Restoring the Appearance of Victorian Tiled Lobby in Swindon

Posted on June 9, 2016 by AbzDominise

Victorian tiled floors are a popular feature in period houses and new builds trying to get that classic look. While they originated in the 19th century, they have a certain timeless quality that property owners love. Historically due to their hard wearing qualities they were most commonly used for flooring high traffic areas such as lobbies and hallways, however Victorian tiles are porous and without the correct maintenance the tiles can start to lose their appearance very quickly.

This customer from Swindon has an original Victorian tiled lobby at the front of their house that was suffering from this very same problem. Years worth of ingrained dirt and muck had completely sapped all colour and character from the tiles, and the customer was keen to get them back to looking their best.

Victorian Tiled Lobby Before Cleaning in Swindon

Whilst I was there inspecting the floor I agreed to run a test on the tiles to ascertain the results that could be achieved, this worked out well and the customer quickly booked me to carry out the full restoration.

Cleaning Dull and Dirty Victorian Tiles

To provide the deep clean these tiles desperately needed, I opted to use a strong solution of Tile Doctor Pro Clean. Pro Clean is our go-to cleaner for most natural stone tiles since it is highly versatile. It is alkaline-based and therefore can be used on acid-sensitive tiles to break down ingrained dirt and any existing seal.

We soaked the floor completely with the product and left it to dwell for roughly 15 minutes. This allows the Pro Clean to seep into the pores of the stone, get underneath and lift any ingrained dirt to the surface to be easily removed. I then attached a soft brush to a rotary machine and scrubbed the area throughly, with the tiles coming up very well. Once satisfied with the appearance of the tiles, I removed the dirty cleaning slurry with a wet vacuum and rinsed.

Having removed many layers of muck it came as a surprise to find that there were a number of paint splashes that have previously had been hidden. I was able to promptly remove them using a hand razor scraper, before rinsing the area again several times to remove any surface contaminants and neutralise the area. I then left it to dry fully overnight.

Sealing Victorian Tiles

Upon my return to the property the next day I ran a few damp tests to check for excess moisture in the area. This is really important to check for as excess moisture can cloud the sealer and damage its ability to provide protection for the tiles.

Once satisfied that the floor was completely dry, I sealed the floor with two coats of Tile Doctor Colour Grow. Colour Grow is an impregnating sealer that penetrates into the pores of the stone to act as a robust barrier against ingrained dirt. It also contains colour intensifying properties that really worked to enhance the fantastic coloured patterns of these Victorian tiles.

Victorian Tiled Lobby After Cleaning in Swindon

With a thorough clean and a fresh seal applied, these tiles are now well prepared to endure further wear and tear, which is especially important in this high traffic area of the house. Certainly the customer was relieved and pleased to know that their fantastic Victorian tiles are protected for the long-term. Another satisfied customer for the Wiltshire Tile Doctor.

Source: Victorian Tile and Stone Restoration Service in Wiltshire

Removing Stains For A Limestone Kitchen Floor

Posted on January 21, 2016 by AbzDominise

The following post is follows on from the Limestone tiled kitchen floor restoration I recently completed in Cardiff. You may recall that the floor had not been maintained properly since it was first installed in 2008 and one of the key problems I had to deal with during that particular restoration was a number of dark stains left on the tiles by the kitchen dustbin. Here’s a detailed account of how I tacked the staining.

Cleaning a stained Limestone tiled floor

To deal with the stains, I suggested to the client that I experiment with a Tile Doctor product called Reduxa, which is formulated to remove certain stains, including red wine stains, from natural stone. It is suitable on Limestone, Marble and Travertine tiles, amongst others. Nonetheless, I did have to advise the client that unfortunately some stains are unavoidably permanent and that there was no guarantee that the product would be able to remove these particular stains. Had the sealer been maintained on this floor, then the problem would have been much easier to tackle. However, in this case the sealer had worn off over the years.

I began treating the problem area by applying the Reduxa solution, before heating up the tile with a heat gun to lift out the stains. This process of spraying and heating was repeated around eight times.

To cut a long story short, the process worked very well, and both myself and the client were amazed at the results the Reduxa stain removal solution had on the floor. This product really does what it says on the label!

If you would like more information on the product, check out the video on the Reduxa page on the Tile Doctor website.

