Anyone else have an uneven slate floor to clean? Would a wet and dry vacuum cleaner help?

[WhatsWrongWithYou]

We have natural slate tiles in our kitchen/diner which are a nightmare to clean.
I know the floor cleaners can pretty much be left to soak in and do the job themselves these days - but I'm left with puddles of filthy water in the dips iyswim.
It kills my back to go over it with a mop trying to soak it all up, so I wondered about hiring or buying one of these. (I have a bad back, btw - not just lazy).
Does anyone have one and does it work on uneven floors?
I realise it's late, but I've meant to post this loads of times - keep forgetting.
Tia, will revive in the morning.

[jasper]

have you heard of Lithofin (I think) products?
They seal slate and make it FAR easier to clean

[iloveasylumseekers]

We have a stone floor. I'm thinking of getting a steam cleaner, for this reason.

[WhatsWrongWithYou]

Yes, I have Lithofin, but what I need is to get it properly clean before re-sealing, which is why I'm thinking of the wet vacuum to suck up the dirty water which gathers in the crevices.
Have tried a steam cleaner but it didn't remove the dirt as well as the stone cleaning solutions do.

[sowhatis]

same issues with floor here. it is sealed, but as its natural slate it is uneven. i havent found anything to help, just mop as usual, and leave doors open so it dries quickly! we have used a broom to scrub the floor before, involved taking all the furniture out and really going for it, prob not possibly with a bad back, but that did bring them up beautifully.

[WhatsWrongWithYou]

Yes I have done the scrubbing thing, but it's a big area and it leaves me in a fair bit of pain for a good week afterwards.
But the woman I spoke to from the stone cleaning company said you don't really need to scrub - the cleaning solution can be left to 'bite' into the surface and then you can suck up what's left with a wet Hoover.
Sounds good to me, which is why I was hoping someone could recommend one.

[Furball]

I have a wet and dry vax and the only problem I can think of is the 'sucking' bit is made of hard brittle plastic. which could make things tricky.

I don't know if there is maybe an attachment you can get for stone floors which is more flexible/rubbery

[WhatsWrongWithYou]

Thanks all - maybe I'll look into hiring something.
That reminds me, I did once buy a Bissell cleaner, allegedly for hard floors, but the attachment was brittle and flimsy and broke off straight away.
Maybe I'll just have to tell myself the dirt is part of the rustic appeal (it looks minging though).

[shufflebum]

Damn was hoping someone was going to suggest a miracle cure, we too have a "rustic" kitchen floor.

[WhatsWrongWithYou]

I got all excited about the Scooba - read loads of reviews raving about it but couldn't see any reference to my type of floor.
Rang Lakeland and the customer services person said it's not suitable for uneven floors and they wouldn't recommend it. Gutted.

[bacon]

I paid a fortune for a slate floor from fired earth. Not sure if it was worth it for all the hastle. Wish I'd gone for a smooth finish.

[WhatsWrongWithYou]

In my next house I'm so having Amtico .

[OlgaRose]

I'm a bit behind in joining in this conversation....I have very uneven stone floors and I bought a small commercial Lavor (Italian brand) that scrubs and then sucks up the water. It's heavy going, though, because the stone is really very uneven. It would be fine on slate, especially milled (honed) slate but I, too, am looking for a solution to rough riven granite slabs. For sweeping I use a Dyson cordless V6 - excellent because, with uneven stone floors, a hand broom needs to be used quite vigorously especially in the grout lines; the Dyson makes sweeping dust-free. Highly recommended; very life-changing!

[JaneFoley66]

OlgaRose that is so good to know. We have an Electrolux which ill give up before long and its replacement is on my mind. I have a rough uneven old slate floor and you say the Dyson V6 works well. As to wet cleaning I mop it. Every year or so I apply Lithofin but I'm too busy to do more and it needs two applications on a floor like ours.

[Stillamum3]

I have quite a lot of pain when I clean floors. Have you got an office chair, or perhaps even a normal chair you could sit on while you cleaned the floor? I use a noodle mop, which soaks up quite a bit of water, to clean my floor, while seated on my office chair. Unevenness doesn't make a difference with a noodle mop!