Help! Ceramic tiles fading and the company won't replace them - Tile Advice

[Erin Whiley]

Hello,

I'm hoping someone may be able to help me. We had black and white ceramic tiles put in our kitchen and the black started to fade. We contact the company who we bought them from who put us in contact with the supplier. The supplier replaced the tiles and the exact same thing is happening again. We have informed the suppliers who are now coming up with all manner of rubbish excuses as to why this is happening, the main one being that we are the only people to ever have had a problem with these tiles and so therefore it is our fault.
We are an ordinary household with two people and two dogs and we haven't done anything that an ordinary family wouldn't do on the tiles. No harsh chemicals, no buffing machines, no tap dancing.
We are looking for an independent inspector to come in and give us a report on the tiles but all the people I've been able to contact say they don't deal with colour fading, only bad installation. Can anyone suggest someone who may be able to help please?

Thank you,
Erin

 

[Albert]

A picture of the tiles might help, alongside one that hasn't faded.

 

[Andy Allen]

Also what is the name and make of the tiles and where did you get them from..

 

[Dumbo]

I think unless they can come up with a plausible excuse as to why this may be happening I suggest you contact trading standards as they are not fit for purpose . What excuses have they made .

 

[Erin Whiley]

Here's some photos of a spare tile we have alongside the faded tiles.
The make of the tile is Realonda and the name is Victorian Nero Floor. The initial purchase was made with a local bathroom and kitchen company and the replacement floor was supplied by the tile supplier in Bedford.
The excuses that they have given us are that our dogs could be bringing something acidic in on their feet (how this would harm the tile and not the dogs I have no idea). They also said we are bring gravel in on our shoes and this will wear the tile over a period of time ( The fact we are a shoes off household has been explained to them plus the tiles started to show signs of fading after two months). They have said that when they removed the previous floor there was a 'pungent' odour coming from under the tiles and that therefore we must be using strong cleaning products on the tiles (If we were using strong cleaning products, which we are not, how this would cause the underneath of the tile to smell is beyond me), we did ask them if that could be the adhesive used to affix the previous tiles but they have ignored our query. Then they have said that the wear is on the most trafficked area of the tile so that could be a cause (Which would mean the tiles are not fit for purpose if they fade so quickly).
Thanks in advance for your help.

 

[Tile Shop]

Definitely ceramic and not polished porcelain? And where are you? As @Albert says, images would help as a starting point.

 

[Tile Shop]

Ah... Piccys weren't there when i posted.... Anyway, glazed ceramic shouldn't fade for any reason.

Quick test, in an out of sight area, on the black square, drop a little bleach on one and vinegar on another. Leave for 5 minutes and rub with a kitchen roll. See if the colour fades any, and to see if any pigments come off on the tissue. Let us know the results. At work i may have an email address and number for one of Realondas agents who may be able to help. They tend to be very helpful when you suggest you might put your problem on social media for the world to see

 

[Erin Whiley]

Thanks for the reply. I'll go and test now.
We had a representative from the Realonda factory come and see the floor and they weren't very helpful. They couldn't see why the fading was occurring either and they will have been in contact with the English suppliers who have refused to replace the floor again. Right off to testing.

 

[Erin Whiley]

Test done and nothing has faded and no colour has come out on the kitchen roll.

 

[Tile Shop]

.

 

[Tile Shop]

Sorry for the delay, been a busy morning.

I'm about to email our contact with the images. However, having looked at the pictures again, I notice the white part of the octagons have darkened from the original look.

The test you did, if the tile was naturally faulty or the glaze was fading/bleeding, either the acid in the vinegar or the bleach, from past experience, would have had some kind of affect.