Source: Stone Stain removal service in South Wales

Cleaning and Restoring the appearance of an old Flagstone Floor

Posted on September 25, 2015 by AbzDominise

Here’s another interesting job I was privileged to work on in the town of Bicester, Oxfordshire. Bicester has a long, rich history – dating back to the Saxon age – but it is also one of the fastest growing in Oxfordshire. In fact, I had an opportunity to experience part of this history when I was called to a house to work on a old Flagstone floor which is believed to be 300-years old. The use of flagstones for both interior and exterior flooring is believed to have been popularised in Europe around the 13th century AD, and flagstone is still commonly used for these purposes today. As one of the few surviving of its kind, this Old-Flagstone-floor- has a preservation order on it – this means that it can’t be covered by wood or other tiles.

Old Flagstone floor Bicester Before Cleaning

Unfortunately, the rooms in this building were previously used as a sort of ‘dumping ground’ for builders working on the property, covering the floor with cement, plaster, sealant and glue, while also inflicting significant surface damage. As a result, it would take me three days to restore the Flagstone tiles back to their best possible condition.

Day one: Cleaning Old Flagstones

My first task was removing the medley of muck and dirt left over from the building works from the Flagstone tiles. I did this using a weak solution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean and clean water (the concentration is adjusted according to the level of soil build-up). Pro Clean mixed with water is my go-to cleaning solution for most natural stone floors as it works well to lift out ingrained dirt and stains. I spread the solution evenly onto the floor and worked it into the stone using a scrubbing brush attached to a floor machine. I then rinsed off the excess cleaner, before sucking up the residue with a wet-vac machine.

The second stage of the cleaning process was to strip the floor of any old sealers. This was achieved, working in sections, using Tile Doctor Remove & Go, which can be used on unpolished natural stone floors, along with ceramic tiles, grout, and more. After leaving it to dwell for a short period, I scrubbed a layer of Remove & Go into the tiles using my floor machine and carbon brush. Following this, the floor was once again rinsed and any remaining moisture was removed with the wet-vac machine.

Old Flagstone floor Bicester Before Burnishing

Day two: Burnishing Old Flagstones

After completing the cleaning, I moved on to the burnishing process. To give unpolished surfaces a nice polished look, the best method is to use a series of four diamond encrusted burnishing pads. This is exactly what I did, first using a coarse pad, before gradually moving up through medium and fine, to eventually using a very fine pad to achieve the desired polished effect. This is done without causing any further damage to the surface of the Flagstone tiles.

Old Flagstone floor Bicester After Burnishing

Day three: Sealing Old Flagstones

On the final day, I completed the job by sealing the floor. I applied two coats of Tile Doctor Colour Grow, an impregnating sealer which works to provide durable surface protection from within. At the same time, Colour Grow is specially formulated to intensify the natural colours in a majority of different stones including Flagstone, Limestone, Marble, Quarry and Slate, bringing character and life back to otherwise dull surfaces.

Old Flagstone floor Bicester After Sealing

I’m pleased to say that the finished result exceeded my client’s expectations, especially considering the extent of surface damage and neglect the floor had suffered during construction work. It is highly rewarding to work on unique, historic floors like this and to contribute to its preservation for many more years to come.

Source: Professional Tile, Stone and Grout cleaning services in Oxfordshire

Cleaning up Concrete floor covered in Bitumen

Posted on July 14, 2015 by AbzDominise

This Concrete floor at a house in the market town of Bridport had been coated in bitumen which the owner wanted removed. The property had only recently changed hands and the bitumen had been used as an adhesive to hold down the previous flooring which the new owner had removed during renovation. Removing the Bitumen however was a different matter and hence we got the call.

Concrete Floor Bridport Covered in Bitumen before cleaning

Removing Bitumen from Concrete

Tile Doctor has a product for most things in its range and I’m happy to say I was able to clean up the floor using Tile Doctor Remove and Go which was left to soak into the bitumen to soften up before attacking it with a black pad fitted to a Numatic buffing machine which was weighted down to improve traction.

Some areas were stubborn to remove as you can imagine so to soften it further I used an Earlex Steamer and finally a Tile Doctor Diamond encrusted burnishing pad to cut into the concrete very slightly and remove most of the bitumen that had sunk below the surface.

Concrete Floor Bridport Covered in Bitumen after cleaning

The results were as good as they could be and the customer was very pleased as she said it made the whole room look much lighter.

