Allison Walker, Your Home

Spanish families use seven times more tile than we do in the United States, according to a tile expert News 13's Allison Walker talked to at the recent Coverings show in Orlando.

You may only think about tile for your floor, but it might have more purposes than you'd think.
 
"You see reds, you see yellows, you see oranges, you see creams, you see blacks, you see whites, you see blues," said Belen Crisino, the trade commissioner for the Tile of Spain Center.

Cristino said she is enthusiastic about tile because it is a reflection of the Spanish way of living.

"The colors of our food, the colors of our wine, the colors of our seas," Cristino said.

Cristino said people in the United States don't use tile on their floors or walls nearly as much.

"An American just uses 10 square feet per person of tile," Cristiono said.

Those in the Spanish tile industry say that in America we tend to gravitate toward the creamy, more traditional-sized tile. But in Spain, they say the more texture and color, the better.

Some tile looks like other kinds of floor coverings.

"Applications that look like wood, applications that look like cloth and textile material. They are cleaner, they are more hygienic, they are less slippery, it lasts longer," Cristino said.

However, one of the biggest downfalls with tile is that it can chip or break. Also, if it gets wet, mold likes to grow on it, so keeping it dry and cleaning it regularly will help.

 All glazed tiles, whether porcelain or ceramic, have something called a PEI rating.  It tells you how resistant the glazed surface is to scratching and chipping. The higher the number, the better.

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