If you've found yourself wondering how to clean porcelain tiles, the expert team from London Stone are here to help. Porcelain paving is much loved for its low-maintenance advantages, but it still needs cleaning occasionally, and it's important to ensure your outdoor porcelain floor tiles are maintained correctly, to avoid the risk of any damage being done.

Man showing how to clean porcelain outdoor tiles with a jet wash held at the right angle and with correct power setting
Here is a perfect example of how to use a jet wash on paving.

We give you the lowdown on how to clean your outdoor porcelain tiles, providing additional information about the right patio cleaning products to use and a range of other cleaning tips.

If you still have questions after reading through this blog, please contact our expert team and we'll help you as much as we can.

Cleaning porcelain patios: maintenance made easy

Whether you want to remove mud stains from your new slabs, or you'd like to spruce your garden space up, cleaning outdoor porcelain tiles is usually easier than cleaning natural stone. If you have natural paving, take a comprehensive look at how to clean a stone patio.

There are two main steps to take when cleaning porcelain outdoor tiles:

  1. First, you should sweep the affected tiles thoroughly, using a stiff-bristled broom or a leaf blower. This stage will remove any loose dirt and debris from the surface of your paving. 
  2. When you've swept your floor tiles, you should brush them with warm water and a clean stiff-bristled brush. Alternatively, you can also use a jet wash or pressure washer for this part of the process - please read on to find out more about using a jet wash to clean your paving slabs.

In most cases, you'll only need to follow these two steps to ensure you have clean porcelain floor tiles. Because porcelain is such a dense material, this process is often enough to lift dirt and bring your outdoor tiles back to their newly laid appearance .Cleaning products may not be necessary, although you can purchase them through our site if you prefer.

Jet Wash Magic: How to Use a Jet Wash for Cleaning Porcelain

2 rows of laid Porcelain outdoor tiles, one cleaned, one dirty
A demonstration at our Middlesex showroom of how well cleaning will revive a porcelain patio.

While porcelain is a very robust material, the grout in the joints is usually less so (you can find more information on choosing the right grouting for your paving). 

As such, the utmost care should be taken with the power and application of a jet wash, to avoid causing damage when cleaning porcelain tiles. If in doubt, you may want to consider hiring a professional gardener or landscaper for help with jet washing your outdoor tiles. 

When using a jet wash to clean porcelain, you should take the following steps:

  1. Choose the right type of pressure washer for your porcelain. An adjustable pressure setting is a must, and you should also choose a jet wash with an adjustable nozzle or fan. 
  2. The area you will be spraying needs to be cleared before starting your jet wash. This will prevent damage from being caused to your garden furniture or plants.
  3. Set the jet at a low to medium pressure and use clean water to wash your tiles. You should use a lower pressure setting and sweep the pressure washer across your slabs numerous times, instead of using the highest setting (which can cause damage to your paving slabs).
  4. The wand should be held at a 45-degree angle to the surface of the stone and held around 50 cm above your porcelain paving. It's important to aim the nozzle at a diagonal angle, as this will stop the water from getting into the joints. Use a consistent sweeping motion to thoroughly clean your outdoor tiles.

Don't forget - you'll do a better job by washing over a patio several times with your jet wash than using a heavy blast of water just once. 

Tackling tough stains: porcelain paving cleaning hacks

Porcelain is an extremely stain-resistant material, but that doesn't mean stains are impossible. Allowing leaves to lie on the surface and rot and dripping grease from a barbecue are just two examples of how porcelain paving can become stained. If you have stains that need to be lifted, you will need to choose the correct paving cleaner for use with your tiles.

Another option is to seal your porcelain tiles. Whilst porcelain doesn’t need to be sealed, it can make cleaning and maintenance much easier. At London Stone, we also offer a pre-sealing solution if you’re purchasing your tiles from us - just get in touch with our team and we’ll add our pre-sealing services to your tiles.

There are a few cleaning product options available to you, depending on the type of stain you need to treat:

  • Rust, efflorescence and grout haze - Dry Treat Acidic Cleaner can be used to remove these marks.
  • Algae – An algae remover (such as Lithofin Algex) also protects against algal return, as well as cleaning algae.
  • Black spot - If you have black spot, a specific black spot cleaner is required.
  • Grease and oil - Choose a general cleaner such as Lithofin Power Clean, or a spot cleaner for stubborn stains.
  • General grime and dirt – A Stone and Masonry Cleaner (SMC) can be used to give your patio a deep clean.

Find out more about the best cleaning solutions to choose for your porcelain paving.

What Not to Use when Cleaning a Porcelain Patio

Whilst there are specific cleaning products that can be beneficial for maintaining your porcelain patio, there are also several items you should not use. Using these products/ingredients can cause damage to your porcelain paving and are not recommended by us.

  • Anything very abrasive - Porcelain is tough and scratch-resistant, but that doesn’t mean it can’t get scratched at all. This means that you should avoid cleaning it with anything like steel wool or a steel brush. These items might also leave particles in your patio grout which would oxidise, causing discolouration.
  • Any cleaning solution not specified as suitable for porcelain - Harsh chemicals such as bleach may have an impact on the appearance of your porcelain slabs. The effect of anything that adversely affects the tile surface or the grouting is likely to be difficult to reverse.

We sell a range of porcelain patio cleaners, which are specifically selected for use with our porcelain products. It’s recommended that these items are used for cleaning your porcelain, instead of the harsh products and chemicals listed above.

Discover Our Range of Powerful Porcelain Paving Cleaners

Bottle of Lithofin Power Clean
Find Lithofin Power Clean among our cleaning products.

At London Stone, we don’t just sell stylish porcelain paving tiles. Instead, we have everything you could ever need to use with your new paving slabs, including grout, cutting tools, sealer and a range of outdoor porcelain tile cleaners.

We aim to help our customers maintain their porcelain paving slabs. They'll last for many years into the future when looked after correctly. As well as our sophisticated selection of outdoor paving, we also have a wide collection of interior porcelain slabs - find out more about cleaning indoor tiles.

If you have any questions about the best way to clean your porcelain outdoor tiles, then we're always ready to help - just get in touch and we’ll do our best to advise you.