We didn't seal the porcelain (as it doesn't need sealed) and I was sure not to get into the grout lines as I was cleaning the surface of each tile. I

know you have to be careful with these things. I discovered I could lightly hit a scuff mark on our white baseboards...that's ok. Anymore than a light couple of wipes and you'll dull the paint (at best). I felt safe using them to scrub this outdoor and commercial rated (non glossy) tile.

If that were the case, would I be able to feel a difference between tiles I've used the ME on and those I have not? I can't see or feel a difference. Oh, and when I use the ME on the same tile on the tub deck and on the wall, I got no discoloration.

Just my 2 cents but nothing would make me throw a pillow down on the floor and scrub each and every tile individually when in your own words, "The clean one didn't look noticeably cleaner/brighter than the ones around it. Didn't feel any different." I want a clean house, too and I'm particular about what constitutes clean. But life is too short IMO to get crazed about something I can't see or feel. Germs are different, of course and germ prone areas get a different type of cleaning.

No, just no. They can't abrade ceramic tile. smh. Magic erasers are melamine (plastic) foam. No plastic is harder than ceramic tile. A material can only scratch something that is softer (or exactly the same hardness in some cases).

Casey

I've scrubbed on hands and knees, tile by tile, countless times. No fun. If my floor looks clean enough to me, then it's clean enough. They're intended for us to walk on and are just going to hold onto a certain amount of dirt. I just look at it as that being what they're supposed to do. ;-)

What kind of steam cleaner are you using? I wonder whether the steam coming from that machine isn't quite hot enough to loosen the dirt and pick it up. And then you add in the variable of the alcohol, which might further cool the steam - just guessing here. Does anyone in your house go into that bathroom wearing dark soled shoes?

I agree you most likely took off the finish or top layer of your tile. Those "magic erasers" are not something to have in your home. I have more than one friend who had "cleaned" the finish right off a wood floor or table. They are nothing more than very fine sand paper on a sponge. They are not for household use!!! I have noticed a lot of "clean freaks" actually have a lot of missing finish where it is supposed to be. They doth scrub TOO MUCH!!!

I'd leave the unscrubbed tiles as they are, unscrubbed but clean, for at least a month of normal use to be sure I wasn't scrubbing of some sort of finish. You need a comparison basis, not just a gut feeling that you are removing actual dirt. Give your body a chance to recover, too.

I really don't think I'm scrubbing the top layer of the tile off. This is a commercial rated porcelain tile. And as noted above, I did the same thing on the same tile that's on the tub deck and the walls and got no discoloration on the magic eraser.

I wish I could just live with the fact that it looks clean and feels clean. And there is no way that I could do the whole house like I did half of the bathroom but I am going to have to finish the rest of the bathroom. Just think what it would be like in another eight years if I didn't remove what's already there! I'm trying to find a commercial tile cleaner to rent like you can rent a carpet cleaner. I steam cleaned the kitchen last night and then scrubbed a tile with the magic eraser. Kitchen floor isn't as bad as the bathroom floor was but I mop the kitchen floor more often.

Hire a maid, for goodness sakes!

What brand of steam cleaner do you have?

Gosh, I've never heard of invisible dirt. It looks clean, it feels clean, there is no visible difference between the two sides. What concerns you?

I don't think hiring a maid would help.

You can rent a hard surface floor cleaner, but you and I would not be able to lift it or control it, and they are too large to use in a bathroom. We rented one when we were cleaning our basement floor before painting. My 200+ pound husband could barely control it. What maybe you are looking for is a small rotating scrubbing brush. I've seen some hand held models, but that's not what you want. Maybe something like this:

Hard floor scrubber

Lol, Sheesh, maybe it would help for her to mentally turn that task over to someone else and then forget about it!

Give yourself a pass. You mention health issues. Life is too short to spend your time hurting. I often remind myself that we don't eat off the floor (or even really sit on the bathroom or kitchen floors.) I'm also wondering about black-soled shoes. They can do a number on floors. Take care of yourself first.

kswl, not everyone can afford or maybe wants a maid, an example is me, I dont want anyone else but me cleaning my house.