Source: Professional Tile, Stone and Grout maintenance service in Dorset

Removing Varnish From Flagstone Floor Tiles

Posted on July 6, 2015 by AbzDominise

This Flagstone floor was installed in a house near the village of Ambleside and had previously been sealed with varnish and other products which had left the floor looking dull and nowhere near its best. I did a test clean which came out well and then agreed a date and price I came back a couple of weeks later to do the job

Flagstone Tiled Floor Before Cleaning in Ambleside

Cleaning Flagstone Tiles

Due to the numerous coatings that had been applied to the floor it was necessary to completely strip off the coatings back to the bare stone. To start I used Tile Doctor Remove and Go which does what it says on the bottle and removes coatings from tiles, the product was diluted with water and left to soak in before being scrubbed in using a Black Scrubbing pad fitted to a rotary machine. The now dirty cleaning solution was removed using a wet vacuum and I could see that the Remove and Go had removed most but not all of the coatings so it was time to using something stronger. To do this I applied NanoTech UltraClean which is a gel that is left to soak into the floor for thirty minutes before adding water and then agitating with the black pad. The floor was rinsed with water and the solution removed with the wet vacuum. At this point I could see that all the varnish and dirt had been removed so I gave the floor a final wash down with clean water to neutralise the floor before sealing and left for the evening so the floor could dry overnight.

Flagstone Tiled Floor After Cleaning in Ambleside

Sealing a Flagstone Tiled Floor

I came back the next day and tested the floor with a damp meter to confirm the floor was dry and then proceeded to seal the floor with Tile Doctor Seal and Go applied with a paint pad which gave the floor a nice low sheen finish that the customer requested.

Flagstone Tiled Floor After Cleaning and Sealing in Ambleside

Source: Professional Tile, Stone and Grout maintenance service in Cumbria

Deep Cleaning Old Flagstone Tiles

Posted on April 16, 2015 by AbzDominise

This flagstone floor was installed in a farmhouse in Caerleon near NewPort, it was actually the original floor dating back to 18th century and had been lifted up by the previous owners and re-laid with underfloor heating and a damp proof membrane, this was good news for me as so often with these old floors you can get damp issues rising up through the stone and consequently it can take a long time to dry out following a deep clean.

Old Flagstones Before Restoration in Caerleon

Cleaning Quarry Tiles

I stripped the sealer off with Tile Doctor HBU (Heavy Build-Up Remover) Ultra-Clean mixed 50/50 mixed with Tile Doctor Pro-Clean to double the cleaning and stripping power and also to thin the HBU out. The old sealer had been applied two years prior when then the floor was re-laid as part of a renovation due to the farm house going on the market for the sale, it had worn through in the heavy traffic areas letting in dirt and now needed to be replaced.

To work the cleaning solution into the floor I used a scrubbing machine with a stiff brush attached cleaning and rinsing as I renovated, the old sealer proved quite tough to shift in some areas so the process had to be repeated until I was satisfied all the old sealer and dirt had been removed.

A lot of the cement joints had broken down which I repointed with fast setting Mapei floor grout colour matched to the original. One small piece of stone had to be replaced by the kitchen unit for which I managed to source a slab from B&Q after a hunt around from various outlets to match the original as best as possible.

Old Flagstone Tile Replacement in Caerleon

Sealing a Quarry Floor Sealing

I left the floor to dry out for two days checking later with a damp meter to ensure it was completely dry before sealing.

Old Flagstones During Sealing in Caerleon

Old Flagstones After Restoration in Caerleon

The customer wanted a satin finish as previously sealed so I applied three coats of Tile Doctor Seal & Go which gave the stone floor a nice mild shine and being water based didn’t leave smell whilst it dried.

Source: Tile, Stone and Grout Cleaning in Cardiff

Dealing with Mouldy Silicone

Posted on March 9, 2015 by AbzDominise

We often get calls to refresh bathrooms, which by the way if your selling your house is highly recommended as its cheap to do and it can transform a dingy bathroom into one that looks like it has just been installed; so replacing the silicone sealant strip around sinks and baths is something we tend to do a lot of and if you have ever done this yourself you will probably realise how tricky it can be.

This customer in Garstang only needed the strip around the sink replacing which isn’t a large job so I agreed to pop-in on the way back from another job in the local area and sort it out. The process is relatively simple, you use a sharp knife to remove the old sealant, clean the area up and then apply new, the trick is to apply just the right amount of silicone and then shape it with an angled tool. My preference is to use a Mapei silicone which if you live in Garstang can be sourced from Rockform tiles.

Silicone Seal Replacement Garstang Before

Silicone Seal Replacement Garstang After

On the subject of bathroom maintenance I can highly recommend a product we sell called Tile Doctor Mould Away which used regularly does a great job of keeping your Silicone mould free.

Source: Bathroom Renovation in Lancashire

Grouting and Cleaning Brick Floor Tiles

Posted on December 7, 2014 by AbzDominise

The owner of this house in Peppard Common near Henley on Thames was keen to have the grout completely removed from this brick paved floor in the Kitchen and re-done. This is a lot of work and re-colouring the grout with a Grout Colourant kit would have been faster and easier however it is something we can do if required.

