Care & Maintenance Guidelines

CLEANING AND MAINTENANCE
A primary benefit of selecting glass tile for an application is its easy maintenance attributes. Regular
care and maintenance will help keep tiled surfaces looking their best. Routine cleaning of glass mosaic
tile can be done with warm water, any commonly sold light-duty neutral pH glass cleaning product, or
any non-abrasive cleaning solutions that are commonly recommended for both glass and tile.
Acid, alkaline, and solvent-based cleaners can damage and/or discolor the tiles and grout and should
not be used.
Initial Cleaning and Maintenance
The most important step for future maintenance involves the complete removal of any grout haze
during the initial installation. This can usually be accomplished by simply scrubbing the surface of the
glass using a microfiber cloth, soft bristle brush, or white scrub pad depending on soil load, and hot
water mixed with a weak dilution of close-to-neutral pH detergent additive. When clean, thoroughly
rinse and dry with a wet/dry vacuum or dry towel.
Grout joints should be treated with a commercially available penetrating type sealer, not film-forming
coatings. Follow the sealer manufacturer’s recommendations and instructions. For grout joints, it is
normally recommended that the joints be initially sealed after curing for 7 to 14 days (see grout
manufacturer’s recommendations for suggested cure time). The primary purpose of a sealer is to
render joints less porous and thereby more stain resistant. The glass tile itself is completely
impervious to common stains. Once initial cleaning has been thoroughly completed, our general
maintenance procedures can be followed for continuous long-lasting beauty.
General Maintenance
General maintenance and cleaning of tile will vary depending on the surface texture and soil load.
Sweeping or vacuuming to remove loose soil or other surface contaminants should be done first,
followed by wiping with a slightly damp cloth and clean water. If a more aggressive cleaning process is
required, use a neutral pH cleaner followed by a thorough rinsing.
These five steps are essential and should always be remembered for the successful maintenance of
glass tile:
1. All spills should be cleaned as quickly as possible.
2. Use only the recommended dilution of detergent. More is not always better; higher
concentrations of detergent in the cleaning solution will only make it more difficult to rinse.
3. Allow the proper dwell time. The detergent solution must be given time (5-10 minutes) to
act on the soil load (follow label instructions on all products used).
4. Scrub with a white scrub pad or soft bristle brush.
5. Rinse thoroughly with clean, clear water to remove the dirty detergent solution and soil.
Rinsing is an important step in the maintenance procedure. Remove the rinse water with a
wet-vacuum, dry mop or towel. If dirty detergent solution is not removed and is allowed to
dry on the surface, a coating may form which is very difficult to remove.