Cleaning Tough Household Materials

Home owners use a wide variety of materials to decorate their home; from concrete to marble, silk to wicker.  Many of these unique materials require extra care when cleaning.  The more you know about special treatments for special materials, the better you can remove the stains.  Here are some tips for cleaning the unique materials you can find around the home:

Brick
Sweep or vacuum, use a damp mop with a plain water or mop with an alkali solutions.

Ceramic Tile
The main problem with ceramic is the grout.  Often times home owners don't think about cleaning when they choose the color of the grout for their tiles and choose a light color which stains easily.  To clean it regularly with a gentle bathroom cleanser, a diluted bleach or if the grout is white, a diluted hydrogen peroxide with a soft bristled brush.  It is important to scrub too hard or use abrasives, this can damage the grout.

Concrete
Sweep, mop with diluted detergent or use tridodium phosphate.  You can scrub with warm water to rinse.