How can you walk on brick day after day and not have physical problems? My friend bought a condo down town that has stained cement floors. She realized within a month she could not walk on it without problems. She put down a thick pad and carpeting.

My in-laws use a wet/dry shop vacuum for deep cleaning of stuff that the regular vacuum doesn't pick up. They use a mop of some type to put water on the floor and then suck up the water with a shop vac. Their brick floor is more than 30 years old and still looks great.

Good suggestions and, graywings, thanks for the link to the other thread. I really like the idea of a shopvac to get up the stuff a regular vacuum doesn't.

EmmaR - like I said, the house is new to me so I really haven't had much time walking on the floors yet. The only times I've been in the house so far is to inspect the work of some folks painting and prepping it for move in. I'll be curious to see if I notice any issues after I've lived with it for a while.

Thanks again, all!

AJ glad you accepted my comment the way it was intended. Enjoy your home.

After you clean the floors, let them dry and seal them with a tile/stone sealer. Ask at a tile store for the correct formulation. It does not show, except to darken the brick and grout slightly. It is not shiny.

Are those real bricks (pavers) or are they thin like tile?

They are thin bricks, maybe 1/2 inch? I ended up buying a Hoover Floormate Hard Floor Cleaner. It works wonderfully. There were a few areas with ground in dirt/grease in kitchen area that didn't come up, but got those with a steam cleaner. The Hoover is going to be my life saver.

And EmmaR - a follow up to your inquiry: The first 3 days on the brick floors were rough. We were doing tons of walking/carrying furniture and by the end of the day, my feet and calves felt it. I think my body has now adjusted and I'm not experiencing any discomfort at all. The bricks are as easy to walk on as the tile and hardwood I had in my previous home.

AJ I love my carpets and will never go to hard floors like others are doing. So much less work and they feel warmer. I have arthritis and planter facahia (sp), the carpets are much better for me. Just had my meniscus repaired, so nothing helps now except a lot of Tylenol and ice packs.