Brick Paved Floor Before Regrouting and Cleaning Peppard

Removing Grout

I started by removing the kick boards around the base of the kitchen units then to remove the grout I had to cut along all the grout lines with a hand held multi tool; as you can imagine this work is quite painstaking and slow however I persisted and eventually completed the task which took me the whole day. After this I came back the next day and grouted the whole floor polishing off the excess grout as I went.

Cleaning Brick Paving

On the third day I gave the floor a clean with Tile Doctor Pro Clean diluted with water. The customer did not want a full scrub as the brick floor had a nice patina to it and a full scrub would have made the brick floor more of an orange colour. The last step was to give the floor a thorough rinse with water and then use a wet vacuum to extract as much water from the floor as possible.

Brick Paved Floor After Regrouting and Cleaning Peppard

In total the job took three days to complete and it now looks much cleaner and fresher.

Source: Tile, Stone and Grout Cleaning in Oxfordshire

Removing Soot From a Stone Fireplace

Posted on October 30, 2014 by AbzDominise

This fireplace at a house at Canford Cliffs near Poole, Dorset and was constructed from a mixture of Limestone and Sandstone, both of which had suffered from ingrained soot damage in the forty plus years since in had been installed. The owners of the property wanted it cleaning up and although we tend to focus on tiles the methods and products we use work equally well on stone fireplaces so I was happy to take it on.

Canford Cliffs Stone Fireplace Before Cleaning

Removing Sealer from Limestone Floor Tiles

The first task was to protect the carpet in from of the fireplace from splashing and any potential mess and then I applied a strong mixture of Tile Doctor “Pro Clean” in warm water. It was left to soak in for a short while before being scrubbed into the stone by hand with a grout brush and a brass coated Spid wire brush which helped to brush away the more ingrained dirt. This took off the majority of the soil from the stone and a further application of Pro Clean was applied which I steamed off using an Earlex steamer and then rinsed thoroughly always taking care to minimise any run off.

Sealing Limestone Floor Tiles

Any stone needs to be bone dry before sealing so I left the Fireplace to dry for two days before returning to seal it using a number of coats of Tile Doctor Seal and Go which sank into the porous stones and enriched their colour as well as protecting them from further staining.

Canford Cliffs Stone Fireplace After Cleaning

The fireplace is now looking like new again and has become a really attractive feature.

Source: Tile, Stone and Grout Cleaning Service in Dorset

Removing Plaster from Quarry Tiles

Posted on September 13, 2014 by AbzDominise

This Quarry tiled floor was at a house in the town of Market Harborough and as you can see from the photograph below it was in a right state due to the plastering that had gone on previously while the property was refurbished. The plasterer has taken no steps to protect the tiles and as a result there was plaster and plaster dust ingrained into the tile.

Quarry Tiles Deep Cleaned in Market Harborough Before

Deep Cleaning Quarry Tiles

To clean the floor and remove mess of plaster that it has become covered it the whole floor was soaked in a strong dilution of Tile Doctor Remove and Go which is a strong coatings remover that is safe to use on tile, stone and grout. If was left to dwell on the tiles for around twenty minutes before being worked into the floor with a rotary machine fitted with a black scrubbing pad, the grout was also scrubbed but this needs to be done by hand with a stiff brush. The soiled cleaning solution is then rinsed away using a wet vacuum and the process repeated on stubborn areas until all the tiles were clean. Once I was happy the floor was in an acceptable condition it was thoroughly rinsed with water to remove any cleaning products that might upset the sealer and then left to dry overnight; the wet vacuum was used again to remove the water and help dry the floor.

Sealing Quarry Tiles

We delayed our return until the decorators had painted the walls and unlike the plasterers they protected the floor so we didn’t have to spend time removing paint from the tiles. The tiles were thoroughly dry when we returned and so we got straight on with the task of sealing them with five coats of Tile Doctor Colour Grow which is an impregnating sealer that occupies the pores in a tile preventing contaminates from become ingrained and as its name suggests does a great job of enhancing the colour in the tile.

Quarry Tiles Deep Cleaned in Market Harborough After

Source: Tile, Stone and Grout Cleaning and Sealing in Leicestershire

Annual Patio and Paving Slab Cleaning

Posted on August 24, 2014 by AbzDominise

These photographs are from the garden of a house in the beautiful village of Titchmarsh in Northamptonshire. The request was to clean the patios and paths which if not cleaned regularly become dirty and lose their appearance during the English winter.

