grout cleaning

Ceramic Tiled Floor Before and After Renovation Uxbridge

Removal of Linseed Oil from a Ceramic Tiled Floor in Uxbridge

This is a small Ceramic tiled floor that a client had laid in his workshop next to his house in Uxbridge. As you can see from the photo the floor was in an indescribable mess and I was asked to pop round and quote for sorting it out. Uxbridge is actually classed as Middlesex but being close to the M25 and M40 I find it easy to reach.

Ceramic Tiled Workshop Floor Before Cleaning Uxbridge

As requested, I called in to survey the floor which was not a pretty site. In turns out that the tiler had applied boiled linseed oil to the floor (which the tiles did not need), and this had formed a horrible sticky residue on the surface. The client had conducted several unsuccessful attempts at cleaning up the floor and was unsure it could be rectified. Once of the attempts involved using acid which failed to remove the oil and unfortunately did do some damage to the grout causing it to discolour.

Undeterred, I was confident we could sort the problems out and restore the appearance of the tile and grout. I discussed with the client what we could do to clean the floor and we agreed a price to carry out the work out.

Cleaning a Ceramic Tiled Workshop Floor


Returning the following week, I first tackled the floor using Tile Doctor Pro-Clean applied neat, left to soak for ten minutes and then scrubbed in with a rotary floor buffer fitted with a black scrubbing pad. Pro-Clean is a highly concentrated multi-purpose tile cleaner, which when left to dwell, breaks down all types of dirt from oils through to grease and grime. It’s particularly good for very heavily soiled areas and it did a good job at removing the Linseed Oil. I rinsed the soiled solution with water and extracted the now soiled cleaning solution off the floor with wet vacuum. Wet vacuums are a great resource for Tile Doctor work, they make light work of removing liquids and this keeps the mess to a minimum.

I followed up the cleaning with a light buff of the tiles using Tile Doctor Grout Clean-up to remove the grout smears also left behind by the tiler. Cleaning the excess grout off the tiles made a huge difference to the floor, which you can see in the completed picture.

Ceramic Tiled Workshop Floor After Cleaning Uxbridge

Ceramic tiles have a glazed surface that won’t accept a sealer or Linseed Oil for that matter. There is therefore no need to apply any sealer or coating to this type of tile. They are generally very hardwearing and a suitable choice for a workshop like this. Hopefully, now the sticky oil has been removed the client will find the floor much more durable and easier to maintain.

The treatment worked well and I was able to complete the project in one day. The floor now looks like it should have done following the initial installation. Although it is only a small area, the difference is quite dramatic. My client was certainly pleased with the transformation and left the following feedback.

“Andrew is an expert in his field, and after an inexperienced tiler incorrectly used boiled linseed oil, Andrew worked to restore the tiles to their original beauty. I felt confident in him, he was a pleasure to work with, and his extremely professional. Very happy & highly recommended”

 

Professional Restoration of a Ceramic Tiled Workshop in Middlesex

Removal of Linseed Oil from a Ceramic Tiled Floor in Uxbridge Read More »

Limestone Tiled Kitchen Floor Before and After Cleaning Knotty Green

Limestone Kitchen Floor Tiles Transformed in Knotty Green

Below are photographs of a Limestone tiled kitchen floor at a house in Knotty Green near Beaconsfield. The stone floor had lost its polish with use and now appeared flat and unattractive additionally the grout had darkened severely with dirt and was overdue a good scrub to get it clean.

Natural stone is actually a porous material that needs to be sealed in order to prevent dirt from becoming ingrained however unless its maintained constant foot traffic on floor tiles wears down the sealer leaving the stone vulnerable and difficult to clean effectively.

Limestone Tiled Kitchen Floor Before Cleaning Knotty Green

Burnishing and Cleaning a Limestone Tiled Kitchen Floor

If you have read other posts on my website, you will know that we find the best way to restore the appearance of polished stone is through the application of a set of diamond encrusted burnishing pads of varying grits to grind away dirt and slowly build the polish on the stone.

You start with the application of the coarse 400-grit pad which is fitted to a rotary buffer machine and applied to the floor with water to lubricate the process, the resultant slurry is then rinsed off with water and extracted with a wet vacuum. Next is the Medium 800-grit pad and then the Fine 1500-grit pad, both applied in exactly the same way.

