What’s the best way to get those rust stains off your tile floor?

It’s not uncommon to find rust stains on a tile floor. If you think about it tiles are often used in rooms where there is a good chance they will get wet, such as bathrooms and kitchens.

This is where the rust comes in; it’s formed when the water present comes into contact with iron. Again iron is common in both bathrooms and kitchens. So you can see there’s a good chance you’re going to experience rust in the area where your tiles are placed.

This doesn’t mean you have cause to worry, there are ways that you can easily remove the rust and restore your tiles to pristine condition.

Lemon is a great cleaner of ceramics

You may not like the taste of lemon but you’ll love its cleaning properties when it comes to removing rust. You can use lemon juice as a cleaner in a couple of different ways. For a simple solution just pour it straight onto the area of tile that is affected and leave it in place for five minutes; do not allow the juice to dry. When the five minutes is over grab an old toothbrush and scrub at the stain. If you’re still having problems removing the stain add some more lemon juice to the area, together with some salt, and leave it to rest for three hours before scrubbing the solution off with the toothbrush, using warm water.

The other method of using lemon to remove rust stains from ceramic tiles involves mixing it with baking soda and applying the resulting paste to the stain. This should be left in place for half an hour before it is scrubbed off with a sponge or soft brush.

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Useful condiments and not just for taste

Salt and vinegar are excellent when used to make your food taste good. But they’re also very useful in removing rust from ceramic tiles. You just mix the two together to create a paste which is then placed on the stained area and left in place for between three and four hours. Once you wash off the substance you should be left with beautifully clean tiles.

Using Borax and Citrus on Ceramics

For this method of rust stain removal you need to wear protective gloves. Once the gloves are on mix some borax with a little lemon or lime juice. The resulting paste should be spread on the stained area using a spatula. It should then be left to dry. Once the paste has fully dried out you can remove it using a sponge and some warm water.

What about vinyl tiles?

You may have vinyl tiles that you want to clean, and not ceramic ones. This isn’t a problem. You should use a little salt which is placed on the stain you want to remove. You need to add lemon juice to this. This mixture should be left in place for several hours. As the time progresses the mixture will turn orange in color as it absorbs the rust. After you wipe the mixture off you’ll be left with a clean tile area.

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The Tarter Cream and Water Effect

For another good way of getting rust off vinyl tiles you need to mix some tarter cream with water. The paste that results should be spread on the stained area and left for an hour. After this time has elapsed you need to scrub the area with some warm water and wipe with a damp cloth. Your tiles should then be rust free.