Shower Cubicle Cleaning Chapel-en-le-Frith

Posted on September 10, 2018 by TileProf

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This client lives in Chapel-en-le-Frith which is a small town dubbed the ‘Capital of the Peak’ with parts of the parish lying in the Peak District National Park. They were trying to sell the house, but the shower cubicle was looking very bad and all the potential purchasers were being put off. They wanted to restore a new and fresh look, without spending a fortune, so they could finally sell it and move to their new property. With this in mind they had given me a call to come and take a look and see what could be done.

As you can see from the photos the grout was very badly discoloured in places, so I agreed with the client that the best course of action would be to clean the grout as much as possible and then recolour it with a white Grout Colourant followed by stripping off the old silicone and replacing with new. We discussed the cost and a timescale and booked the job in.

Shower Cubicle Tile Cleaning

The Tile Doctor Grout Colourant Kit comes with everything you need to change the colour of your grout including a Pre-Treat cleaner which is a slightly acidic product that cleans and etches your grout at the same time. This means you can get a better bond with the colourant when it is applied afterwards and ensures the best finish.

I set about cleaning the grout with the pre-treat cleaner which is sprayed on to the tile and then scrubbed in with an abrasive pad. This was then rinsed off with water and re-applied where necessary, some areas were worse than others and needed more work, so I persevered until I was happy the grout was as clean as it could be.

Applying White Grout Colourant

The job could be completed in one day, so the next job was to remove the silicone sealant between the tiles and the shower tray, the sealant was black with mould and dirt and generally in very bad condition.

Once the grout had dried I was able to start the application of the grout colourant using a small brush, wiping any excess off the tiles as I went. A steady hand is required for this job along with a little patience! Two coats of colourant were required to achieve the right finish.

Finally, the last step to complete was to put back a new white silicone sealant using a high-quality mould resistant product. There are many on the market, but the cheaper brands are not usually mould resistant and tend to turn black very quickly. Applying the sealant ensures the shower is waterproof and no water can get behind the tiles.

The shower cubicle had a new look and my client was really surprised about the end result. They now felt more confident that potential purchasers wouldn’t be put off by a grubby looking bathroom. Thankfully it had not cost them too much to make it look a whole lot more appealing.

Professional Clean and Re Grout of a Shower Cubicle in Derbyshire

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Porcelain Tiled Floor Grout Colouring Glossop

Posted on August 19, 2018 by TileProf

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The tiled floor shown in the photographs below are from a client who lives in Glossop which is a market town in the Derbyshire Peak District between Manchester and Sheffield. I was contacted me to see if it would be possible to recolour the grout, it turns out they had been a little disappointed with the white grout colour they had chosen and preferred the more defined look a darker grout would have given.

I went to survey the floor and could see the tiles were Porcelain which are a good choice for busy common areas as they are very tough, easily cleaned and usually don’t need to be sealed. Grout however is cementous and the top layer is porous which can allows it to be easily stained, a problem which is more evident on white grout which is therefore not the best choice for a kitchen.

The tiled floor area was approximately 25 square meters, but big tiles and thin grout lines would make this a reasonably quick job to complete. We agreed a cost and I arranged a date, the job would be done across two days to allow the grout time to dry after deep cleaning on day one.

Cleaning Porcelain Tiled Floor Grout

To get the best results and achieve a superior bond between with the colourant it was important to get the grout as clean as it could be. To this end I gave the grout a good scrub with a strong dilution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean which is a stripper and degreaser that is safe to use on tile and grout and great for removing dirt from heavily soiled stone or grout.

Floor scrubbing machines can struggle to reach into the grout recess, so I find the best way to clean grout is by hand using a soft steel brush. This action cleaned up the grout well and the now soiled Pro-Clean was rinsed off the floor with clean water and then extracted with a wet vacuum. I then inspected the floor to make sure I was happy and re-treated a few areas that needed more work.

I wanted the grout to be bone dry before applying the grout colourant so after cleaning the grout I left and agreed to come back the next day to complete the job.

