Should You Soak Tile In Water Before Laying?

2020/3/19 18:06:39

If the house is not well decorated, it will not only bring us great losses, but also affect the quality of our house. So when decorating, we must take time to supervise the workers. Tiling is a part of decoration, and soaking tile materials in water is a common practice. This is a necessity when laying tile that is very soft. Then what’s the advantage of tile soaking? Read this article to find out more.

Soak Tiles Before Laying - Benefits Of Tiles Soaking

1. Why Tiles Are Soaked In Water Before Installation

Ceramic tile & porcelain tile have some pores more or less, it will suck the water out of the mortar without allowing it to set properly, leaving weak bonds between mortar and tile. The purpose of soaking tile before laying is to make the pores fully absorb water, so as not to cause hollowing, shedding, or even cracks. However, due to the high density and much smaller porosity of tiles, the water absorption is very low. Especially for the wall paving, before the wall tiles laying, it is necessary to sprinkle water on the wall.

2. What Kind Of Tiles To Soak

This depends on the water absorption of the tile. When the water absorption is less than 0.5%, there is no need to soak. However, the water absorption of glazed wall tiles and floor tiles for kitchen and bathroom is generally greater than 10%. It is necessary to soak when paving (if it is porcelain wall tiles, the water absorption is less than 0.5%, then there is no need to soak). The water absorption rate of polished tile is less than 0.5%, which can be ignored as non water absorption. If it is soaked, the anti fouling wax on the surface will be washed away. If it is not well protected during construction, the brick surface will be polluted or scratched.

3. The Right Way To Soak Tile

The correct way to soak tiles in water is to find a large basin and let the tiles completely immersed. However, it is necessary to handle the tiles gently to prevent the tiles from falling. Place the tiles in a container full of water, and fill the container with water before passing the tiles. Generally, the time of soaking is about 20 or 30 minutes, which is subject to the time of no bubbles after the tiles are completely soaked.

4. After The Water Can Leave The Tiles

We generally buy the tiles will take into account the loss of time and other issues, so when we buy tiles we will buy more, then the paving tiles if the excess tiles after the water can not be back, because the ceramic bubble after the water, the color will darker, old and new tiles contrast will appear obvious color. And then soaked in water, soaked the first water tiles, and bubble the second water tiles compared to the color or will be the same.