Cleaning Patios and Paths

The process I follow for cleaning path’s, patios and paving in general is basically to apply a strong dilution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean and then let it soak in to get to work on the dirt and grime for ten minutes before scrubbing with a stiff brush; this is then followed by pressure washing.

Home owners can buy pressure washing machines and many domestic models are available in DIY stores however none are as powerful as the machines used by Tile Doctors which can generates pressures far in excess of a domestic system that make light work of cutting through grime.

Source: Residential and Commercial Tile and Stone Cleaning in South Wales

Cleaning 100 year old Quarry tiles near Cardiff

Posted on June 17, 2014 by AbzDominise

This Red Quarry Tiled floor had been laid when the house was built back in 1910 so it was over 100 years old and had years of wear and tear to show for it including old cement and paint from some decorating work that had been done some years prior. The house was located in the town of Treharris just outside of Cardiff and being an original feature of the house the owner wanted it looking as good as it could be.

Red Quarry Tiles Floor in Treharris Before Cleaning

Cleaning a Quarry Tiled Floor

I first checked for any moisture as these old floors were often laid without damp proofing and a damp floor can impact sealing later. Fortunately the reading was nice and dry, I then set about carefully scrapping off as much old paint and cement as possible. I then swept up as much of the dust as I could and caught the rest with a hoover.

The next step was to cover the whole floor in Tile Doctor Remove and Go mixed with a little NanoTech Ultra Clean which basically adds tiny abrasive particles to a powerful coatings remover. I left this on to soak into the tile for about an hour knowing that using this combination would not only remove any old surface coatings such as sealers it would also clean the floor as well. The solution was then worked into the floor using a rotating scrubbing brush attachment on a floor machine effectively letting the machinery do all the hard work. The floor was then rinsed twice with clean water which was then removed using a wet vacuum.

Red Quarry Tiles Floor in Treharris Scrubbed

It was clear at this point that the cement I could see on the surface of the tile was basically grout from an appalling tiling job when the floor was laid 100 years earlier. Fortunately Tile Doctor has a solution for that problem called Grout Remove and Go which is an acid based product that will remove grout and mineral deposits such as efflorescence. Being an acid I had to be careful so it was applied to the tile working one square metre at a time cleaning and scraping as I went along. After each section the floor was given a good rinsing again using the wet vacuum to remove the liquids from the floor. The last step of the cleaning process which I always do for Quarry and Victorian floor tiles was to finish off the rinsing process with a steam clean which brings out any remaining dirt and brings the tile back to its raw state.

Red Quarry Tiles Floor in Treharris Cleaning

Sealing a Quarry Tiled Floor

I cleaned the floor on the Friday and then left it to try for two days coming back on the Sunday to damp test the floor once again to ensure it was ready for sealing. The moisture reading was fine for sealing and as the customer had asked for a mild shine finish I sealed the floor using Tile Doctor Seal and Go which brought out the black and red colours in the tile back to life.

Red Quarry Tiles Floor in Treharris Sealed

Source: Residential and Commercial Tile Cleaning in South Wales

Refreshing tired flagstone floor tiles

Posted on June 1, 2014 by AbzDominise

These photographs are of a Flagstone floor tiled floor installed at a house in Glasgow. They were well worn, looking washed out and overdue a deep clean and re-seal, there was also remnants of adhesive and paint and I suspect the floor had been covered in carpet at some point in the past.

Cleaning Flagstone Floor Tiles

Working in sections the tiles were covered in Tile Doctor Remove and Go which as the name suggests is designed to safely remove coatings from tiles, this was left to soak in for a while before scrapping off the glue and paint from the stone surface using a wire brush and paint scrapers.

The second step was to scrub the floor using a strong dilution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean worked in using a rotary bonnet machine fitted with a hard nylon brush attachment. The floor was then then rinsed down with clean water and the soiled solution extracted using and industrial wet vacuum. This process was completed three to four times to ensure all the dirt was removed.

The floor was then left to dry assisted by a turbo air mover and damaged pointing and cracks between the stone was patched up using a sand/cement mortar. The cleaning and repairing process took most of the day so once complete we left for the day leaving the turbo air mover switched on to ensure the floor would be nice and dry of the next day.

Sealing Flagstones

We returned the next day and once we had checked the stone had dried we proceed to seal it using five coats of Tile Doctor Seal and Go which will protect the floor and also adds a nice sheen to the tile.

