Travertine Tile Cleaning

Welcome to my Work History archive where you will find detailed examples of the cleaning and renovation of Travertine tiles carried out in South Buckinghamshire

Cleaning and Polishing Travertine tiles

Travertine is a natural material that has unique features and colouring that no other stone can offer. The distinctive look of Travertine creates some of the most distinguished floor tiles and has proved very popular with commercial and residential use. It can be used for floor tile, kitchen flooring, bathroom walls and floors, and it is often used externally. There are many varieties such as Tumbled and Polished and like all natural stone it needs to be sealed to prevent dirt becoming trapped in the pores. Unlike other stones however Travertine does suffer from pitting however these holes can be filled.

One of the main issues with polished Travertine is the polish starts to wear down with use and eventually becomes dull. Another issue we see is acid etching where strong unsuitable cleaning products used on the stone etch the surface and ruin its appearance. To resolve both these problems the stone needs to be re-polished with diamond encrusted burnishing pads of different grits to hone the stone and bring back that deep shine. If this sounds familiar you should talk to us about our annual maintenance program where we visit you once a year to clean, polish and seal your floor thus keeping it in top condition.

Below you will find detailed examples of work we have carried out in the past, it should give you some idea of what’s involved and what can be achieved with the right techniques and products.


Dirty Travertine Kitchen Floor Renovated in Amersham

20-Year-Old Travertine Kitchen Floor Give Deep Clean and Seal in Amersham

This client from Amersham contacted us regarding their Travertine Kitchen floor which they were simply not able to keep clean. Frustratingly any spillage went straight into the floor and stained the tiles. I called them to discuss the problem and offered to come round and survey the floor which is a free service we offer.

I can provide a quote over the phone, but my preference is to visit and test different cleaning products and techniques on the floor before quoting. Doing it this way allows me to work out an accurate quote and gives the customer the confidence I can resolve their problems.

After agreeing a suitable time to call I visited the property and could instantly see that their main problem was the sealer protecting their Kitchen tiles had failed and as described dirt was becoming stuck in the pores of the stone. Natural stone like Travertine is porous and without a sealer in place dirt becomes lodged in its pores where is becomes very difficult to shift.

Travertine Kitchen Floor Before Deep Cleaning Amersham

The kitchen was stunning but let down by the dirty floor which had been installed around twenty years ago when a new extension has been added to the property. Typically, a sealer should last between three and five years depending on use and what cleaning products are used to maintain it, so it wasn’t surprising that the original sealer had worn off.

I quoted for deep cleaning the floor including the removal of the old sealer and then applying a robust impregnating sealer which is recommended for Travertine. Happy with the price we scheduled a date for the work to be done.

Deep Cleaning a Travertine Tiled Kitchen Floor

On the first day the floor was given a thorough deep clean using a strong dilution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean, this product is our go to Tile and Grout Cleaner and when used in a strong dilution is strong enough to remove sealers. You find with sealers that they wear down first in the busiest sections of the floor so its important to remove all the sealer from across the floor or you end up with layering.

Pro-Clean is a strong alkaline cleaning product and it’s sprayed onto the tile and grout and then left for ten minutes before working it in, this allows it time to soak into the pores and start breaking down the dirt.

The floor is then scrubbed using a Rocky floor machine fitted with a series of diamond burnishing pads of increasing grits. This process generates a lot of soiling, and this is hoovered up with a wet vacuum after each pad.

The work begins with a coarse 400-grit burnishing pad which strips the Travertine and I work up to a 3000-grit pad which really brings up the finish of the stone to a slight sheen as the client requested. The floor was then left overnight to dry.

Sealing a Travertine Tiled Kitchen Floor

On day two I started on the sealing process first checking that the floor had dried sufficiently to accept the sealer. After discussing sealer options with the client earlier they had expressed a preference for a natural look, so I chose to apply a sealer called Tile Doctor Ultra-Seal which doesn’t colour the stone in any way and is almost undetectable.

