Do you know about tiles water absorption?

The water absorption rate of a tile refers to the ratio of the weight of the tile itself to the weight of the water after the suction, which reflects the adsorption and penetration ability of the tile. The water absorption rate is closely related to the strength of the tiles, and the water absorption rate is low, which indicates that the compactness of the tile is higher and the strength of the tiles is higher, and vice versa.

Water absorption is a crucial indicator of the quality of a tile, but it is not an absolute indicator. Pursuing a low water absorption rate may also cause problems. Different spaces have different requirements for water absorption, and the way of paving will differ.

According to the latest revised ceramic tiles (GB/T 4100–2015) standard, ceramic tiles can be divided into:

Porcelain tiles (water absorption E ≤ 0.5%), tantalum tiles (water absorption 0.5% ≤ E ≤ 3%), enamel tiles (water absorption 6% ≤ E ≤ 10%), ceramic tiles (water absorption rate 10% the above).

It can be seen that there is no uniform water absorption standard for tiles. Different products have different standards depending on the applicable space. Generally speaking, the floor tiles are mostly porcelain or enamel.

The national common standard is 3% ≥ floor tiles have a water absorption rate of ≥0.5%. They are qualified; wall tiles are generally fine tantalum tiles, enamel tiles, or ceramic tiles. The national common standards are: 12% ≥ wall tile water absorption ≥ 3% is qualified.

In the quality sampling of tiles, water absorption is a vital test index, which affects the properties of tile hardness, strength, and wear resistance to a large extent.

Within the standard range, the lower the water absorption rate, the higher the density of tiles, the better the hardness and strength of the product, and the higher the inherent stability.

If the water absorption rate is higher than the national standard, the tile absorbs too much water, and the quality defects such as discoloration, hollowing, falling off and cracking easily occur after the tile is paved, thus causing consumer disputes.