We have just pulled back the carpet in one of our rooms to find that they were actually covering quarry tiles. Great joy!! Only problem is that they appear to be coated in red oxide paint which has in places flaked off but for the most part is firmly attached. My wife - bless her - spent the best part of two hours scrubbing one of the tiles with soapy water/sugar soap and the result is pretty impressive. My question is typically, is there a quicker way of doing this, some sort of wizard chemical perhaps, a brillo pad maybe. To save the poor girls knees, any help would be gratefully received.