Grout Colouring a Porcelain Tiled Floor

When I arrived in the morning I could see the grout was fully dry and ready to be recoloured. Because I needed to recolour from white to natural grey I only needed one thick coat of Natural Grey grout colourant which was carefully applied with a small brush and any excess wiped off the tile as I went along. In fact, even after retouching I found that with such narrow grout lines and large format tiles I only used half a bottle of natural grey colourant to complete the job.

The job was all complete and the floor looking completely different. The client was over the moon with the finish and we had achieved exactly what they were looking for. The grout colourant also forms a barrier over the grout sealing it in and so they will find this floor is very easy to keep cleaning going forward.

Recolouring White Grout to Natural Grey in Derbyshire

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Cleaning Sealing Red and Black Quarry Floor Tiles Buxton

Posted on July 19, 2018 by TileProf

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The photographs below are from a client who lives in an older property in Buxton which you may have heard of due to its famous spa and popular spring water. Buxton is situated in the county of Derbyshire, in the East Midlands and has the highest elevation of any market town in England.

The property had Red and Black Quarry tiles laid throughout the Kitchen and the downstairs in a diamond pattern. Quarry tiles are very hard wearing and thus a popular and traditional flooring option for high traffic areas in the past. Certainly, in this case they were in good physical condition given their age and they looked very much in-keeping with the period property along with the fireplaces.

The client loved the feature floor but felt the tiles were looking neglected and they were struggling to keep them clean. This is a common problem with quarry tiles which are porous and need to be sealed to keep them looking good, however over time the sealer wears down with use and dirt becomes ingrained in the pores of the tile making them impossible to clean effectively. The client just wanted them to look clean and ensure they could be easily maintained.

I recommended deep cleaning the tiles to remove the dirt and the sealing them to protect them going forward a process which usually takes around two days.

Cleaning and Restoring Quarry tiles

My quote was accepted, and I returned on the agreed date to complete the work starting with the first part of the process which involved removing the ingrained dirt, grime and any remaining sealer that may be present on the floor. To do this I applied a strong dilution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean and left it to dwell for ten minutes. The Pro-Clean was then worked into the tile and grout using a black buffing pad fitted to a rotary machine. Once done the now soiled cleaning solution was rinsed off the floor with water and a wet vacuum was used to extract it from the floor. Some areas of tile were stained with paint slashes from decorating and these was spot treated with Tile Doctor Nanotech HBU which stands for Heavy Build-Up remover and is pretty good at dealing with all sorts of stains and tough soiling on tiled floors. The floor was then dried using the wet vacuum and left overnight to allow it to dry out thoroughly.

Sealing Quarry Floor Tiles

The client had left the radiators on overnight to aid the drying process and by the next morning the floor was nice and dry. I tested the moisture content to be sure and it was well within acceptable levels and therefore ready for the next stage. It’s important to ensure the tiles are dry before applying a sealer as the sealant won’t cure and the result will be compromised.

I sealed the floor a couple of coats of Tile Doctor Colour Grow sealer. I chose this product because the house had some damp problems due to its’ age and I decided a breathable fully sealer was the best option for this situation as this will allow moisture to rise-up through the tile and evaporate without causing any problems. Colour Grow works by soaking into the pores of the tile protecting it from within and improving the natural colours of the tile in the process.

The end result was the floor looked much cleaner and colours in the tiles were more vibrant, needless to say my client was very pleased with the result and the sealer will ensure the floor is easy to maintain floor for the future as per their brief.

Professional Restoration of Quarry Tiles in Derbyshire

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Dirty Travertine Kitchen Floor Deep Cleaned and Polished in Parwich

Posted on June 24, 2018 by TileProf

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A few years ago, my client moved into a house in the village of in Parwich which sits in the Derbyshire Peak District. They had good methods for cleaning but complained that the Travertine tiled kitchen floor never actually looked clean afterwards. The main problems were the grout and the holes in the Travertine tiles both of which attracted dirt and proved difficult to clean effectively.

Ideally, they would like the Travertine to have a sheen finish, so I went over to take a look, discussed what treatment could be done to get the floor looking its best and showed them some examples. We also discussed the different types of sealers that could be applied to protect the floor once it had been cleaned. They were happy for me to do the work, so we agreed a date for my return.