Source: Residential and Commercial Tiled Floor Cleaning in Glasgow

Restoring a damaged Victorian Tiled hallway in South Wales

Posted on May 29, 2014 by AbzDominise

This is an original Victorian tiled hallway floor in Cardiff that dated back to when the house was built in the year of 1890. The previous householders of which had a radiator installed serviced by laying pipes right through the middle of the floor destroying the tiles as they went, they then back filled the channel with cement. On top of that many of the other tiles had been splashed with cement and paint.

Repairing Victorian Floor Tiles

My first job was to carefully remove the cement from the channel and to precisely cut back any old cement bedding and old cement grout away from any tile edges in preparation for the replacement tiles which fortunately I was able to get hold of.

After all the previous preparation I started carefully scraping off cement from all around the edges of the remaining tiles as well as gloss and emulsion splashes from the surface essentially giving the whole floor a thorough scrape with a hand held scraper vacuuming up the mess as I worked. Interestingly for a floor of its age I tested the floor in various places for moisture and found it to be perfectly dry.

Cleaning a Victorian Floor

To clean the floor I mixed three parts Tile Doctor Remove and Go with NanoTech UltraClean which basically adds small abrasive particles to a powerful sealer and coatings remover making it even more effective. This was applied to the whole floor and left to soak in for an hour making sure not to let it dry out by applying further amounts; leaving it to dwell for an hour gives it time to eat away at any dirt and coatings on the tile making the scrubbing processes easier.

To scrub the tiles I used a rotary machine fitted with a black scrubbing pad rinsing and extracting the soiled solution along the way. This cleaned up the tiles well however there were still some cement stains so this time Tile Doctor Grout Clean-up was applied to the floor in sections and left to ten minutes to dwell before working it in with another black scrubbing pad and rinsing off. This product is acid based so you can’t leave on the tiles for too long; once I was happy with the final result the whole floor was given a thorough rinse with plenty of clean water using a wet vacuum to extract the waste and dry the floor.

The channel was then filled with cement and once it had set replacement replica Victorian tiles from The Original Tile Company were installed. I then grouted the floor in a medium grey grout let the tiles become solid and the grout go hard before using a steam cleaner to make sure that I have removed all the tile doctor cleaning solutions prior to sealing.

Sealing a Victorian Floor Sealing

The customer wanted a semi-gloss finish so once I had tested the floor again to make sure it was dry I sealed the tiles with Tile Doctor Seal and Go which enhanced the colour of the floor tiles and added a nice sheen.

Abused Victorian Floor Cardiff Completed

As you can see the new tiles fitted beautifully and the old floor tiles cleaned up so successfully the difference is impossible to spot. It was a lot of painstaking work though taking five days to finish but well worth the result.

Source: Residential and Commercial Tiled Floor Restoration in South Wales

Cleaning and Sealing Quarry Tiled Floors

Posted on March 13, 2014 by AbzDominise

The customer called me in to resolve a problem in at a beautiful holiday cottage in Cockermouth which had an old Quarry tiled floor installed which she had tried to make shine but had ended up turning it pink in places

Cockermouth Quarry Tiled Kitchen floor before cleaining 1

Cockermouth Quarry Tiled Kitchen floor before cleaining 2

Cleaning Quarry Floor Tiles

On my arrival I spent time protecting the kitchen units and adjacent wooden floor and then started on removing the old sealer with Tile doctor Remove and Go; I sprayed it on working in small areas and working it into the tile with a brush making sure to scrub it in well, the resultant soiled solution was washed off with clean water the and then removed using a wet vacuum. After finishing with the tile I moved onto the grout joints using the same process to make sure they were all clean and then the floor was given a good rinse to neutralise the floor before sealing. Again a wet vacuum was used to remove any liquids from the floor and it was then left to dry fully overnight.

Sealing Quarry Floor Tiles

The next day I returned to the cottage and after verifying the floor was dry with a damp tester it was sealed with four coats of Tile Doctor Seal and Go which provides on-going protection as well as adding a nice shine to the tile.

Cockermouth Quarry Tiled Kitchen floor after cleaining 1

Cockermouth Quarry Tiled Kitchen floor after cleaining 2

This job took me two days and whilst I was there I took the time to explain how to maintain the floor going forward and the importance of using a Neutral Cleaner to extend the life of the sealer. Certainly the customer was very happy with the results and left the following message our feedback system:

“Absolutely delighted the tiles were very marked in places but Heidi has managed to get them off and the tiles are back to their true colour which I hoped they would be. Heidi explained step by step the procedure and I am very pleased with the result Thank you very much for the time spent and I would recommend Heidi — Veronica”

Source: Professional Quarry Tile Cleaning Service in Cumbria

Cleaning and Polishing Terrazzo tiles

Posted on November 29, 2013 by AbzDominise

This Terrazzo tiled vestibule in Glasgow was completely dull and lacking colour when we arrived, this area probably see’s the most foot traffic in the house so it must of seen a fair amount of wear and abuse over the years.