Now please please please don't take this the wrong way, I'm not saying you are dirty people and I also have a dog that likes to get mucky in the garden and bring it in and staying on top of the cleaning can be a nightmare. But my only other thought is if there is dirt showing, obviously more visible white tiles, this would also pose as a risk for surface abrasion. You may have clean indoor footwear (or no footwear) but this dirt will contain grit and it can still be dragged across the surface by any foot traffic creating like a fine, almost sand-paper like effect. This will abrade the glaze over time and the more surface dirt there is, the quicker it will happen.

The surface of glazed tiles is hard wearing, but not indestructible. So this could happen on any tile to varying extents.

However, I would be questioning the wearing grade, as grade 4 (according to the only reference to this tile I could find on a foreign website) "should" be able to withstand this type of abrasion/scratching dirt if that is indeed the cause of the problem and especially if this dirt is minimal:

"BS EN 14411:2012 EN 14411:2012 (E) - Annex M (informative)
- Class 3:
Floor coverings in areas that, with normal footwear, are walked on more often with small amounts of scratching dirt (e.g. residential kitchens, halls, corridors, balconies, loggias and terraces). This does not apply to abnormal footwear (i.e. hobnailed boots).

Class 4:
Floor coverings that are walked on by regular traffic with some scratching dirt so that the conditions are more severe than Class 3 (e.g. entrances, commercial kitchens, hotel, exhibition and sale rooms)."

Wear isn't visible on the white parts of the tile, only the black but based on how yours have worn, the same test (ISO10545/7) conducted on the black parts of the tile, I would have thought have shown the abrasion significantly quicker, thus reducing the wear grade possibly to as little as grade 2 and therefore unsuitable for kitchen use.

I will send your images to the factory and ask for a datasheet to confirm the abrasion resistance and we can at least look to see if the tile has been mis-sold for your situation.

 

[Tile Shop]

Just getting some facts straight before emailing them:

The excuses that they have given us are that our dogs could be bringing something acidic in on their feet (how this would harm the tile and not the dogs I have no idea).

They have said that when they removed the previous floor there was a 'pungent' odour coming from under the tiles and that therefore we must be using strong cleaning products on the tiles (If we were using strong cleaning products, which we are not, how this would cause the underneath of the tile to smell is beyond me), we did ask them if that could be the adhesive used to affix the previous tiles but they have ignored our query.

Doubtful that it would be cleaning products.... I think it is a very polite way of implying the dogs have pee'd on the floor even if it has been a couple of "accidents" that have been aloud to sit for a while. If they have, the grout being water resistant, will have allowed the "liquid" to pass through to the underside of the tile and become stagnant. Also being acidic, it may have a chemical reaction on the cement based adhesive which will cause a very strong ammonia like smell. Tiles also being ceramic, the underside is absorbent so it would soak up the moisture and could possibly cause a yellow/brown discoloration to the front face of the tile.

What cleaning products have you been using on the floor just out of interest?

 

[Tile Shop]

I'm about to email our contact with the images.

Turns out its the same agent that visited you.

 

[Erin Whiley]

Ah I see, well at least she knows I'm still looking into it now. Thank you so much for contacting her and for your help in general. As you can understand it's quite stressful trying to sort this out.
Answering your previous comments; the dogs are house trained so no accidents and we have no yellow or brown patches of discolouration. As for cleaning products on the first floor we had we used a dilution of Flash floor cleaner and then because I was worried about that on the new floor I use Tesco floor wipes.
I'm aware the tiles will show signs of wear and tear because we have dogs even though we try to prevent dirty paws were possible, but surely they shouldn't fade that badly in under six months should they? I've attached photos of a report about the tiles we were sent in the last lot of communication we had with the suppliers but it doesn't state if the tiles that were tested where new tiles or our faded tiles that they removed. I've also added a photo of the packaging from the tiles which has information that may be relevant to the hardness. Sorry I would have sent this earlier but I've had appointments all day.

Again thank you ever so much for your input. It's much appreciated.

 

[jimthetiler]

question,is there a roof light or window by that part of the floor.Also were the tiles stored at yours for any period of time before they were laid.