Your kitchen floor tiles take a lot of punishment from foot traffic, pets, and cooking spills.  Add to this the accumulation of a thin film of grease from cooking that dirt sticks to and you have a dirty, difficult cleaning job on your hands.  However, you can use steam to do the hard work for you in a fraction of the time it would take with a traditional mop and bucket and with much better results.

A steam cleaning machine directs jets of high temperature steam onto the tiles, lifting away caked-on dirt and killing bacteria.  The process doesn't entail any hard scrubbing that could damage tile grout and you don't need chemicals either. Here's how to do it.

What you'll need

• soft yard brush
• a domestic steam cleaning machine (buy one from a DIY store or hire from a tool hire shop if you prefer a trial run first)
• clean cloths
• washing-up liquid
• liquid tile polish
• sponge mop

How to do it

1. Start by brushing away any loose dust and surface dirt from the floor.  
2. Fill up the steamer's water container with cold, clean water.  Switch on the machine and leave it to heat up to its optimum temperature.  (There should be a light on the machine that will come on when the steamer is ready for use).  
3. Select the nozzle attachment from the array that should come with your machine.  Use the nozzle to direct a powerful jet of steam into the corners of the kitchen and along the bottom of the walls.  This helps to loosen awkward to reach, caked-on dirt.  
4. Next, fix the stiff bristle attachment to the machine.  Work methodically and slowly back and forth across the kitchen floor, pressing down gently on the steamer as you go.  
5. Change the attachment again for the soft cloth one.  Make another pass across the floor to remove the dirt and grease that has been lifted.  
6. Use a clean cloth to wipe around the edges of the floor and into the corners.  This should leave the floor sparkling clean.  
7. Now you can finish the job by using a sponge mop to apply a dressing of liquid tile polish to the floor.  

In conclusion

The power of steam is perfect for cleaning tough areas, such as your kitchen floor.  Before you have a go yourself, why not ask your local cleaning services contractor to give your kitchen floor a really thorough steam clean to show you how it should be done?