Terrazzo tiled vestibule in Glasgow before cleaning

Cleaning Terrazzo Tiles

Terrazzo is a very hard surface and needs to be burnished in the same way as you would treat Marble or Travertine, before we could do that thought we needed to remove any loose debris etc. that could scratch the surface during the burnishing process to the first job was to sweep out the area with a brush and vacuum up any loose debris etc.

It was a very tight area so use of our large Bonnet machine was ruled out and we opted instead for a small handheld rotary machine fitted with the diamond encrusted burnishing pads. The burnishing pads come in a set of four and you start with a coarse pad with a little water and work your way through the set moving from a the coarse pads through to the less abrasive pads; this process polishes the stone more and more until you get a smooth finish. After each pad was used the area was thoroughly rinsed with clean water to remove any excess polish before moving onto the next, once we had gone through all four pads the floor was left clean ,smooth, and shiny.

Sealing Terrazzo Tile

Once the burnishing process was completed we proceeded to seal the stone with two coats of Tile Doctor Colour Grow which is a colour enhancing sealer designed to protect the stone whilst lifting the natural colours.

Terrazzo tiled vestibule in Glasgow after cleaning

Although quite intensive due to the space restriction it was quite a small area so it took just less than a day to complete.

Source: Terrazzo Tile Cleaning in Glasgow

Removing Limescale from Mosaic tile and Stone

Posted on August 22, 2013 by AbzDominise

This property in London N6 had been rented out previously by the owners and they were now renovating it before moving back in, this work included a wet room which had glass mosaic floor tiles and a dark Basalt tile laid on the wall. The main problem had been a general lack of maintenance over the years which led to a major unsightly build-up of lime scale throughout the wet room. We agreed to do the work but had to explain to the client how difficult the work would be and set their expectation for only an eighty percent improvement. I must apologise in advance for the quality of some of the photographs on this page, the size of the room, low lighting a nature of the stone surfaces didn’t lend themselves well to being photographed.

Mosaic Tiled Floor and Basalt Tiles Before

Day 1 -Cleaning Basalt and Mosaic Tiles

Having protected all the chrome furnishings within the wet room we started to soak the Basalt tiled walls with Tile Doctor Grout Clean-Up followed by scrubbing and rinsing constantly with clear water. Grout Clean-up is an Acid based product so you do need to take care when doing this however it is particularly effective at shifting mineral deposits like Limescale. When we were satisfied this had removed the majority of soap scum and lime scale we proceeded to clean the Glass Mosaic floor tiles using the same method.

Day 2 -Polishing Basalt wall Tiles

The basalt tiled walls now needed to be restored back to their original factory condition using small diamond encrusted burnishing pads attached to a hand held polishing machine. We started with a coarse pad which removed any remaining Limescale which had impregnated the surface of the stone and moved onto the finer pads which polish the stone. Once this was complete the tiles were given a final clean with Tile Doctor Neutral Cleaner which is an everyday cleaning product designed for regular use on stone or sealed tiled surfaces.

Day 3 -Sealing Basalt wall Tiles

We came back on the third day and after making sure the Basalt tiles had dried we gave it a final buffing to restore the stone to a deep high gloss shine. The last step was to seal the Basalt tile in order to protect it and make it easier to clean in the future and for this we applied three coats of Tile Doctor Colour Grow which is an impregnating sealer that soaks into the pores of the stone.

Finally we used a rotary floor polisher fitted with a white buffing pad to buff the mosaic glass floor to a high shine.

Mosaic Tiled Floor and Basalt Tiles After

Source: Dealing with Limescale issues on Tile in London

Coffee Stains removed from Marble Tile

Posted on February 24, 2013 by AbzDominise

These Marble Tiles were laid in an en-suite bathroom at a house in Bridport, the main problems to be addressed WERE that the floor had dulled and lost most of its shine, there was also a coffee stain in the corner which needed to be addressed.

Removing Stains from Marble Tile

To remove the ingrained coffee stain we used Tile Doctor Reduxa, which is a penetrating stain remover used in conjunction with a heat gun, it can take a little time to work but its very easy to apply, I’ve copied the instructional video below so you can see for yourself.

