These slate tiles had been laid in the kitchen of a farmhouse in the village of Little Hampden around twenty years ago and since that time had become heavily soiled with a build-up of dirt and over applied sealants.
Cleaning a Slate Tiled Floor
To get the floor clean a strong dilution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean was applied to the floor, allowed to soak in for a while and then scrubbed into the tile and grout with the aid of a commercial rotary machine. Once done the floor was washed down with water which was then removed along with the soiled cleaning solution using a wet vacuum.
The Pro-Clean removed the top soiling throughout the floor but it became clear that something stronger would be need to remove the heavy build-up of old sealants. Fortunately we have a product called Tile Doctor Remove and Go which is designed to strip floors of sealers so this was applied to the floor in a similar fashion as before and this tackled the problem. The next task was to clean the grout lines with Tile Doctor Grout Clean-up and give the whole floor a final rinse with more water to ensure any chemical residue is removed leaving the floor ready for sealing.
Sealing a Slate Floor
The floor was left to dry overnight and I came back the next day to seal it to protect for years to come and improve the general look of the slate which really does look better when sealed.
To seal the floor I used a combination of products to get the best results. First a coat of Tile Doctor Colour Grow was applied which is a colour enhancing impregnating sealant which occupies the pores in the stone protecting it from within and then a number of coats of Tile Doctor Seal and Go were added to add a nice subtle sheen to the floor.
Great idea Colin using two sealer’s to get the best of both and with regular maintenance the floor will keep looking good for a very long time.