Nowadays, tile flooring is the most popular type of flooring. It is easy to install and provides a sleek appearance to your home. Apart from all good things, tile flooring needs proper care during purchasing, installation and during service life. Due to the lack of proper care and maintenance, various defects may occur on the floor or wall tiles, i.e. cracking, fading, buckling, rust stain, etc. Among them, faded tiles are one of the most of common defect observed.
Causes and Prevention of Faded Tiles
Faded tiles most commonly observed in shower areas of homes. This may also happen in areas subjected to direct and prolonged sunlight. Tiles fade due to overuse of strong chemicals on tiles surface. This defect is more common in dark coloured tiles, which loses its colour and lighten significantly over a time. Nowadays, tiles are digitally printed so there ain’t any need of using harmful chemicals.
Here we give several reasons due to which the tiles fade:
01. Use of unnecessary acidic cleaners, especially in shower areas. The tiles do not need this type of powerful and harmful cleaner. They etch the glazed surface and hence the tiles trap dirt. So it becomes harder to clean and hence start fading.
02. If grouting is not properly done, during the tile installation, soaps and body fats are accumulated in one corner. This makes tiles fade. Due to this, the film attracts and grabs the soap and body fats. Then the tiles appear to be turning into white. You will observe “white” patches over tiles, gradually several times.
03. Some of the tiles fade due to the direct sunlight on the surface of the tiles when the bathroom has an open window. This may happen in other areas too, due to ultraviolet rays of the sun. Particularly when the pigments used as a colour in the manufacturing of tiles, are not UV resistant.
04. Excessive moisture also causes the tiles fade. Since the tiles remain covered in moisture every time the shower is turned on.
05. When tile cleaning is not proper done, tiles get fade, due to the deposit of dust particles.
06. In kitchen areas, you need to be very cautious with oily products as if they are drop on tiles, there are chances of tiles fading.
Hence, always keep in store few tiles while buying or constructing a house. If regularly maintained, the tiles should last forever.