I have a Bissel steam cleaner. Not the one that's a vacuum too. It gets too darn hot to take the pad off without getting burned!

No to black sole shoes.

Not really in the tax bracket to have a maid. It might be something I'm forced to do at some point but not yet. Besides, this isn't something a maid would do. I didn't go LOOKING for something to clean that didn't need cleaning. I was pleased with how the floor looked and felt (as I always am after cleaning it either with my steam mop or my Braava robot sweeper/wet mop). I accidentally discovered the grime when touching up a few spots of mascara around my vanity chair. Tomorrow I'm going to include visuals!

What concerns me is if I don't get "it" (whatever "it" is) up now, what's the floor going to look like in 16 years? 24 years? They need to make a Magic Eraser MOP!

Interesting graywings. I'll read the reviews. Going to call a professional tile cleaning company on Monday about doing the whole house.

kswl2, I've got 1/2 of the 10x10 bathroom done. I'll finish the other half and THEN forget about it :) Maybe it's 8 years of various powders...body, blush, eyeshadows, face powder, dust from toilet paper and Kleenex and normal house dust all compacted by steam (no house pets). But, then I go back to the fact that the unscrubbed tiles look/feel no different from the scrubbed ones.

"life is too short to spend your time hurting"...I don't know life without pain but it's a nice thought. I'm going to hurt whether I'm watching TV, shopping, sleeping, playing with grandchildren or on the floor scrubbing phantom mystery dirt. Really, I'm not going to freak out about it. I'm going to finish cleaning it and chalk it up to "things that make you go 'hummmm'" and be done with it. Then check into the cost of having the rest of the tile and grout professionally cleaned. It ranges from 13 to 8 years old. Looks good but apparently it's not as clean as it looks.

monicakm_gw, I didn't read this as your being obsessed with cleaning but more as being perplexed with what might be bonding to your tiles and wondering how to maintain them so it doesn't happen again.

I'm no scientist (though my DS is, & I'll try to think to run this by him..) but I'm wondering if what you have is some sort of patina similar to what happens with soapstone. We know that soapstone is non-porous and doesn't absorb the oils that are used on it. However, parts of a countertop that get used often DO develop a finish different from unused areas.

I think you are right in thinking the minute particles from makeup & powders, dust from shoes, etc. has somehow bonded to those floor tiles. You've mentioned that it isn't the case with the same tiles on vertical surfaces.

Could it be like the seasoning of a much-used cast iron pan - which isn't "dirty" but has a decidedly different finish from a new one?

Like you, I'd be compelled to finish the floor I started - just because. Then I wouldn't stress about the cleanliness aspect, given how the floor is regularly cleaned. But the source and cause would intrigue me till I figured it out ;)

Here's a thought: throw out that stupid magic eraser.

My opinion of those---never before uttered here because of their very loyal and vocal proponents----is that magic erasers are akin to dry cleaning....neither actually "cleans" anything. Independent reviews online state clearly that the erasers remove the gloss on tiles, sheen on paint and are not even recommended for wood because of the damage they can do. Your eraser is is taking off some tiny layer of the surface itself that hasn't changed the appearance....yet. So perhaps your tile IS clean and whatever that eraser is removing reacts chemically with the melamine foam of the sponge to turn it black.

From Wikipedia (yes, I know):

In the early 21st century it was discovered that melamine foam is an effective abrasive cleaner.[2] The open-cell foam is microporous and its polymeric substance is very hard, so that when used for cleaning it works like extremely fine sandpaper, getting into tiny grooves and pits in the object being cleaned. On a larger scale the material feels soft. Because the reticulated foam bubbles interconnect, its structure is a 3D network of very hard strands, when compared to the array of separate bubbles in a material such as expanded polystyrene foam (for example, Styrofoam).

Rubbing with a slightly moistened foam may remove otherwise "uncleanable" external markings from surfaces. For example, it can remove crayon, magic marker, and greasefrom painted walls and wood finishings, plastic-adhering paints from treated wooden tables, and adhesive residue and grime from hubcaps.[3] If the surface being cleaned is not sufficiently hard, it may be finely scratched by the melamine material. The foam wears away, rather like a pencil eraser, leaving behind a slight residue which can be rinsed off.

