Tile is not tile. Stain sensitivity!?

Hello everyone,

as the topic already says. In the current rental house, we have medium-light gray tiles in the bathroom and kitchen, which I would classify as extremely prone to stains.... There are stains (from body lotions or something?), which do not come off even with cleaning agents (Frosch or alcohol). Also, you can see all kinds of water spots or similar right away.

How have you dealt with the issue of "stain sensitivity" on your tiles in the bathroom and kitchen? Was it maybe not that important to you? If it was, how did you test it?

Thanks again.
Ludwig

Kitchen natural stone, much more sensitive than tiles. However, much more beautiful, even with individual spots that do not stand out in the texture.

Gray tiles are really sensitive. The bathrooms are equipped with them and our tiles already had spots from the fire that are tolerable according to the standard. Eventually, you stop paying attention to it.

For the new kitchen, I had tile samples sent to me. I then treated the tiles with everyday kitchen stains (mustard, jam, cucumber slice, beetroot, red wine, soy sauce, etc.), placed them in the heating room for 2 weeks, and then cleaned them with the conventional mop. The tile from which all the stains disappeared without any problems was the one chosen.

What did the m² natural stone cost?

The natural stone is also laid in tile form, right?

The advantage is also that if it cracks underneath, no white shows through but the stone has 100% the same color. Not like standard tiles, which are only colored on top and when chipped, the light standard color shows?

can you generally say that more expensive tiles handle stains better or not? How many tile patterns did you have in your test?

can one generally say that more expensive tiles handle stains better or not? How many tile patterns did you have in your test?

I tested with 4 tiles. It ended up being matte porcelain stoneware in concrete look. Costs 20€/sqm. Slip resistance was also important; it's nice if they are easy to clean, but it doesn't help if you then have a rough acquaintance with the floor of reality while holding a mop or a hot soup pot ^^ I tested from 15 to 30€/sqm. With the porcelain stoneware, you don't even see anything if a corner chips off. Although the notorious corner chipping has never happened here; even the ancient tiles from 1970 mostly only have a crack (it only looks bad in the old kitchen; the beige tiles are worn down at the sink and stove so much that they are now brown ).

Tiles come in different quality levels. In living areas, always choose only fully colored ones, then you won't have any problems if something falls down. Prices start at around €30/m2 up to €60/m2. For the natural stone, we paid €35 per m² without installation.