tile sealing

Old Terracotta Floor After Cleaning in Shenley Brook End

Old Terracotta floor refurbished in Shenley Brook End

This old Terracotta floor in Shenley Brook End near Milton Keynes was already dirty with very little sealer intact when our customer moved into the property. Then after having extensive building work done throughout the property they were in desperate need of a Tile Doctor service to improve the look of the floor.

Old Terracotta Floor Before Cleaning in Shenley Brook End

Cleaning Old Terracotta Floor Tiles

We started by applying a strong dilution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean to the floor which is our go to cleaning product for all types of Tile, Stone and Grout. After approximately 20 minutes of dwell time we scrubbed the floor with a black scrubbing pad fitted to a rotary machine. This broke down most of the dirt and removed any remaining sealer. Once the whole floor had been treated in this manner it was rinsed thoroughly with water which was then extracted using a wet vacuum.

Having removed the soiled cleaning solution, we could see the result achieved on the floor and although there was a massive improvement there were some tiles we still were not totally happy with. We went back to these tiles and applied a stronger Tile Doctor product called NanoTech HBU which stands for Heavy Build-Up remover. We gave this an hour to dwell.

Whilst the NanoTech was doing its magic on the problem tiles we went to work scrubbing all the grout lines by hand using more Pro-Clean. Once we had finished cleaning the grout we gave the whole floor one more rinse and were pleased to see the problem tiles were now looking much better.

Sealing Old Terracotta Floor Tiles

We then left the floor to dry off completely overnight and returned the following day to seal the floor. Made from clay Terracotta is very porous and needs to be sealed to stop dirt becoming ingrained in the tile, it also improves its general appearance.

To fully seal the floor, we used six coats of Tile Doctor Seal and Go which will provide complete protection against stains and dirt, Seal and Go also adds an appealing satin sheen to the tile.

Old Terracotta Floor After Cleaning in Shenley Brook End

For an old floor that has been exposed to building work it’s now looking much cleaner and healthier; more importantly the customer was delighted with the service and left the following glowing review which is always appreciated:

Andrew and his colleagues (including Gemma in the office) could not have been more helpful and courteous. They are some of the tidiest tradesmen we’ve met! The results have exceeded our expectations and the service is very cost-effective compared to the cost of a new tiled floor, so happy customers all round. Thanks again!

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Terracotta Tile Before and After Cleaning in Penn Bucks

Heavily Soiled Terracotta Kitchen Floor Transformed in Penn

The new owner of this house in the very old and quaint English village of Penn, Buckinghamshire wanted to refresh the look of the Terracotta tiled kitchen floor before they moved in. It had suffered from a heavy soil build-up of dirt over time due to inadequate maintenance and ineffectual sealer.

Since Terracotta (which came into popular use in the West in the 19th century) is highly porous, large amounts of dirt can become ingrained very quickly if not taken care of. Restoring this floor would be a two-day job, including thorough cleaning and stripping, as well as the application of a fresh sealer to provide long-term protection.

Terracotta Tile Before Cleaning in Penn Bucks

Cleaning a Heavily Soiled Terracotta Tiled Floor

The first day was spent giving the tiles a deep clean. To begin, I mixed a strong solution of the heavy duty alkaline cleaner, Tile Doctor Pro Clean, which a versatile product suitable for tackling heavy soil build up on a range of natural stone floors.

The solution was spread evenly across the surface area of the floor, before being worked into the stone with a commercial rotary machine fitted with an abrasive scrubbing pad. This really helped to break down the layers of muck. Next, I paid particular attention to the grout lines, scrubbing them with the acid-based Tile Doctor Grout Clean Up to remove dirt and neutralise any grout haze and mineral salts that had built up. Thanks to this the stained grout lines were restored to their original colour.

The final task on day one was to strip away the remaining failed sealer using Tile Doctor Remove & Go, which is specially designed for this purpose. Similar to earlier, the product was worked in using the rotary machine and abrasive pad. Once the cleaning process was complete, I washed the floor to remove all chemicals and slurry, before leaving the floor to dry naturally overnight.

Sealing a Terracotta Tiled Floor

Returning to the house the next day, I firstly checked for any remaining moisture on the, which is important as it can negatively impact sealer performance. With everything in good condition I proceeded to seal the tiles using the solvent-based, topical sealer known as Tile Doctor Seal and Go.

I applied multiple coats in order to build up sufficient protection on the surface of the tiles to reduce the damage of future spillages and staining. The sealer will also provide a durable and aesthetically pleasing low sheen finish.

Terracotta Tile After Cleaning in Penn Bucks
As you can see from the before and after photographs, a remarkable difference was made to the condition and appearance of this Terracotta tiled floor. My customer was very pleased with the results, and I’m sure the new home owner will be even more pleased to find the floor looking great when they move in.

