Kidderminster | Tile Cleaners

Renovating Grout on a Porcelain Tiled Downstairs Floor

After re-grouting the areas where the grout had crumbled, I began to prepare the grout lines with the application of a Tile Doctor Grout Colouring Pre-Treater which is scrubbed into the grout lines and sponged away, the pre-treater cleans and etches the grout, so the colourant achieves a stronger bond.

To speed dry the grout I used a heat gun, so I could get on with the application of the grout colourant. It was a large floor, so I needed five tubes of 237ml Natural Grey Grout Colourant which was applied in stages so to minimise disruption to the owner. It’s very easy to apply, the trick is to make sure you wipe off any excess that gets on the tile before it dries.

The floor was then buffed with a white buffing pad to bring up the appearance.

Once completed the owner was extremely happy that the floor had been given a completely new look and looked as good as the day it was installed. The colourant will also form a barrier over the grout which will prevent staining in future and make it easier to clean.

Large Porcelain Floor After Grout Colouring Kidderminster

The customer was very pleased and left this review.

“I could not find anyone locally to carry out the work on the discoloured grout on my floor tiles – they were ruining the look of my new kitchen – so finding the Tile Doctor was a real godsend. Mark came promptly and was very reassuring – the work was done quickly and efficiently, and the finished result was amazing – I love my tiles again! Mark was pleasant and helpful – nothing was too much trouble and it was a pleasure to have him working in the house – he also gave me some good advice as to how to keep the tiles looking their best. Thanks to him an experience I had dreaded turned in to a very positive one – so a big thank you to Mark and the Tile Doctor – I would recommend you to anyone who has a problem with their tiles.
Mrs F, Kidderminster 19 July 2018”

Professional Grout Restoration of Large Porcelain floor in Worcestershire

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The young couple who owned this house was in Kidderminster were expecting their first baby and wanted the original hallway floor repaired and restored in keeping with the Victorian house. Before contacting us, they had spoken with a builder who had said it was beyond repair and recommended ripping it up and laying a new floor. They were aware of the value that original features like floors can add to a property so undeterred they kept looking for a solution and found Tile Doctor.

I am the local agent for Tile Doctor in Worcestershire and specialise in the restoration of old tiled floors so after popping round to take a look I was able to confirm that their builder was wrong and there was no reason why the floor couldn’t be restored. Relieved the floor could be restored they happily asked me to do the work and we arranged a date, it also turned out that he was also a fellow Mod and scooter rider, so we had plenty to talk about.

Victorian Tiled Floor Before Restoration Kidderminster

Repairing a Victorian Tiled Hallway Floor

I returned to the property a few weeks later with my tiler and we began the work of carefully inspecting the floor to identify, remove and refit loose tiles. This was followed by repairs to the screed base and then cutting new matching tiles to replace those that were missing. Having worked on old Victorian and Edwardian tiles for some years now I have built up a collection of re-claimed tiles and often scan eBay for them as I know they will come in handy at some point in the future.

The repair process took three days to complete as naturally each tile needs to set in place and can only be grouted in once the adhesive has gone off. It’s also delicate work as anything out of place in the pattern of the floor would be conspicuous obvious.

Cleaning a Victorian Tiled Hallway Floor

On the fourth day the tiling work was complete, and I set about giving the floor a thorough clean starting with the application of Tile Doctor Remove and Go to remove any remnants of sealer, paint splashes from decorating and other marks. The solution was left to soak into the tile and grout for ten minutes before being worked in with a scrubbing pad fitted to a rotary floor buffer running on slow speed. The soiled cleaning solution was rinsed off with water and extracted with a wet vacuum, any stubborn areas were then spot treated until I was happy the floor was clear.

Using the same process, the floor was then treated to an acid wash using Tile Doctor Acid Gel. This served two purposes, first and acid wash will remove any fine grout smears and second the acid will neutralise any efflorescent salts that had built up in the tiles and could cause issue later. This is a common problem with old floors as they don’t have the protection of a damp proof membrane. The floor was then carefully rinsed down with water applied using micro fibre cloths, so it wouldn’t get too damp and then left overnight to dry off fully assisted with a couple of air movers I had left in place.

Sealing a Victorian Tiled Hallway Floor

I returned the next day to seal the tiles checking first that the floor was dry by taking a few moisture readings with a damp tester. The air movers had done the job and I was able to crack on applying numerous coats of sealer which will protect the tile going forward and also enhance its appearance.

My choice of sealer was Tile Doctor Seal and Go Extra which is a fully breathable sealer that can cope with moisture rising through the tiles, it also adds a nice sheen to the tile and works extremely well on clay-based tiles such as these.

Over the course of the five days the floor was transformed, and my customer was over the moon and I was happy to have saved yet another floor.