Please notice that the author of this article put the quotes around the word uncleanable, not me. The eraser is a formaldehyde based product that leaves bits behind, and many people use this thing in their kitchens!

I think most people realize that the magic eraser alone doesn't actually clean anything. Well, any more than a plain wet sponge could. It is an excellent tool for carefully removing marks and oil when other methods have failed. It obviously disintegrates while you are using it and I think (hope) that most people clean the residue.

I agree that that whatever is happening to Monica's tile is some kind of reaction between the magic eraser and something on the tile. It doesn't sound like plain old dirt.

I guess if there is now a great visual change between the two sides, maybe you have to make them match each other now. But, honestly, in my house dust and dirt from makeup, cooking, etc. never collect evenly on any surface, vertical or horizontal.

Hmmm, I wonder if I could use Magic Erasers to clean and sand kitchen cabinets in one step? I haven't used one since the first time years ago when it took paint off around a door knob but from the Wiki kswl2 posted, maybe they'd take the old finish clean off. Or maybe I'll just use Restor-A-Finish and resign myself to waxing the cabs yearly.

Sorry, didn't mean to highjack the thread, I did want to ask monicakm if her bathroom tiles are textured, where grime could collect in the small depressions? Otherwise I'd be worried something was coming off the tile surface that shouldn't be (like the glaze coating since she said no tile sealer was used).

No, the tiles are not textured. They're smooth but not polished.

Just a thought- what color is the grout? I ask because a good friend had black grout. Sounds like the perfect solution for a floor that could stand up to 3 kids under7? Except the grout continued to shed fine dark particles each time she mopped, swiffered, sponged, scrubbed etc.

Grout is a light tan. Just a shade or two darker than the "moonlight" (Ivory) colored travertine-look porcelain.

It's probably the oils from feet. Are you saying you use alcohol with your steam mop? I wouldn't do that - they are not really compatible cleaning methods as alcohol cools the surface. Instead steam mop with plain water, and if the grime is foot/skin oils then try a little dish soap diluted and mop with that, then rinse well afterwards to remove soap film. Dish soap is best for cutting grease/oils.

Here is what a brand new sponge looked like after scrubbing one of the (same) tiles that are on the walls. Sorry it's out of focus. I'm sure I focused on the "no detail" sponge.

Here is an old sponge and the same brand new one that I had just used on the wall. I used it on half of a 20" floor tile

Here is my bathroom floor

As you can see, I'm not rubbing on the top surface of the porcelain tile (unless the top surface is dirt!). While taking pictures for this thread, I did paid closer attention and looked harder at areas next to areas I'd scrubbed with the ME. I used the ME in a "X" pattern. I don't beleive anyone would ever notice it unless I pointed it out, but I finally DID see a slight color difference (lighter) in the area I cleaned. You have to stand back to see it. I'm guessing due to the color and pattern of the tile, this is (probably a perfect tile/color to hide filth!).

I do use alcohol with my steam mop but not in the reservoir. I spray it on the floor as I'm cleaning. I thought steam as all I needed to clean and just sprayed on the alcohol as an added layer of germ eliminator.

I have to respectfully disagree that MEs don't clean anything (unless "clean" isn't the same thing as "remove" in this case). It's removing grime that my steam cleaner can't. It's removed light scuff marks on my 7-8" baseboards. I was cleaning/removing some paint from the porcelain tile in the hall when I decided to LIGHTLY attempt cleaning/removing a scuff mark from the trim. I've been using MEs for years when I get a food splatter on my well sealed tumbled travertine kitchen backsplash. Just hit it once, twice at the most and it's GONE...even in a grout line. That's cleaning in my book :) I was looking at asking DH to touch up the baseboards all over the house before company arrives next month. They look great now. 90% of what I (cleaned?) shows no sign of removing any of the shine from the semi-gloss paint. I went a bit too hard on a couple of spots but unless you get the light JUST right and look at it at JUST the right angle, you can't see it. It has extended the need for touchup painting. I cleaned/removed light grime on doors and door trim being sure to use a very light touch. What didn't come off immediately will be touched up with paint. If I removed more gloss from the paint than I can see...that's OK (cause I can't see it and it looks better than dirt and scuffs). 99% came off lightly using the ME. This ALL started doing post remodel clean up and it just spread...

