I just bought a home which has truly glossy floor tile in the kitche/breakfast area. I was really worried about the slip factor - I'm not the most agile or graceful and the ice dispenser always seems to shoot out one or two pieces that don't land in my glass. To my amazement, after two months, I've never had a slip, fall or even a close call. I attribute this to the fact that it cleans very easily and very "cleanly." (No residue) I previously lived where the kitchen had a tile with a slightly roughened finish - more like a "dulled" finish. I fell in that kitchen three times in two years. I just couldn't seem to get the tile really "squeaky clean." It held onto a residue of whatever cleanser I used to mop with. I rinsed and rinsed, but if there was a drop of moisture on that floor, my foot would find it and down I went. This glossy tile is so easy to keep - I vacuum with a little "Quick Up" appliance and then spray with regular blue Windex. I use a little "Swiffer" type mop on it and it dries without streaks or residue. It gets the "wet foot" test daily, as the breakfast room door goes to a courtyard where a wet piece of carpet serves as the doormat. I walk over it ten times a day and step right onto the tile and have never had that scary "hydroplaning" experience. In the bathrooms, I have a more textured floor tile - like you said - kind of like a little sandy. It is harder to clean than the really shiny tile in the kitchen and if cleanser residue is left on it, it is slippery. I guess my take on it is to be sure you rinse REALLY well or just mop with water. Hope this helps, Mary

I hope you got some money, cuz this one's gonna break the bank: Hot water. This is why you paid the extra for a more durable surface like porcelain instead of going with vinyl. Enjoy it!! All it should take for most normal cleaning is plain clear hot water. Every once in a while (maybe once every 3-4 months) add some oxyclean to the water, and that should take care of anything that might be a bit tougher to get out.

Prior to doing anything extreme, I'd recommend using a commercial grout haze remover on the tile. Depending on how long the residue has been there, if less than 10 days use a standard grout haze remover, even one designed for clean up during the grouting process itself. If over 10 days you sometimes need to step up to something stronger, along the lines of a phosphoric acid cleaner. Caveat, the stronger the product, the more damage you can do. I recommend calling Aqua Mix tech support, 800-282-8786 and relating to them the products used. After using the removers if you still have variations you could rent a buffer to try to even out the overall sheen of the floor, but it really depends on what is causing the areas of dullness. Residual haze or tile abrasion? If it was sealed, the porcelain shouldn't have been sealed. No reason, it's not porous. Sealer over porcelain can cause problems instead of preventing them. A question or comment though...the tiler should be responsible for cleaning up the original haze. Not you.

I know is 'says' it is a cleaner, but these products can and will leave a residue. What is your dilution rate? Are you measuring out 20 cups of water (5 litres) and 1 cup of cleaner? Or are you going with LESS (they say a 40:1 water:cleaner ratio is normal for regular cleaning)? If you really want to get this 'up' try using regular formula Windex. Yep. The glass cleaner. It has 5% ammonia content which is IDENTICAL to a residential-grade FLOOR STRIPPER! Yep. If it works on glass, it works on tile. Give it a go. You probably have it in your cupboard right now. I would pick a tile that is on the side of the room but ALSO gets plenty of light. That way you can SEE, via the reflection, the difference between the cleaned tile and the rest. You will: 1. Spray/soak the tile with Windex. 2. Allow to SIT for 30 - 60 seconds 3. With clean towel (paper or cotton) you will wipe it up. 4. Wipe all of the Windex off the floor (do not let it 'dry' in place) 5. Do a second 'misting' of the tile (as if cleaning a mirror) 6. Wipe up IMMEDIATELY 7. Check the cloth...do you see any 'yellow' residue after the second wipe? 8. Continue to mist the tile until the 'yellow' or brown or orange no longer shows on the cloth 9. Continue to next tile/section If it works, I would purchase the gallon refill of Windex and go at it. While you are waiting for your Windex to 'soak', feel free to THROW OUT the Armstrong cleaner.