you can take a few precautions to maintain your porcelain floor in good shape. During installation, avoid pulling your tiles individually from the boxes, as this action will scratch the surface of the next tile in the box. Instead, remove the stack from the box and lift each piece at a time. When installing your tiles, use sand-free grout, as loose sand from grout can scratch your tile surfaces.
As a daily routine, avoid putting things across or dragging them on your polished porcelain floor, especially when moving your furniture. Instead, lift the furniture to reposition it in the room. For your routine maintenance, you should sweep the floor first before mopping.
Sweeping removes abrasive dirt like sand, which will easily scratch the tiles during mopping. You should place a doormat to trap dirt at the doorstep, especially if the polished porcelain tiles are too close to your exterior door.
While care during installation and routine maintenance will prevent your polished porcelain tiles from sustaining scratches more often, you can remove or hide some of the scratches to maintain the glamor. One of the ways you can remove these scratches is by using soapy water. Soapy water works well with easy-to-remove stains, which cannot come out with water only.
Soak a clean cloth in soapy water and use it to wipe the scratch, paying attention to the ends where grime and dirt collect. Afterward, use a dry clean towel to wipe off excess water. You can then cover your tiles with a dry cloth, awaiting the supplies to remove any remaining scratches.
If the stains on your porcelain tiles are moderate, you can use Baking Soda to remove the stains. Take a container, add some baking soda, and then a few drops of water to achieve a paste-like thickness.
Apply the paste to the scratch with a soft-bristled brush or dump a nonabrasive pad. You can then clean your tile by rinsing off the baking soda. If the scratches are still visible, use a damp foam eraser on your tiles, then leave it to dry.
Lastly, if the scratches above are still visible or dealing with hard-to-remove scratches, a floor tiles scratch remover will come in handy. Take a clean cloth and soak it in vinegar or toothpaste, then rub it on the scratches in circular motions, paying attention to the ends of the scratch. Leave the scratch to dry, then repeat the above process. After this treatment, the scratches should be almost impossible to see. You can then apply wax on your tile surface to seal the scratched areas and leave it to dry completely.
Do High Gloss Floor Tiles Scratch Easily?
Modern-day interior designs prefer a glossy look, even for the floor tiles. Such floors boost a home’s glamor and beauty. They’re easy to wipe surfaces and moisture resistance makes them suitable for kitchen and bathroom floors. Despite these benefits, there are certain cons that you should consider before installation.
High gloss floor tiles will scratch easily given their low ranking on the MOHS scale with a hardness of 3. On the other hand, sand has a hardness of 3, making it a popular scratching agent on your high gloss floor tiles.
Given their ease of scratching, high gloss floor tiles require extra care in maintenance. You should sweep abrasive sand from your floor before mopping as it can scratch your floor. Also, if your gloss tiles are closer to your entry door, it will be good to place a doormat to trap dirt. Lastly, be cautious when pulling or dragging furniture on such floors to prevent damage.
How Do You Get Scratches Out of High Gloss Porcelain Tiles?
When you scratch your porcelain tiles, the next concern will be how to remove these scratches. The right tips will remove the scratches from your tiles without compromising durability. Removing scratches from your porcelain tiles is possible if the scratches are mild. If they are too visible, it will be better to replace the affected tiles. This explains why you should always buy your tiles in excess.
The first step to getting scratches out of High Gloss Porcelain tiles is cleaning your floor. As a thumb rule, you should test your cleaning reagents on a hidden spot for unwelcomed reactions and if you prove the reagent to be safe, continue using it on the rest of the space.
Accumulation of grime and dirt will highlight scuffs on your tiles, visible as scratches. Simple cleaning with powdered cleanser and nylon pad will make these mild scratches less noticeable.
Before cleaning your tiles, you should confirm that there are no dents by running your finger across the tiles. If you feel an indentation, avoid cleaning with powdered cleanser and nylon as they may damage your tiles. To clean using a powdered cleanser, apply the cleanser on the scratch, rub it gently, leave it to sit in, and rinse.
While cleansers work well with tiles, getting the right cleanser for your tiles can be tasking, especially in very soft glazed tiles. If this is your case, use toothpaste to attain similar results. Toothpaste, especially white toothpaste, effectively conceals scratches in porcelain tiles.
Start by cleaning the area with a damp cloth and rub the toothpaste over the scratch in a circular motion. While doing this, ensure that the paste fills the scratch, then leave it for some minutes to dry.
If the powdered cleanser and toothpaste are taking a toll on you, you can use the repair kit to simplify your work. Repair kits are available online and in-home improvement stores. One of the common repair kits is the sanding kit.
This kit contains wet and dry sandpaper grades of sand that you can use to smooth out deep scratches. It also contains polishing compounds useful in buffing out the scratches to reveal a shiny tile look.
When using a sanding kit, start by choosing the right grade of sandpaper to match the scratch depth. You will need two different grades of paper for deeper scratches. Before sanding, wet your hands with a tile cleaner or water. You can also use the cleaner on the surface to reduce dust emissions.
To sand your tile, move the sandpaper back and forth while pushing gently on the surface. Afterward, apply a polishing compound to the scratch and continue scratching. Complete the process by wiping the polish residue and applying wax to the tile surface.
While you may expect to fix most scratches on porcelain tiles using one of the methods above, this may not always be the case. Where the scratch is too visible, spare tiles in your store will come in handy. If you do not have spare tiles, you can buy from your home improvement tile and may be lucky if they have similar patterns and colors to the one in your home.
Replacing your scratched tiles requires you first to uninstall the current one. To do this, cut the grout around the damaged tile using a utility knife, stick a chisel on the crack you’ve created, and hit with a hammer until it goes beneath the tile.
You can then pry up the tile to remove it. You should also remove loose adhesive on the floor and clean it before installing the replacement tiles. During replacement, apply the acrylic flooring adhesive on the floor using a trowel and place the tiles. Clean excess adhesive around and leave it to dry. Once dry, use a rubber float to grout the tile on the floor.
If your porcelain tiles sustain metal scratches, you can remove them using water and baking soda. Apply the paste to your tiles and scrub with a nonabrasive pad. If the scratches are visible, a soft-bristled brush will come in handy.
Afterward, rinse off the mixture with water. If you have difficulties rinsing off the mixture, use whitening toothpaste to remove the mixture from your tiles. Using a dry rag, wipe off excess moisture and allow your tile to dry for eight hours. Still, if the scratch is visible, use a porcelain repair product to fix it.
Wrap Up
Tiles boast durability, but they will not last forever in the same condition after installation. Whether glossy or polished, porcelain tiles will sustain scratches from normal wear and tear caused by foot traffic and dragging heavy furniture and appliances on them.
You can protect your tiles by sweeping dirt before mopping or placing a rag at the entry doors to trap sand, a major scratching agent. Lifting objects rather than dragging them will also minimize these scratches.
Scratches on your porcelain tiles will vary in size and depth, and you can use simple to complex methods to fix them. Cleaning with soapy water, baking soda, or toothpaste will be helpful in mild scratches, while you may need to sand or replace your tiles in extreme cases. Therefore, you should buy extra tiles for your renovation projects. When faced with such issues, the extra tiles in your store will come in handy.
