You mentioned in you article that you should use a "quary tile cleaner". Could you recommend a brand and store source. I do professional cleaning. The place I clean has a "70"s sealed red clay floor, it leaves streaks when it dries. I want to elimate this problem. Thank you for your help.

There are several variables that go into streaking floors. Flooring finish, how clean the water is, and how clean the mop is.

Do you know what the floor is sealed with? Are you changing the water frequently? And is the mop head staying clean?

What flooring product do you presently use?

With enough puzzle pieces put together, we can talk about options you have.

Quarry tile should be eliminated as an acceptable flooring choice in commercial kitchens. I have found that a Polyurethane, seamless poured floor is the best option available. Much more durable and cleanable. Look to Stonhard UT as best option.

Thank you Todd for your opinion. Keep in mind that while a poly poured floor is an excellent, durable option it doesn't suit everybody's needs, especially aesthetically.

Hi,

In 2006, my right foot slipped out from under me as I was attempting to board a train in a station with a leaky overhang, causing the platform to be wet and slippery. When I fell, I was wearing slip resistant shoes that I had only worn once or twice prior to that accident.

At the edge of the platform, about six inches in from where one steps inside the train, a long single row of terra-cotta red commercial-grade quarry tiles, measuring 6 inch by 6 inch by 1/2 inches each, extended parallel to the edge of the platform and for the entire length of the station.

The tiles had been installed on the platform of a public train station that serves as a major transfer point in Oakland, California. Every day, thousands of passengers enter and exit the cars of those trains and walk over these tiles. Such tiles are designed for use in extremely heavily trafficked areas.

Although I did not notice it at the time, the edge of the platform where people enter and exit the train doors was also exposed to rain. These tiles were beneath an overhang that, in addition to being rife with peeling paint, was also leaking. I was looking to board the train, and did notice the wet tile until I had slipped on it. As I took my last step towards the open doors of the waiting train, I watched in slow motion as my right foot gave out from beneath me, causing me to slip. With my right leg extended forward and slipping backwards, my left leg attempted to regain my balance, but I fell down rather hard. In the course of that fall, I sustained a triple fracture to my left ankle that required immediate surgery. I was in pain for many months, and required physical therapy. Less than nine months later, I had to have a second surgery to remove one of the two herniated disks that I had sustained during that fall. One of them had ruptured, and pieces of the disk were pressing against my sciatic nerve. A neurosurgeon removed the fragments in the hopes that I would not have to continue experiencing numbness with intermittent shooting pain down my right leg.

The quarry tile that I lost my balance on was very wet and slippery. Although I have been told that when this sort of tile is newly installed, the upper face of the tile has a non-skid finish and contains an abrasive mixture throughout.

My question is this. Although these tiles are strong and expected to resist many years of extreme use while holding their original shape, non-skid finish, and abrasive texture, at what point might a reasonable person with some knowledge about the durability of these tiles begin to be concerned that the tiles might become sufficiently worn so as to pose a danger, and suggest additional maintainence or replacement to ensure pedestrian safety? To give you an idea of the time frame in question, the injuries that I sustained from that particular fall occurred in 2006, whereas the tile I slipped on had been installed in 1970.

The reason I ask is because I am very concerned for the safety of other passengers. I suffered a lot of pain from that fall, but because these tiles are so close the edge of the tracks, I fear that one day someone, possibly a child, will slip in a similar way to how I did, but not be so lucky, and end up falling in front of an oncoming train. Of course, I would never have known that these tiles presented a dangerous surface until I fell myself, but I am not there to remind the many thousands of people who transit that station each day, and although it should be common practice for station employees to warn passengers whenever conditions become dangerously slippery, the employees often forget.

I would appreciate any information you or someone from your company could provide concerning the functional life of quarry tiles that are subject to the type of wear due to incessant foot traffic on the public platform of a transit station.

Thank you so much for posting a reply to my inquiry.

Warm regards,

Paul