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Victorian tiled hallway Before and After cleaning Prestwood

Very Dirty Victorian Tiled Hallway Cleaned and Sealed in Prestwood

Recently I travelled down to the village of Prestwood in the Chiltern Hills of southern Buckinghamshire, to work on a Victorian tiled porch and hallway. Victorian tiles are commonly found in the entrance areas of older houses and unfortunately in this case the tiles had become heavily ingrained with dirt over time, and had suffered from additional paint and plaster spillages. The result was an unsightly mess; my client was considering covering the floor with lino after several unsuccessful attempts at cleaning it. I was called upon to provide a professional clean and seal, restoring these great Victorian tiles back to looking their best again.

Victorian tiled hallway before cleaning and sealing Prestwood Victorian tiled hallway before cleaning and sealing Prestwood

Cleaning dirty Victorian tiles

On my first day at the house, I mixed up a solution of 50 per cent Tile Doctor Pro-Clean, a high alkaline cleaner, and NanoTech HBU (formerly known as Ultra Clean), which is a cleaning product that contains nano-sized abrasive particles that penetrate deep into the stone to lift ingrained dirt to the surface. This solution was worked into the tiles using abrasive scrubbing pads fitted to one of my commercial rotary machines.

Victorian tiled hallway after cleaning Prestwood
The cleaning process left over a slurry of residue which I rinsed away with clean water and extracted with a wet vacuum. I was still left with the issue of stubborn paint spillages, so I applied a layer of Tile Doctor Remove & Go, a stripper with cleaning properties which is very effective at breaking down paint and adhesive stains.

Once the paint spillages had been dealt with I gave the area another rinse with clean water. I then left the house, allowing the floor enough time to dry overnight.

Sealing Victorian tiles

Upon my return the day I set about sealing the newly cleaned Victorian tiles. Before starting the sealing process I inspected the floor to check for any dampness, knowing that any excess moisture could potentially damage the performance of the sealer.

When I was satisfied that the tiles were fully dried, I applied Tile Doctor Seal & Go, a sealer which offers durable surface protection, along with an aesthetically pleasing, low-sheen finish which brings out the colour in the stone. This product can be used to seal internal, porous surfaces including Victorian, Slate, textured Quarry and Sandstone tiles.

Victorian tiled hallway after cleaning and sealing Prestwood
The process made an amazing difference to the floor as you can see from the photographs; additionally the restoration of such an original feature adds a lot of value and looks so much better than lino!

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Terracotta Kitchen Tiled Winchmore Hill After

Tiled Terracotta Kitchen Floor, Winchmore Hill

This was a rather dirty Terracotta kitchen floor located at a house in Winchmore Hill in Buckinghamshire, not to be confused with the Winchmore Hill in London. The sealer on the tiles had worn off some time ago and now the dirt was becoming trapped in the pores of the Terracotta making it impossible to clean.

Terracotta Kitchen Tiled Winchmore Hill Before

Deep Cleaning Terracotta Tile

To deep clean into the pores of the Terracotta a diluted solution of Tile Doctor Pro Clean, which is a strong tile cleaner sage to use on tiled floors, was applied to kitchen floor and left to soak in for around ten minutes. Then with the aid of a commercial rotary machine the solution was scrubbed into the tiles to release the many years of accumulated ingrained soiling which was removed from the floor using a wet vacuum.

Although this deep cleaned the tile the grout lines needed further attention and were treated with Tile Doctor Grout Clean-up solution and then washed down with fresh water which was removed with a wet vacuum.

There was still evidence of sealer remaining on the floor in some areas so the next step in the process was to apply Tile Doctor Remove and Go again working it into the tile using a scrubbing pad fitted to a rotary machine. Remove and Go as its name suggests is used to remove waxes and sealants from tile and stone. It certainly did the job and once the resultant slurry was vacuumed up and the floor given a final rinse to remove any chemicals used in the process the floor was looking much cleaner and left to dry overnight ready for our return

Sealing Terracotta Tile

The next day came back to do the sealing and checked the floor first for any spots we might had missed and also to ensure it had dried sufficiently. Tile Doctor Seal and Go was then applied in coats to fully seal the floor. As well as adding protection Seal and Go adds a nice subtle satin finish to Terracotta and being water based it doesn’t give off an odour when it’s drying.

Terracotta Kitchen Tiled Winchmore Hill After
 

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Slate Tiled Kitchen Farmhouse Floor Before and After Sealing in Little Hampden

Slate Tiled Farmhouse Kitchen Floor Cleaned and Sealed in Little Hampden

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.

Slate Tiled Kitchen Farmhouse Floor Before Cleaning in Little Hampden

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.

Slate Tiled Kitchen Farmhouse Floor After Sealing in Little Hampden
Our customer was extremely pleased with the results and took up our offer of a Tile Doctor maintenance contract to enable her to keep the floor in pristine condition.

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