Deep Cleaning and Polishing Travertine Kitchen Tiles

When I returned my first task was to add protection to the beautiful wooden kitchen, so it wouldn’t get splashed during the cleaning process. Once that was done I set about burnishing the stone floor with a set of diamond encrusted pads fitted to my rotary buffer machine running as slow speed. I started with the coarse 400-grit pad lubricated with water and then after running it over the whole floor I rinsed off the resultant residue with water which was then extracted with a wet vacuum.

The next step was to get the grout clean and for this a ran a strong dilution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean along the grout lines and then scrubbed it in by hand using a stiff grout brush until I was happy with the result. Pro-Clean is our go to product for grout cleaning and being alkaline based its safe to use on all types of tile and stone. The now soiled cleaning solution was rinsed off with water and then extracted as before using the wet vacuum.

This burnishing process was then continued using an 800-grit and then a 1500 grit burnishing pads, again with water to help lubricate. These medium and fine pads slowly start to build the polish back on the stone and close the pores. As before water was used to rinse off the residue and the vet vacuum used to get the floor as dry as possible afterwards.

The last pad in the set of four Burnishing Pads is the very fine 3000-grit pad and this pad is applied dry with a small amount of water sprayed onto the floor as you go, we call this process a spray burnish and it really adds the nice subtle sheen the customer was looking for.

Sealing a Travertine Tiled Floor

The last step in the renovation process was to seal the floor with a suitable sealer which will protect the Travertine from staining going forward and make the floor much easier to clean.
Having discussed sealers with the customer at the beginning the choice was clear and two coats of Tile Doctor Ultra Seal were applied to the floor. Ultra-Seal is a premium product that soaks into the pores of the stone protecting it from within but without enhancing the look of the stone in anyway.

It’s probably difficult to appreciate the full difference from the photographs above by my customer was very happy with the improvement and they now have the floor looking the way they wanted.

Professional Restoration of a Dull Travertine Tiled Kitchen Floor in Derbyshire

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Removing Wax and Restoring Colour to a Terracotta Tiled Conservatory Floor

Posted on May 23, 2018 by TileProf

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Terracotta Tiles have been around in certain parts of the world for over two millennia; in fact, the word Terracotta means burned earth. The ancient Romans used a variety of Terracotta tiles in their villas and palaces for many centuries.

Terracotta tiles are thicker than most modern tiles, giving them strength and durability. The one big downside to Terracotta, however, is 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 Terracotta floor before you will be able to relate to this problem.

Such was the dilemma facing our client in rural Hope Valley in the Peak District National Park of Derbyshire. Her Conservatory had been laid with Terracotta tiles around 25 years ago and over the years had been continuously covered with wax. Now, no matter how many times she mopped the floor it never looked clean because all the dirt over many years had been drawn in and sealed into the wax. She called in Tile Doctor to deep clean the floor and treat it with a gloss finish.

Cleaning a Terracotta conservatory floor

I started by removing the layers of wax with Tile Doctor Nano-Tech HBU (a heavy build-up remover that is designed to work where other cleaners won’t) and Tile Doctor Remove and Go, specially formulated to draw out ingrained stains and remove heavy grease build-up. I combined both products into a powerful cleaning cocktail and left them to soak into the floor for about twenty minutes. The solution was then scrubbed into the tile and grout using a black scrubbing pad fitted to a rotary machine. The resultant soil was rinsed off with water and then extracted from the floor using a wet vacuum.

After cleaning I inspected the floor and could see there was still some wax left in the grout between the Terracotta tiles, so I went over the floor with a hand-held steamer and scrub brush, it took some time, but the process was perfect to remove the last traces of wax. Finally, I washed the floor with clean water twice and left it to thoroughly dry overnight.

Colour Restoring and Sealing a Terracotta tiled floor

The following day I went back to seal the floor but found there were still a few areas with higher levels of damp than I would have liked. My solution was to seal the tiles with Tile Doctor Colour Grow. This is a superb colour intensifying matt sealer that provides durable protection and enhance colour but importantly, it’s fully breathable therefore allowing any damp in the tiles to evaporate. I then left the floor to completely dry out, which took five days.