Once I had completed the whole floor with three of the four pads I got to work cleaning the grout. For this, I used a strong dilution of Tile Doctor Pro Clean, our reliable alkaline cleaner, in combination with a handheld scrubbing brush. Once the grout was clean I gave the floor another rinse with water and then removed as much liquids and moisture as possible using the wet vacuum leaving it to dry off fully overnight.

Sealing a Limestone Tiled Kitchen Floor

The following day I returned to complete the floor starting with the application of the fourth diamond encrusted pad in the set of four which is a Very fine 3000-grit using a method we call a spray burnish which essentially involves applying the pad dry to the floor with a small amount of water sprayed on the stone. This process closes the pores in the floor and adds a good quality sheen to the tile.

Finally, I applied two coats of Tile Doctor Ultra Seal which is an impregnating sealer that penetrates into the pores of the stone to provide maximum stain protection from within. This sealer is also completely transparent, so it does not affect the natural look of the stone.

Limestone Tiled Kitchen Floor After Cleaning Knotty Green
The Limestone responded really well to the treatment and the floor now looks like new.

Polishing Limestone Kitchen Tiles back to Health in Buckinghamshire

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Ceramic Tile Wendover After

Deep Cleaning Textured Ceramic kitchen floor tiles Wendover Bucks

We were asked to clean these textured ceramic floor tiles in Wendover Bucks which had become heavily soiled and ingrained with dirt leaving the tiles with a black appearance, the grout lines had also become stained and discoloured. Our customer had tried all types of cleaning agents but could never get the desired effect.

Ceramic Tile Wendover Washing Ceramic Tile Wendover Washing

Cleaning a Textured Ceramic Tiled Floor

A dilution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean alkaline tile cleaner was applied throughout the tiled floor and worked in with the aid of a scrubbing pad fitted to a rotary machine, a stiff hand brush was also used along the grout lines and this managed to lift most of the soiling from the floor.

Next step was to use our powerful truck mounted heated turbo system which jet washed the remaining particles out of the crevasses of the stone. This system uses high pressure heated water though a spinner tool, it’s an amazing tool that returns the dirty water directly back to a recovery tank leaving the floor chemical free and neutralised.

Before leaving I recommended to the customer that regular use of Tile Doctor Neutral Tile cleaner would help to keep their tile and grout in better condition.

Ceramic Tile Wendover After Ceramic Tile Wendover After

 

Deep Cleaning Ceramic Tiles in Buckingham

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Ceramic Tile and Grout Before and After

Grout colour seal and Ceramic tile clean in Chalfont St Giles

We were asked to improve the appearance of this Ceramic tiled floor and Grout installed in a kitchen in Chalfont St Giles which over a few years had become difficult to keep clean and the grout lines had become stained and discoloured.

Ceramic Tile and Grout Before Ceramic Tile and Grout Before

Cleaning Tile and Grout

Our first task on day one was to clean the Ceramic tiles and Grout so we created a diluted 50/50 mixture of tile doctor Pro-Clean and Nanotech UltraClean, the two products combine to provide a very powerful tile friendly alkaline cleaner with tiny sized abrasive particles. This was left to soak into the tile and grout before being agitated and scrubbed with a scrubbing machine running on low speed. We also used stiff grout hand brushes along the grout lines. Once we were happy with the overall condition of the tile and grout it was washed down using clean water and the resultant soiled solution extracted from the floor using a wet vacuum. I’m pleased to say that using this method we were able to return the tile and grout back to its original colour.

Whilst this was a fantastic transformation the grout lines being porous would untreated soon become dirty and discoloured. The only answer to this problem is a permanent colour seal to the grout lines which not only aids the future floor cleaning, but improves the whole appearance of the floor.

Applying the Grout Colour

Before applying a Grout Colour it’s important to ensure the grout is clean of grease and dirt naturally we had just cleaned this floor so this was not a problem I only mention it in case you were considering taking on a similar task yourself.

Once the grout has dried you can start applying the colourant which is a relatively straightforward process of squeezing the product onto a toothbrush and running it onto the grout. Don’t be tempted to use an old toothbrush for this purpose as it may contaminate the colourant leading to discolouration in the finish.

We completed the project the next day using an Aqua Mix sand coloured Grout Colourant; the customer was extremely pleased and commented how whole clean and efficient the process was.

Ceramic Tile and Grout After Ceramic Tile and Grout After

 

Tile Cleaning and Grout Colouring in Buckinghamshire

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