# polished porcelain tiles in kitchen???



## mom04 (18 May 2009)

Hi all,
was wondering if it was okay to have polished porceline tiles in a kitchen, and if anyone had them already.  I would like to do the hallway, dining and kitchen in polished porceline but have some concerns regarding safety and slipping in the kitchen area,  any advice would be greatfully received.  And any other recommendations also.

Thanks all
Mom04


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## niceoneted (18 May 2009)

*Re: polished porceline tiles in kitchen???*

My friend put these down in the same place you are looking to - hall, kitchen, dining. 
They look really well when clean and polished, but look terrible if there is any bit of dirt. I am not aware of any issue she has with slipping. She has no kids so it wouldn't be an issue fthere.


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## onq (18 May 2009)

*Re: polished porceline tiles in kitchen???*

Non-slip tiles should be used in all potentially wet or greasy areas. Toilets, Kitchens, Bathrooms. User "slippy" tiles at your own peril. It'll only take one bad fall to lessen the quality of your life for perhaps an extended period. Still, the client is always right...


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## Jildy (18 May 2009)

*Re: polished porceline tiles in kitchen???*

Had them in a house I was renting before.

Disaster to keep clean. They would literally be dirty a couple of hours after cleaning them, especially in the hallway near the entrance door. IMO, this is a no, no.

Very slippy when any bit wet but fine once they are dry...

J


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## dinjoecurry (18 May 2009)

*Re: polished porceline tiles in kitchen???*

we have cream ones in the kitchen very easy to clean and we have had no problem with slips Don't have any little kids around so cannot comment on how they would fare running around etc ,but the tiles do look great


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## Henny Penny (18 May 2009)

*Re: polished porceline tiles in kitchen???*

We have them in kitchen and hall. They are lovely but as previous posters have mentioned they look dirty very quickly. The solution I have found is to use a steam mop which doesn't really wet the floor but cleans very well. I usually put Klear polish on them every month or so to help deter the dirt. 

As regards slipping ... not too bad ... dog sometimes does a speed wobble when bounding in from the wet garden ... but with 2 kids so far no slips.


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## spursfan1234 (18 May 2009)

*Re: polished porceline tiles in kitchen???*

i have them in downstairs bathroom, kitchen, utility, and hallway. impossible to keep clean, really impossible. i will b taking them up a year or two when i have kiddies and putting down dark timber


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## johnnyg (18 May 2009)

*Re: polished porceline tiles in kitchen???*

we put them down in our new house in the kitchen, utility, hall and dining..and they are polished and are fine, ours are cream/beige with veins in them and look class..no problem with the 3 year old running around but with ALL tiles, if they are wet they will be slippy..personnel choice really


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## extopia (19 May 2009)

*Re: polished porceline tiles in kitchen???*

And all types of tile get dirty. Same with timber and carpet of course.


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## Lorz (19 May 2009)

*Re: polished porceline tiles in kitchen???*

My mum has them in her hall, kitchen & dining room and they break her heart.  Takes forever to clean them and get the polish finish and only moments later you see every single foot print and piece of dirt.  I went with a matt finish porcelain tile in 60x60 - I had a hard time finding them - everyone had the polished finish.  We have a little one at home so I was adamant I wasn't going to get caught out.  I suggest bringing a sample tile home and mopping it.  See how "easy" it is to keep it!


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## galwaytt (19 May 2009)

*Re: polished porceline tiles in kitchen???*

we have them all over ground floor, about 120sq m, and upstairs, about 50sq m.

Fabulous when clean, not so when not!  However, this is greatly dictated by the colour of the tile.  Dark ones harder to keep clean, and it's not that you're mucky, it's just that they show up everything, smudges, finger/footprints, especially viewed from an angle.     Big tip here is to use slippers/sandles !

Light colour ones easier to keep.

We have 2 kids, and there are no issues with slips/trip/falls  - they've reached the ages of 6 & 9 so far without issue ! 

Would do, again.  Actually, we did.  This is our 2nd all-tile GF house.


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## Concert (19 May 2009)

*Re: polished porceline tiles in kitchen???*

Put them down just after Christmas in large open plan kitchen, dining and family room.  It's been a disaster.  They look continually dirty with mucky feet in and out and then the dog.  They are actually causing me to feel stressed.  Honestly if I could afford it I would take them out and replace with ceramic or wooden floors.. My advice dont put them down.  They are only for a house that gets very little wear and tear.


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## catmanzu (19 May 2009)

*Re: polished porceline tiles in kitchen???*

The answer might be microfibre mops and cloths for all highgloss surfaces, dont use any detergents on them just water, should reduce the heartbrake


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## spursfan1234 (19 May 2009)

*Re: polished porceline tiles in kitchen???*

yeah these tiles are for show houses only

a tip when cleaning , use a spray of one part vinegar and 3 parts water and use a soft clean mop to clean. there will be no streaking then. took me a good while to find this out . if u use a mop with flash or some other thing then the floor will look worse then it did b4.


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## mom04 (19 May 2009)

*Re: polished porceline tiles in kitchen???*

Thanks for replies, but now i am more confused than ever, i really like them but am very nervous about not being able to clean them, this could drive me mad - really!


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## extopia (19 May 2009)

*Re: polished porceline tiles in kitchen???*



mom04 said:


> this could drive me mad - really!



Then don't do it, seriously. You need to be confident about any finish in your house, but especially floor finishes.


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## peelabee (19 May 2009)

*Re: polished porceline tiles in kitchen???*

Hey  Spursfan, does the house smell of vinegar after cleaning the floor with this solution?
Tnx


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## peelabee (19 May 2009)

*Re: polished porceline tiles in kitchen???*

Hi Mom04,  I am in a similar situation at the moment except I have ordered and paid for high polished porcelain tiles for hall, wc, kitchen and utility and I'm rather concerned now after reading all these posts!!!  What to do? I liked the idea of continuity but am now wondering what I should do.  I am replacing a semi solid wooden floor because it has not worn well, especially at the front door and I was really hoping the tiles would look better. Maybe I'm jumping out of the frying pan into the fire in this respect.  Would anyone recommend putting in a matwell - I have seen them in wooden floors but not sure what it would look like in a tiled floor.  Many thanks


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## Jmcc (20 May 2009)

*Re: polished porceline tiles in kitchen???*

Matwells are really difficult to keep clean.  If they are large enough to be of use then taking out the mat can be a real problem


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## Protocol (20 May 2009)

*Re: polished porceline tiles in kitchen???*

We got polished porcelain tiles for our kitchen floor, 600mm * 300mm.

After laying them, the tiler advised us to apply a sealant.  So I bought some Fila MP90, which cost 80 euro per litre.

[broken link removed]

We used a paint brush to apply this, carefully, twice, in both directions.

Anyway, so far I think the floor is great.  We try not to wear shoes in the kitchen.


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## joanne82 (20 May 2009)

*Re: polished porceline tiles in kitchen???*

My brother has porceline tiles in his kitchen and he has had no problems at all. He has 2 small children and there has never been any accidents and they are really easy to keep clean.


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