With so many flooring options available, it’s hard to settle on just one type or finish, and if your home contains a mixture of surfaces, it’s important to know how to care for and maintain each and every one of them. Porcelain tile is a popular choice for both indoor and outdoor applications and is a beautiful addition to any room in your home. Due to the nature and surface texture of this type of tile, improper cleaning techniques can leave them looking dull and dingy, but with the right advice and the right products, your floors can look as good as new.

Porcelain Tile Defined

Porcelain and ceramic tile are often lumped together interchangeably, but there are enough differences between the two that make it important to correctly identify which type you have in your home. The greatest distinction is undoubtedly the density, with porcelain winning out: porcelain clay is both denser and less porous, making it harder and more resistant to moisture than ceramic.

This high density makes it more durable as well and better suited for high-traffic areas or outdoor use, in addition to greater flexibility with regard to sizing. One of the best kept secrets of these tiles is only revealed if it becomes damaged: chip a ceramic tile, and it becomes glaringly obvious, as the raw color of the clay is revealed beneath the surface glaze, but porcelain tile is colored all the way through, so chips are virtually invisible.