ᐅ Are porcelain tiles recommended?

Hello, we are currently planning our flooring.
We visited a home improvement store to get an initial overview and had basically decided on anthracite-colored, polished FSZ tiles for the kitchen and the same tiles in a matte finish for the hallway, cloakroom, utility room, etc.

However, I have come across information online about issues such as “clouding,” “hazing,” difficulties in cleaning, water stains that cannot be wiped away, and similar problems.

So my question to you is: has anyone experienced something similar and would choose differently today?
What alternatives are there?

Best regards, amelie74

There are different types of porcelain stoneware tiles, so I cannot generally say that issues like "haze" or water stains occur with all tiles of this kind. We use glazed porcelain stoneware tiles with a silky matte finish, specifically the Napoli tile, and when installed as a continuous floor covering, no gaps form where dirt can accumulate! These types of tiles are very easy to maintain!

As modern as they may be, I would never recommend using uniformly dark flooring, except in a guest bathroom (an enclosed space without window glare).
Dust is always visible in direct light – lint and hairs also stand out.
This applies to high-gloss surfaces as well. This has been my observation so far.

Tip: ask for a sample tile and place it in front of the patio window next to the sofa.
Touch the surface with greasy fingers, wipe it with a damp finger, drop some hairs and a few drops of water on it, then let it dry. Check under different lighting conditions, especially how dust appears.

Yvonne

We have had various sample tiles in our apartment for the past 4 weeks. They are all placed in the main walking area of the living room, so our child and pets walk over them constantly. These few square meters have not been cleaned on purpose so far. However, cleaning will be done in the next few weeks before we order the tiles.

I now have the same concern with a very dark floor tile. But since it has a quite pronounced texture, it’s still manageable.

We had our ground floor (except for the guest bathroom) covered with Lucerna porcelain tiles from Villeroy & Boch, sized 45 x 90cm (18 x 35 inches) in the color "Graphite."

These tiles are not completely dark but are wonderfully durable thanks to their textured surface.

It looks like this:

By now, we are very glad that we did not choose darker floor tiles, especially because they combine well with other colors and are less prone to showing dust.

Best regards,

Dirk

Hello,

amelie74 schrieb:

We got a first overview at the home improvement store and have "actually" already decided on anthracite-colored, polished porcelain stoneware tiles for the kitchen and the same in matte for the hallway, cloakroom, utility room, etc.

To be honest, I can hardly imagine a reasonable use for high-gloss polished tiles or even marble in an occupied single-family home. Unless the new building is intended as a showroom and explicitly not as a residential house.

Some of our clients have had V & B tiles installed both in high-gloss and matte finishes in 45 x 45 cm (18 x 18 inch) format; matte in the wet rooms, the rest high-gloss; only partial areas of the floor are laid with parquet as eye-catchers. And all of this in RAL 7016, a rather dark anthracite; not exactly inexpensive. It looks very good, no question; but it’s something else when it comes to everyday practicality. Just after cleaning, at the first step onto the high-gloss tiles—shoes always bring dust into the house—it already no longer looks nice; rather grimy. Add pet hair into the mix... well, I have other hobbies than cleaning.

Unfortunately, I don’t have a photo of “just” the floor covering, but in the attachment, I think it can be seen that high-gloss surfaces are not necessarily low-maintenance.

Regards, Bauexperte