The one big downside to Terracotta is the fact that it has no glaze on the surface and can pick up and store muck and dirt very quickly. If you have ever owned a Terra-cotta floor before you will be able to relate to this problem.
The answer of course is to seal them, but which sealants do you use as there are so many of them on the market, the best answer is to get some advice and as any tiler worth his salt will tell you Terracotta tiles are the most problematic to seal . Wax sealants tend not to soak all the way into the tile and some residue is left on the surface which overtime with traffic wear, tends to discolour to a darker shade whilst leaving the outside edges clean where they are not walked on that much.
The best sealant I have found to overcome this problem is one made by an American company called Aqua Mix. They specialise in water-based sealers which I find useful because water based sealers are much thinner than solvent or acrylic sealers and therefore soak much deeper into the tile. The only drawback if there is one is the fact that you require many coats of sealant before saturation is achieved, Whilst doing a clean and reseal on a Mexican Terracotta floor, which tends to be the most porous of all terra-cottas, I had to put 9 coats of Seal and Finish low sheen on before it was fully sealed.
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