MDF stands for Medium Density Fibreboard and it is common practice to use MDF for baseboards throughout the house. MDF has an extremely large flaw in that it is essentially a compressed cardboard type of material. When MDF gets wet, it will swell and expand like a balloon. When the MDF expands, the paint will come off the MDF and the MDF will look swollen and ugly. After MDF expands and then dries, it will not return to its original shape and will permanently swell, warp and ruin. Sometimes people try to sand down the MDF and paint it, but the baseboards will never look as flat and even as when they were first installed.
The possibility of ruining baseboards when cleaning a tile floor creates a dilemma for people who want to clean their tile and grout but don’t want to ruin their baseboards. Water and cleaning chemicals should be used to effectively clean any dirty surface, and tile and grout cleaning is no exception. Some people will try to put blue painter’s tape on their MDF to protect it from water getting through the MDF. The blue painter’s tape will soak up the water, and the water will soak into the MDF relatively easily. Also, when you remove the blue painter’s tape after cleaning the tile and grout, the blue painter’s tape can strip the paint and make your MDF baseboards look unsightly. Using a waterproof tape, such as duct tape, will provide better protection against water entering the baseboard surface when cleaning tile and grout. The problem with using duct tape is that water can still get under the MDF baseboards and cause them to swell and warp. Also, the duct tape will definitely remove all the paint that was applied to the MDF.
Sealing MDF baseboards before cleaning a tile floor is not an adequate solution to protect MDF baseboards when it comes to cleaning tile and grout. One solution to protect the MDF baseboards when cleaning the tile floor is to apply silicone caulking between the MDF baseboards and the tile and grout. The silicone caulk will prevent water from getting under the baseboards and causing them to swell and ruin. Caulking the bottom of the MDF baseboard will not prevent water from entering the surface of the MDF, but most water damage to MDF baseboards occurs when water gets under the MDF baseboard. The bottom of the MDF baseboards is not painted and there is nothing to protect them from absorbing water.
Caulking the bottom of MDF baseboards before cleaning the tiles and grout can be a suitable solution, but it takes a lot of time and effort to caulk the MDF and you also need to wait 24 hours for the caulk to dry before cleaning the tiles. and the grout. Caulking a tile floor and waiting 24 hours for the caulk to dry may not be an acceptable way to protect MDF when cleaning tile and grout. Another solution is to carefully control water and cleaning chemicals when cleaning tile and grout.
You can carefully clean a tiled floor with MDF baseboards by being very careful with water and cleaning chemicals. You should use a scouring pad when applying cleaning products to the edge of the tiles where they meet the baseboards. It is important to use only a small amount of cleaning solution and you should use paper towels or a cotton towel to wipe off excess water and cleaning solution before it gets under the MDF baseboards. Being extremely careful this way takes much longer to clean the tile floor, but it will prevent you from ruining the baseboards while cleaning the tile and grout.