On my return I finished the sealing of the floor with four coats of Tile Doctor Seal and Go. This is a specially formulated water-based blend of acrylic polymers that provides a stain-resistant surface seal and a durable low-sheen finish that works really well on Terracotta.

The conservatory looked beautiful with its clean Terracotta tiles. The unsightly and grimy orange-brown floor had been restored to its original Terracotta colour with a very attractive sheen. And, of course, the floor was now correctly sealed to prevent the problem happening again and to make mopping easy. I left the house with good feeling!

The customer was delighted and left this positive feedback:

“Henry did a brilliant job, friendly professional polite and efficient. He kept us fully informed of the procedures he was using. We would not hesitate to use him again or to recommend him to others.”

Professional cleaning of a Terracotta tile conservatory floor in the Peak District National Park

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Dull Limestone Kitchen Floor Burnished and Polished in Chesterfield

Posted on April 22, 2018 by TileProf

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You can’t beat the natural beauty of a stone floor, but you will find that over time the protective sealer wears down and dirt becomes ingrained in the pores of the stone. This process is so gradual you might not notice it until one day your looking at old photographs and realise the difference.

On this occasion a customer of mine had a Limestone tiled floor installed in the Kitchen of her house in Chesterfield fifteen years prior. It had never been deep cleaned and resealed since being installed and having recently completed a house extension with a new Limestone floor she realised just how dirty and tired the original floor now looked.

Limestone Kitchen Floor Before Cleaning Chesterfield

I went over to take a look at the floor, demonstrate the cleaning process and discuss the different sealers we have available. She has happy for me to do the work and specified she didn’t want the floor to have a gloss appearance, so a matt sealer would be best.

Deep Cleaning a Dirty Limestone Tiled Floor

I returned a few weeks later to carry out the work and started by adding protection to the Kitchen units. The Limestone has quite ingrained and had quite a few scratches in the stone that would need to be grinded out so fitted a very coarse 100 grit diamond encrusted burnishing pad fitted to my heavy rotary floor buffer. You apply water to help lubricate the process and then once finished the floor is rinsed with more water and the soil extracted with a wet vacuum.

The next step was to get the grout as clean as possible by applying a strong dilution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean and then scrubbing it by hand with a stiff narrow brush. This action released the dirt from the grout and was rinsed away again with water extracted using the wet vacuum.

This burnishing process was then repeated using a 200 grit and then 400 grit burnishing pads to refine the finish of the stone and close the pores, again water was used to rinse off the soil and the vet vacuum used to get the floor as dry as possible.

Whilst drying the floor with the wet vacuum I also inspected the floor and identified areas for further spot treatment. I also noticed a few places where the grout had crumbled and needed replacing and so this was raked out and re-grouted with a beige grout.

Sealing a Limestone Tiled Floor

The next morning, I returned to the property to finish off the floor with the matt sealer we had discussed earlier. The floor must be dry before applying the sealer, so I took a few readings with a damp meter first to ensure that was the case. This is important as it’s not unusual for sealers to go milky or ever peel off later if the floor hasn’t been thoroughly cleaned or wasn’t dry when the sealer was applied.

All was well, so I started applying the sealer which in this case was Tile Doctor Ultra Seal, it’s a matt sealer that protects the stone from within by impregnating the pores with sealant without altering its appearance.

Limestone Kitchen Floor After Cleaning Chesterfield

My customer was very happy with the result and now has two matching Limestone tiled floors, she also left the following short comment on the Tile Doctor feedback system.

Great job, faultless ….. thanku
Anne M, Chesterfield

Professional Restoration of a Dull Limestone Tiled Kitchen Floor in Derbyshire

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Black and Red Quarry Tile Renovation in Whaley Bridge

Posted on February 28, 2018 by TileProf

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This was an unusual Quarry Tiled Floor that I was asked to renovate at a house in Whaley Bridge which is a small town in Derbyshire Peak district. The floor tiles were laid in a diamond pattern using alternating Black & Red quarry tiles. The house was more than 100 years old and recently changed hands. A large rug had previously occupied the middle of the floor and the tiles around the side has been painted over with black paint.

