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We have slate on an enclosed porch and porcelain tile indoors in the kitchen.
Love the natural look of the slate but but it's irregular, porous, collects dirt, and needs resealing (multiple coats) every couple of years. Personally, I would never use it indoors.
The porcelain is easily the most durable and easy-to-clean surface I've ever lived with. All I do is damp mop it with detergent and water. Some folks say they've needed to regrout from time-to-time but we haven't done so nor have we ever resealed it in the 20+ years we've had it. Ours has a 1/8" grout line and the grout color is very near the same color as the tile, so it barely shows.
It's my understanding that porcelain and ceramic are virtually the same, with ceramic being slightly less dense, so I'd think much the same holds for ceramic.
We have slate on an enclosed porch and porcelain tile indoors in the kitchen.
Love the natural look of the slate but but it's irregular, porous, collects dirt, and needs resealing (multiple coats) every couple of years. Personally, I would never use it indoors.
The porcelain is easily the most durable and easy-to-clean surface I've ever lived with. All I do is damp mop it with detergent and water. Some folks say they've needed to regrout from time-to-time but we haven't done so nor have we ever resealed it in the 20+ years we've had it. Ours has a 1/8" grout line and the grout color is very near the same color as the tile, so it barely shows.
It's my understanding that porcelain and ceramic are virtually the same, with ceramic being slightly less dense, so I'd think much the same holds for ceramic.
biscuitmom,
Totally agree! We have slate in the kitchen.....never again! It is a Pain to keep clean. The slate is bad enough but the grout lines are a PITA!
I wouldn't even do ceramic in the kitchen, porcelain is the way to go. Porcelain is fired at a much higher temperature so it is a harder material with tighter dimensional tolerances. The grout lines can be narrower because the tiles are flatter and nearly identical.
What is "resealing" of slate? I saw some slate samples, the faces are not leveled very well, giving you a rusty feel. I can imaging it will be hard to sweep slate floor using a broom, since it is hard for the broom to reach certain area. How do you clean the slate, I mean any special cleaning solution?
True slate, like most natural stone, is fragile.
As you said, it's hard to sweep and harder to keep clean. Not sure what you mean by "special cleaning solution". It gets and stays dirty, easily. If you're hell bent, go for it. I don't like it and wouldn't do it again. ymmv.
Last edited by biscuitmom; 07-26-2014 at 12:38 AM..
I had slate on my outdoor patio area in my former home and I can't imagine it in a kitchen, or anywhere indoors. It was hard enough to keep clean outside. Never again.
I have a slate floor in my bathroom and LOVE it. We had it at the old house and I wanted it in this house. We were thinking of doing the old kitchen floor in slate but opted to go with hardwood flooring instead which we like.
Quote:
Originally Posted by artking09
What is "resealing" of slate? I saw some slate samples, the faces are not leveled very well, giving you a rusty feel. I can imaging it will be hard to sweep slate floor using a broom, since it is hard for the broom to reach certain area. How do you clean the slate, I mean any special cleaning solution?
How you seal or reseal it is by putting sealant down on it. It is as easy as mopping it.
You can apply a few coats of the sealant and that will protect the grout, too. Then you can clean it using what you normally clean a floor with. We use Mr. Clean. It is true that the tile are not level but just slightly. And the broom can reach all areas.
Cat
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