Porcelain Tile Cleaning

Porcelain Tile and Grout Renovation Chalfont St Peter

End of Tenancy Renovation of Porcelain Tile and Grout in Chalfont St Peter

I recently paid a visit to a rental property in Chalfont St Peter which had Porcelain tiled floor which needed an End of Tenancy Clean. Porcelain tiling is a great choice for a rental property as its very to maintain however in this case it was the grout that was letting the floor down.

Porcelain Tiled Floor Before Cleaning Chalfont St Peter

It seems the previous tenant had tried using a white grout pen to colour the grout lines when they first moved in and since then the colourant has started flaking off resulting in a very patchy appearance and the exposed grout becoming darker.

The client wanted me to come in and clean the floor and to make the grout lines unison. The property wasn’t going to be rented out again as the owner was planning to move back in after living abroad for several years.

Deep Cleaning Porcelain Tile and Grout

On the first day I started giving the Porcelain tile and grout a much needed deep clean using a Rocky floor machine fitted with a Silicon Carbide brush and lubricated with a strong dilution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean. Carbide brushes are perfect for hard floor cleaning and in this case had the additional advantage of cleaning away the flaky grout pen.

This cleaning process was applied section by section vacuuming up the slurry with a wet vacuum along the way. I then hand scrubbed the grout lines with Grout Colourant Pre-Treat Cleaner which is an effective ready-to-use cleaner designed to lightly etch the surface of the grout to ensure a better adhesion with the colourant. It also removes dirt, soil, soap scum and hard water deposits from grout joints. Once everywhere had been treated I mopped the floor with Neutral Tile Cleaner, rinsed with water, extracted with the wet vacuum again before finally leaving the floor to dry off overnight.

Applying White Grout Colourant to a Porcelain Tiled Floor

On day two I knew my main problem would be making sure that the White grout colourant was able to adhere to those areas of grout that had been coloured with the pen. I didn’t have to worry though as it worked perfectly. The application basically involves using a small brush to push the colourant into the grout lines and gently cleaning up the edge of the tiles to remove the excess colourant before it can dry.

After the first coat dried it brighten the floor massively however in some of areas you could still make out the old from the new so I needed to give the grout lines a second coat using the same technique as before. Once the second coat had been applied, I allowed it to settle and go off before giving the floor a check over to make sure I was happy with the result.

Porcelain Tiled Floor After Cleaning Chalfont St Peter

My customer was over the moon with the difference and was much relieved that the floor had been restored after the condition the previous tenants had left it in.

 

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Porcelain Tiled Kitchen Floor Before and After Cleaning Henley-on-Thames

Deep Cleaning Dirty Ceramic Kitchen Tiles in Henley-on-Thames

This customer from the picturesque town of Henley on Thames got in touch to ask about cleaning and sealing her Ceramic tiled kitchen floor. Now Ceramic tiles are glazed and so normally won’t absorb a sealer so intrigued I scheduled a time to pop over and take a look. When I got here I could see the tiles were in deed dirty but as I suspected they were not Ceramic but micro porous Porcelain which does need to be sealed. In this case the sealer had worn off and dirt had become ingrained in the tiny pores of the tile.

Porcelain Tiled Kitchen Floor Before Cleaning Henley on Thames
The tiles were a Terracotta style Porcelain, but this was hardly recognisable due to the accumulation of dirt. I discussed all of this with the owner and agreed I would give the tile and grout a thorough deep clean and then reseal them to ensure the dirt was kept out of the pores in the Porcelain going forward.

Deep Cleaning a Terracotta Style Porcelain Tiled Kitchen Floor

As well as cleaning the floor I would need to remove any trace of original sealer if I was to achieve a consistent appearance later. To achieve this, I soaked the tile in a strong dilution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean which was then left it to dwell for ten minutes, so it could get to work on breaking down old sealers and dirt.

