Since Crossville® products are considered to be a finish material, they should not be installed until all heavy construction is completed.

Between installation and putting the floor into service, it is imperative to properly protect the tile and grout in order to avoid construction-related cleaning problems. Generally, there is a build up of dirt and debris on every construction site. This dirt and debris may cause the grout, and sometimes the tile, to be adversely affected.

Crossville recommends that a protective cover be put over the tile surface to safeguard the appearance. The cover could include uncolored Kraft paper, cardboard, plywood, or any other clean covering that will not damage the integrity of the installation. Do not use plastic as it may not allow the grout and thin-set to properly cure, and it also may become extremely slippery as construction dust settles. Proper and diligent care must be used to maintain the protective cover during construction. This will insure a quality appearance when the floor is opened for continuous use.

The single most important step for future daily maintenance involves the complete removal of grout and construction dirt after Crossville® products have been installed. Grout manufactures print instructions for proper mixing, curing and cleaning of grout on each container. These directions must be followed. In most cases, Crossville Porcelain Stone® can be cleaned successfully by scrubbing the installation with hot water and a neutral detergent, followed by a thorough rinsing, then removing the rinse water with a wet vacuum, or dry toweling. If grout residue still remains, further cleaning of the tile should be accomplished in consultation with the grout manufacture and Crossville

Some grout manufactures distribute proprietary products which they recommend for the removal of their particular grout from the surface of tile. These products can be diluted for removal of light deposits of grouting materials with the possibility of using stronger concentrations when more aggressive cleaning is required.

Equipment recommended for more aggressive cleaning are floor scrubbers or floor buffing machines equipped with a nylon pad or brush. A wet vacuum should be used to pick up suspended grout residue and construction dirt completely.

Acid washing is rarely recommended and is not usually necessary to successfully clean a new installation if the cleaning is done in a timely fashion. Caution should be exercised when using acid, or acid-based cleaners as they can adversely affect the grout,

If a customer insists on use of an acid for cleaning the installation, he or she should be cautioned to use sulfamic acid or phosphoric acid mixed in a solution according to manufactures' instruction. It is important that before the acid solution is placed on the floor, the grout joints be thoroughly saturated with water first. Grouts which contain latex can actually bond more strongly to the tile surfaces if cleaned with acid. Latex or polymer modified grouts should be cleaned with a solution recommended by th grout manufacturer. Contractors or installers should also wait until the grout joint has fully cured, usually 7 to 10 days before using acidic cleaners.

Once the initial cleaning has been thoroughly completed, our daily maintenance procedures can be followed for continuous and long-lasing beauty.

Crossville recommends a two-bucket mopping approach as exemplified by the WaveBreak® mopping system offered by Rubbermaind® For speciific details call (800)347-9800 or go to rubbermaidwavebreak.com

Historically Crossville has not recommended the application of sealers except with polished porcelain; this exception being due to "micro pores" on the surface left by the griding/polishing process. However, over the last 2 to 3 years significant changes have occurred to the grout products available in the marketplace.

• polymer enriched grouts
• epoxy grouts
• epoxy emulsion grouts
• polyurethane based grouts
• micro particle technology finely grained sand and glass spheres
• light complexion of some unpolished and polished porcelains coupled with high usage levels

• very effective joint/void filing
• very strong bonding agents

• these films come at the end of the installation
• often this film collects and holds the full variety of construction dirt and debris
• the "new" tile floor can have a dull appearance
• light colored tile will appear dirty from the start
• this condition will only get worse, until such films are removed, or better yet, kept from becoming established in the first place

Therefore, prior to grouting, particularly if the tile is light in color and the grout material is in contrast to the tile or composed of epoxy/epoxy emulsions, the application of a penetrating sealer/grout release (Example: Miracle Sealants 511 Impregnator 800-350-1901 or Aqua Mix Ultra-Solv 877-278-2311) is reommended.

• some combinations of polished porcelain tile (mirco pores) and these highly formulated/hybrid grouts should be small scale tested with more than one coating of protective sealer before proceeding to the entire floor
• install the sealer/grout release prior to the grouting process as outlined in the manufacture's written product usage instructions

Some ket points:

• allow adequate cure period for the sealer/grout release typically 1 to 4 hours
• all excess sealer (do not allow to pond) must be removed at the time of application by wiping or buffing with a clean dry cloth. This is very important for impervious porcelain surfaces.

General maintenance and cleaning of Crossville® Porcelain Stone® tile will vary depending on the surface texture and soil load. General cleaning should be performed first by sweeping or vacuuming to remove loose soil or other surface contaminants, then lightly damp mopping with clean water.

Depending on the soil load, a more aggressive cleaning process may be required. This could include the use of a neutral cleaner or a general household cleaner, followed by a thorough rinsing. Please refer to Cleaning Chart for suggested cleaners.

There are five steps that are critical and should always be rememebered for the successful maintenance of porcelain tile:

1. All spills should be cleaned as quickly as possible
2. Use only the recommended dilution of detergent. More is not always better; higher concentrations of detergent in the cleaning solution will only make it more difficult to rinse.
3. Allow the proper dwell(remain on the floor) time. The detergent solution must be given time to act on the soil load. Generally 5-10 minutes is sufficient.
4. Scrub with a nylon pad or bristle brush.
5. Rinse thoroughly with clean, clear water to remove the dirty detergent solution and emulsified soil. Rinsing is a critical step in the maintenance procedure. Remove the rinse water with a wet vacuum, dry mop or toweling. If dirty detergent solution is not removed and is allowed to dry on the surface, a coating will form which is very difficult to remove.

In addition to the above steps, slightly different cleaning techniques should be administered for each of the surface textures offered by Crossville®: Unpolished Matte finish, Polished, Cross-Slate®, Cross-Tread®, Cross-Sheen® Crossdot®, and Cross-Grip®.

The use of auto-scrubbers and/or wet extraction machinery can make routine cleaning easier and more efficient