16/08/2026
High gloss floor tiles... The ultimate modern, monochromatic interior fantasy. Decadent, elegant, slightly Californian palace... You swoon over the samples, fall completely in love with them and then your builder sends that glorious little text:
"All finished"
And then you try to clean them... Welcome to hell. Streaks, smears, water marks... Every single bad decision you've ever made reflected back at you from the floor. I've tried EVERYTHING to crack the no-streak method. Steam mop? Nah. White vinegar and a brand new mop head? Nope. Rubber mop? Also nope.
Short of getting down on your hands and knees and polishing the entire bloody floor by hand, I've finally found something that works brilliantly for these types of tiles... Washing up liquid. Yep. You read that right. I use a spray mop with a fresh, flat mop head - not one of the fluffy, soft ones. And don't wash your mop head in detergent because you'll just put more residue back onto the floor. Hot wash and vinegar is your friend.
Then add a tiny dash of Ecover washing up liquid mixed with water, spray lightly (you do NOT want to soak the floor) and then buff, buff, buff. The less product and water you can get away with, the better. And once you've got those beautiful, streak free tiles looking like a million pounds? Never walk on them again. Obviously.
Have you found this tip helpful? What other eco-friendly cleaning tips would you like me to share? I've got years of obsessive cleaning experiments stored in my brain for you to reap the benefits of. Because God knows my own house doesn't 😂