Ultra-Seal is an impregnating sealer that works by soaking into the pores of the stone occupying the space and thereby preventing dirt from becoming ingrained there. Two coats were applied with a microfibre cloth allowing it to soak into the tile for a few hours before walking on it.

Once the seal had dried, I went over the tiles again with the 3000-grit pad which buffs of any excess sealant and brings up the sheen. Now with the floor being completely protected with Tile Doctor Ultra Seal the client shouldn’t have any problem with spillages which can be simply wiped away.

Travertine Kitchen Floor After Deep Cleaning Sealing Amersham

Once finished the deep pitted dirt was gone and the floor looked much lighter and cleaner. My client was very impressed with the transformation and has recommended us to her friend who also lives in Amersham and has a similar stone floor.

I mentioned earlier that a sealer’s life can be impacted by the product you use for regular cleaning, it’s a fact that most supermarket tile cleaners are simply too strong and can damage the sealer so before leaving I took time to discuss aftercare cleaning and for Travertine, I recommend the use of Tile Doctor Stone Soap which as well as gently cleaning the stone also helps maintain the patina.

 

Professional Restoration of a Travertine Tiled Kitchen in South Buckinghamshire

20-Year-Old Travertine Kitchen Floor Give Deep Clean and Seal in Amersham Read More »

Travertine Tiled Floor After Cleaning Aylesbury

Travertine Kitchen Floor Tiles Transformed in Aylesbury

Travertine is a type of Limestone which unique and distinctive features, making it a highly sought after and expensive type of natural stone tile. Not only is it a very attractive stone, it’s also a very useful building material. In fact, it’s been used since Ancient Roman times when it was the main component of temples, aqueducts, monuments, bath complexes, and amphitheatres.

In the modern era it remains popular, but to keep Travertine in fantastic condition it is necessary to ensure regular and professional maintenance. In this case seven years after this customer in Aylesbury had a Travertine tiled kitchen floor installed, the stone had significantly declined in appearance. Over time the sealant had worn away, allowing the dirt from everyday life to sink deep into the pores of the floor resulting in dirt becoming ingrained in the pores of the stone that the customer was unable to remove by themselves. Having tried hard to clean the floor to no avail – and keen to see the sheen restored to the tiles – the customer called me in for some expert assistance.

Travertine Tiled Floor Before Cleaning Aylesbury

Burnishing and Cleaning a Travertine Tiled Kitchen Floor

As with all of our customers, I conducted an initial free on-site survey and demonstration clean for the customer. During the survey, I determined that the sealer had completely broken down and that the best option was to use our Tile Doctor burnishing system to restore the tiles to a like-new appearance. We demonstrated this process, which involves the application of different diamond encrusted pads of varying grit to grind away dirt and refine the polish on the stone, on one of the most badly soiled tiles. The results were very impressive and the customer remarked on how much it transformed the tile.

After provision of a detailed written quote, the customer requested that I complete the service and two weeks later I was back to restore the whole floor.

The process took two days. On day one, I used the Coarse, Medium and Fine diamond burnishing pads to resurface the tile. This process uses water in conjunction with the burnishing pads to gently remove the top layer of the tile, along with any ingrained dirt, old sealer and scratches. Once I had completed the whole floor, I got to work cleaning the grout. For this, I used a strong solution of Tile Doctor Pro Clean, our reliable alkaline cleaner, in combination with a handheld scrubbing brush.

I then rinsed the floor, removed any excess water, and allowed it to dry overnight.

Sealing a Travertine Tiled Kitchen Floor

The following day, I returned to the property to seal the floor. Before I could seal it I needed to perform a dry buffing process using the fourth diamond encrusted pad with a Very fine grit. This process closes up the pores in the floor and provide a good quality sheen to the tiles.