To restore the floor to a consistent appearance I could see the paint would need to be removed and then the whole floor given a deep clean and seal. Additionally, there was an old Fireplace at one end of the room decorated in antique Ceramic tiles that needed cleaning, the Tiles are very old but in good physical condition for their age.

Cleaning Old Black and Red Quarry Tiles

My first task was to remove the black paint and years of ground in dirty by treating the tiles with a poultice made from two Tile Doctor products namely Nano-Tech HBU Remover and Remove and Go. Working in sections the solution was applied to the tiles and left to soak in for a good twenty minutes before scrubbing with a rotary machine fitted with a black scrubbing pad running at slow speed.

The resulting soil was extracted using a wet vacuum and then the tiles rinsed with water, so I would see where more work was needed. Stubborn stains were then spot treated with the same process before moving onto the next section. The Ceramic tiles in the fireplace hearth was treated in the same way.

After removing all the dirt, stains and paint I gave the floor a final rinse to remove any trace of cleaning product and extracted as much moisture as possible using the wet vacuum. The floor would need to be dry before applying a sealer, so to allow the floor to fully dry off I left the floor for two days.

Sealing Original Quarry Hallway Tiles

On my return I checked the tiles first to ensure they were dry. All was good so I set about applying a couple of coats of Tile Doctor Colour Grow which is a colour enhancing impregnating sealer that occupies the pores in the clay. Additionally, Colour Grow is a breathable sealer which is important for these old floors that don’t have a damp proof course. There was no need to apply the sealer to the ceramic tiles in the hearth however as they won’t take a sealer due to the glaze.

Once completed the floor looked completely transformed and the client was more than happy. Work continues in other parts of the house and once they have finished decorating they have asked me to return to restore their beautiful old Victorian tiled hallway.

Professional Restoration of Original Quarry Hallway Tiles in the Peak District

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Refreshing Dull Slate Kitchen Floor Tiles in Ticknall

Posted on October 4, 2017 by TileProf

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This post comes from a lovely house in Ticknall, Derbyshire where the owner had installed a Welsh Slate Tiled Floor in their Kitchen ten years earlier. Welsh Slate is renowned the world over for its quality however ten years of use in a high traffic does take its toll and the customer complained that she wanted the tiles to look colourful with a matt finish but they always looked dull and dirty even after cleaning with mop.

Interested to know the history of the floor I asked when it was last sealed and apparently it had not been redone since it was installed. It was clear to me that any sealer had long since long worn off and now dirt was becoming trapped in the pores of the stone making it difficult to clean effectively.

Cleaning a Dirty Slate Tiled Floor

To get the Slate clean I applied a strong dilution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean which as well as cleaning deep into the pores of the tile should also deal with any remaining sealer. I left it to soak into the tile for about ten minutes before working it in with a black scrubbing pad fitted to a rotary buffer machine. After this I rinsed the floor with water and extracted the now soiled cleaning solution with a wet vacuum.

At this point it became apparent there were some stubborn stains in front of the oven that needed dealing with so I scrubbed in a solution of Tile Doctor Grout Clean-Up which is an acid based product that is great for removing mineral deposits such as salts as well as grout smears. This worked well and the floor was now in ready for sealing so I gave the floor a good rinse to remove any trace of product and left it to dry.

Sealing a Slate Tiled Floor

The floor was about 7 square meters in size and being relatively modern it had a Damp Proof Membrane and Underfloor Heating installed, as a result it was fully dry within three hours and ready to take a sealer.

With the floor now dry I started applying the sealer which in this case was Tile Doctor Colour Grow. Colour Grow is an impregnating sealer that penetrates deep into the pores of the stone, thus acting as a shield against ingrained dirt whilst enhancing the natural colour of the tiles to provide an aesthetically appealing appearance. You may recall the owner had requested a matt finish so after applying a couple of coats the job was done.

With the tiles clean and now protected with the colour enhancing matt sealer I asked the customer to inspect the floor. As you can imagine she was very pleased with the result and left the following comment on the Tile Doctor feedback system.

“Mr Mall was a very efficient, hardworking and helpful worker. The end result was excellent and I am delighted with the outcome. Highly recommend…”