The next stage was to work the Pro-Clean into the floor with a rotary floor buffer running on slow speed fitted with a black scrubbing pad. The cleaning solution soon changed colour with the dirt that became released. The floor was rinsed with water and the soiled cleaning solution extracted using a wet vacuum. The grout given the same treatment but this time by hand using a stiff brush and more Pro-Clean.

The floor was then rinsed again with water and then dried with a wet vacuum. Being micro-porous Porcelain, this didn’t take as long as clay tiles such natural Terracotta or Victorian.

Sealing a Terracotta Style Porcelain Tiled Kitchen Floor

The floor was then left to dry and I returned later to re-seal it for which I used a couple of coats of Tile Doctor Ultra Seal which is a natural look sealer that protects the tile from within by impregnating the pores in the tile with sealant thus preventing dirt from becoming trapped there.

Porcelain Tiled Kitchen Floor After Cleaning Henley on Thames
I think you will agree the floor now looks much cleaner and fresher, certainly my customer was happy with transformation and left the following note on the Tile Doctor feedback system.

“My manky old kitchen floor is absolutely transformed. So much easier, quicker and cheaper than getting the floor replaced. Andrew did an amazing job, highly recommended. Yvonne B, Henley”

 

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Commerical Porcelain Toilet floor Milton Keynes Before and After Grout Colouring

Recolouring Stained Grout in Milton Keynes Office Toilet

Although much of the work Tile Doctor does is residential were more than happy to take on commercial tile cleaning jobs, as well. In fact, many office buildings contain very nice tiled kitchens and bathrooms, but the cleaners who visit them daily are rarely have the right training and products to keep stone, tile and grout looking it’s best.

In some cases, a long period of time passes before the facilities manager or cleaning company reach out to seek help from companies like Tile Doctor and by this time the tiles can be a very bad way. With this in mind I received a call from an office manager in Milton Keynes who needed help to restore the appearance of the tile and grout in a Porcelain tiled toilet.

Commerical Porcelain Toilet floor Milton Keynes Before Cleaning
You can see from the photograph that the White floor grout had become stained and unsightly through use and a lack of adequate grout cleaning. The owner of the building had decided, in fact, that he wanted to change the grout to a dark colour but was concerned about the cost and time it would take to remove the original grout and applying new.

I suggested to him that we give the tile and grout a deep clean and then simply recolour the grout with a Tile Doctor Grout Colourant. Additionally, it’s a relatively quick process which could be done outside of office hours to minimise disruption. The customer was happy with this solution, so I we agreed a time for me to come back and carry out the work.

Cleaning and Grout Recolouring of a Porcelain Tiled Office Toilet

The restoration process began with a deep clean of the tiles using Tile Doctor Pro-Clean, which is a strong alkaline tile and grout cleaner. The product was applied to the tile and grout and then left to dwell for a short period before being worked in with a large scrubbing pad fitted to a rotary machine. Pro-Clean very reliably breaks down ingrained dirt and muck and can even be used to remove sealers in a concentrated form.

Next, I paid special attention to freshening up the stained grout lines. This was done using Tile Doctor Grout Clean-Up, an acidic product which is usually used to remove grout smears from the tile surface but in this case applied to etch the grout surface to ensure a stronger bond with the colourant.

The tile and grout was rinsed and then dried before I could continue with the final step of recolouring the grout lines to make them darker, as per the customer’s request. This was done using the Tile Doctor Grout Colourant in Grey, which is just one of ten colours available. Other options include White, Chocolate, Sandstone and Black.

The Grout Colourant serves not only to recolour and rejuvenate the grout lines but also adds a barrier over the grout sealing it in and protecting it from further staining.

Commerical Porcelain Toilet floor Milton Keynes After Grout Colouring
I think you’ll agree, looking at the photo of the result below, that the toilet now looks much smarter and more professional. The customer was very happy with the outcome of the work and left me the following feedback on the Tile Doctor feedback system.

Great diligent work undertaken by Andrew-very pleased with the outcome.
Mr. Hirani, Milton Keynes 03 February 2018

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