Monica, I never used ME until this year, and now I'm in love with them! I mostly use it in the kitchen, which is white. It's never taken the shine off my white cabinets. The backsplash is my favorite area to use ME, especially behind the stove and prep area. If I thouht I was dulling the finish off anything I would stop.

I have a large white iron sink. I clean it quite a bit but there are days I can't get around to it. After I clean it with Soft Scrub, I sometimes notice there are a few areas that's stained. I used the ME on it, and it was white and shined again!

Are you planning to eat off of this tile? What is the reason to need a bathroom to be so 100% sanitary? If you started going around your entire house with a ME sponge, you will get a black film off of everything! Whatever you do, don't use it on your refrigerator because you'll never stop cleaning...LOL! You are definitely OCDing over this cleaning project for some reason.

Monica, perhaps you can take this pic to the tile shop and ask for advice before you go further with the project. Were the wall/tub tiles previously the same color as the floor tiles? That is amazingly even dirt coverage if they all started out the same color. Do you want to change the colour of your pretty bathroom?

For comparison, do you have any leftover tiles that were not installed? We tiled our bathroom in 1999. Because of this thread I compared a leftover tile to the installed tile. They are exactly the same, no change at all even in the high traffic areas or corners.

Might be worth a trip to the tile shop before you continue.

Must admit I have never understood the logic of using steam only to clean surfaces either.....where does that dirt go? It's like one person blowing all the leaves and debris from his yard, that stuff goes somewhere, usually to a public street or someone else's yard. The dirt has to be removed from the surface, not just "dispersed."

All these labor saving devices seem to do is create more work. And the appearance of that spent melamine foam sponge is enough to tell you that it is leaving bits of itself all over your house. Dirty bits at that.

I believe you Monica that it's dirt/grime and not tile on the sponge. (The question of whether it matters is another thing...but if it matters to you it matters!)

I do wonder if the steam+alcohol isn't really loosening the dirt that's compacted with oil (from feet or furnace or whatever). I think you may need some actual soap. I'd get a clean white towel and some dish soap or soft scrub and see what comes up. Magic erasers have their place, but goodness, not a whole floor on hands and knees!

Monica, do you use any hair sprays in the area? My tile, called cracked stone, looks very similar in color and 'pattern', and my DD use a lot of regular hair sprays as well as spray gels. In looking at the floor you cannot see it OR feel it, but once I start cleaning it with a bucket of hot water, my 'scrubber'(Dobie pad), and a rag, I end up having a buckerful of dirty water. It doesn't feel sticky underfoot as you would expect, yet the porcelain sink DOES, and I have to use something that's a bit harsher than a bathroom sprays, so I use BonAmi cleanser. It is abrasive, but does not scratch~have used it on my SS plated/copperware things for years~so you might want to give it a try before calling in the 'bomb squad' to clean the tile.

I don't know your age, but i'm 72, and life is too darn short to care if you could have a formal dinner party on the bathroom floor. LOL

When you clean with the steam are you doing it just as if it was a mop, that is, are you changing out or rinsing the mop cover and drying the floor to remove the dirt that is loosened by the steam? Without doing those things you are just leaving the dirt on the floor. Steaming loosens dirt, but doesn't magically pick it up or make it disappear.

Actually, chispa, that's exactly how steam cleaning works. The steam goes through the pad and loosens the dirt, and then the pad wipes it away. It is a one step process. You may need to change the pad if the floor is really dirty, but the pad picks up the dirt. The problem, I suspect, is that the steam mop is not putting out steam that is hot enough to do the job. I don't think the alcohol is helping the steamer, and may even be interfering with the steamer. She would probably do better putting down some floor cleaner, like Mr. Clean or 409, and then using the steamer.