Polishing Marble Floor Tiles

Before polishing the marble tiled floor we set about giving it a quick clean using a mild dilution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean to ensure there was no grit on the floor that could lead to deep scratches when polishing. The floor was then rinsed with clean water to remove and chemical residue and we then began polishing the floor using a set of burnishing pads fitted to a heavy buffing machine. There are four pads in the set each encrusted with very fine diamonds, you start the process with the Red pad which is designed to remove sealers, followed by the White polishing pad for the removal of ingrained dirt then the Yellow smoothing pad and finally the Green polishing pad.

Sealing Marble Tiles

The floor was then washed down to remove any remnants from the polishing process and dried off so it could be sealed. To seal the floor we used a single coat of Tile Doctor Ultra Seal which is a premium penetrating sealer that gives a natural appearance and will provide long lasting stain protection going forward.

The customer requested the coffee stain removed and a high shine finish and was not disappointed, my photography skills aren’t brilliant but hopefully you can also see the improvement.

Source Coffee Stains removed from Marble Tile in Dorset

Cleaning Terracotta Floors

Posted on July 10, 2012 by AbzDominise

This customer had a terracotta tiled floor in the kitchen, utility room and toilet, which hadn’t been sealed for 8 years and told us that the floor needed full restoration. On full inspection we also found that there was grout loose and missing and it was also different colours.

The tiles were also stained with olive oil from cooking spillages.

We started by giving the floor a deep clean by using Tile Doctor Pro-clean and scrubbing with deck brushes to remove all soils and old residue sealers. We then thoroughly rinsed the floor using our truck mounted machine and spinner tool. We had a problem of removing the oil stains from the tile as terracotta is very porous and had absorbed the like a sponge.

So we then applied Tile Doctor Remove and Go to the stained areas then sprayed with a light spray of water to help keep it moist and stop it drying out, we left this solution on the tiles for 90 minutes. After the dwelling time we steamed the floor as we rinsed off the Remove and Go. The next step was to rinse the complete floor with our truck mount cleaning system and a tile cleaning spinner tool. This thoroughly rinses and thoroughly cleans the floor with very hot water and high pressure.

We had to then tackle the grout problem, so we removed all loose and old grout, where needed and re-grouted the floor. This was left to dry for 48 hours to completely dry.

Then we applied 8 coats of Tile Doctor Seal and Go, leaving it to dry for 40 minutes between each coat. We returned the following day and re-coloured the grout with Tile Doctor beige grout re-colourant. This was then left to dry and a further 3 coats of Seal and Go.

Once this had dried we buffed the floor to harden the sealer and polish it. We used a Tile Doctor white pad and rotary cleaning and polishing machine to bring out the shine on the floor as shown in the pictures below:

The customer was on holiday when we carried out the work, we had been dealing with the manager of the property, who when the customer returned was made to phone me, so the customer could thank me personally.

The customer’s comments were:

“I can’t believe how nice our floor looks and never thought it could look so good! “

They spoke to the manager of their property and have asked him to arrange with me another appointment as they wanted me to clean their courtyard area as well as they were absolutely delighted with their terracotta floors.

Original Source: Cleaning Terracotta Floors in West Surrey.

Quarry Tile Floor

Posted on July 9, 2012 by AbzDominise

I think you will be impressed with these photographs from a Quarry Tile floor we did recently. This quarry tiles were installed in the kitchen and went through to the dinning room, hallway and down stairs cloakroom, at total of around 40sq metres

The tiles were recenctly installed and the customer called us in because they were unhappy with the finished result. This can be a common problem with Tilers who do a great job of levelling, tiling and grouting a floor but struggle on their knowledge of sealers. They were hoping for a high gloss finish but were left with a very dull and patchy floor.

Quarry Tile Cleaning

We stripped the entire floor first using Tile Doctor Pro-Clean assisted by a rotary machine fitted with a black pad. This removed most of the sealer, however, we encountered more problems with grout haze which had been trapped underneath the sealer and had not been cleaned off properly to begin with. Also there were still patches of the original sealer which had been applied over a damp floor. The grout haze was removed by hand with wire bushes and more Pro-Clean and then the entire area was blanket stripped. This is an interesting technique unique to Tile Doctor which involves applying Remove and Go mixed with Nanotech Ultra-Clean to tiles and then covering in plastic sheeting and left for several hours to allow to soak into tiles. We then used a steam stripper and a wet vacuum to pick up to remove and rinse off the products. The area was then left to dry for 2 days assisted by dehumidifiers.

Quarry Tile Sealing

After this time we returned to site to take damp metre readings and once we were happy that all areas were dry, we then applied 5 coats of Tile Doctor Seal and Go to protect floors and provide the high gloss finish that the customer requested.

Quarry Tiled Floor Restoration in Northamptonshire

Original Source: Quarry Tile Floor by Tile Doctor Northamptonshire.