Finally, I applied two coats of Tile Doctor Ultra Seal. This is an impregnating sealer that penetrates the tiles to provide maximum stain protection, especially in food preparation and serving areas. This sealer is completely transparent, so it does not affect the natural look of the stone.

Travertine Tiled Floor Before Cleaning Aylesbury

Once the second coat of sealer had dried, I buffed the floor one more time to remove any excess sealer. The customer was absolutely delighted with the result, leaving the following feedback:
“Andrew did an excellent job on our kitchen floor. The tiles are much cleaner than before and I’ve never seen them so shiny! Andrew was professional, knowledgeable, and very polite and friendly. Would not hesitate to recommend him!”

Polishing Travertine Kitchen Tiles back to Health in Buckinghamshire

Travertine Kitchen Floor Tiles Transformed in Aylesbury Read More »

Travertine Tile in Aston Clinton After

Cleaning and Polishing a Travertine Tiled Floor in Ashton Clinton

These Travertine tiles were laid five years ago at a residential property in Ashton Clinton and our client had never been entirely happy with the tillers finish from sealing which was marked with smears and also had the tillers bare footed prints embedded within the seal. The sealer was now wearing off and polish fading so it was due to be re-done and we were given the call.

Cleaning Travertine Tile in Aston Clinton During

Burnishing a Travertine Tiled Floor

The owner had maintained the floor well so we set to work removing the old sealer using rotary machine fitted with a coarse number One diamond encrusted burnishing pad and a little water. The resultant slurry was rinsed off and removed using a powerful wet vacuum the grout lines were given a good scrub by hand using a stiff brush and Tile Doctor Grout clean–up. With the same method we cleaned and polished the tiles with the number Two and Three burnishing pads followed by a final clean and rinse and then left to dry overnight.

Polishing Travertine Tile in Aston Clinton During

Sealing and Polishing Travertine Tile

The next day the tiles had completely dried we used the final number Four burnishing pad which is a very fine pad to polish and add shine to the travertine floor. The last stage was to seal the Travertine which we did with two coats of Tile Doctor Colour Grow which is a colour intensifying sealer that brings out the colours in natural stone and provide lasting protection.

Travertine Tile in Aston Clinton After
 

Travertine Tile Cleaning and Polishing in Ashton Clinton, Buckinghamshire

Cleaning and Polishing a Travertine Tiled Floor in Ashton Clinton Read More »

Travertine Floor Aylesbury After

Honed Travertine Tiled floor Re-Sealed in Aylesbury

Details below of a newly laid Travertine Honed & Filled floor in Aylesbury that needed stripping and re-sealing. The work was done at the request of a building company who had just completed a pair of semi-detached houses laid with Travertine tiles on the ground floor. Unfortunately the tiling contractor had failed to clean the tile surface properly before sealing and had trapped particles of dust and debris into the sealer, as a result the whole floor was as rough as sandpaper and needed to be stripped and re-sealed prior to their clients moving in the following week.

Travertine Floor Aylesbury Before

Cleaning Travertine Tile

To remove the existing sealer and to polish the stone we used the Tile Doctor diamond burnishing system. This involves burnishing the floor with diamond encrusted pads fitted to a heavy rotary machine, the system consists of a set of four seventeen inch coloured pads and you work your way through the pads from red (sealer removal) through to green (final polishing). This work returned the stone to its original condition ready for sealing.

Travertine Floor Aylesbury After

Sealing Travertine Tile

We sealed the floor with three coats of Tile Doctor Colour Grow which provides excellent stain protection whilst enhancing the natural colours in the stone. The building company was pleased that we had managed to resolve the problem before the owners moved in as it had avoided an embarrassing situation for them. Interestingly we have since completed three other jobs with this same type of problem.

Sealing Honed and Filled Travertine tiled floors in Buckinghamshire

Honed Travertine Tiled floor Re-Sealed in Aylesbury Read More »

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South Buckinghamshire Tile Doctor

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