Buckinghamshire Archives - North Buckinghamshire Tile Doctor

Terracotta Tile Before and After Restorative Clean in Amersham

Terracotta Tiled Floor Refurbished in Amersham Council Building

A local cleaning contractor called us in to work on the Terracotta tiled floors at a council building in Amersham. The Terracotta had not been deep cleaned and resealed for about ten years and the sealer had worn off leaving the tile vulnerable to dirt becoming ingrained in the pores of the tile. The grout had also suffered the same fate and had almost gone black in many areas.

Terracotta Floor Files Before Cleaning Amersham Council Offices

This is a common problem with Terracotta which is quite porous and once those pores become ingrained with dirt the tile becomes difficult to clean effectively. The solution is to seal the tile however sealers wear off over time and this was basically the problem.

After discussing the issues we agreed on a plan of action to deep clean the Terracotta tile and grout and then re-seal to protect it. Due to the busy nature of the building we agreed to do the work between Christmas and New Year when we knew the building would be empty.

Cleaning Old Terracotta Floor Tiles

We started by applying a strong dilution of Tile Doctor Oxy-Gel which is a strong tile cleaning product that being in a gel form ensures it sits on the tile for longer, giving it a longer effective dwell time so it can really eat into and loose the dirt. After approximately twenty minutes the gel was scrubbed into the tile 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.

With the soiled cleaning solution removed I could see the next step would be to spot clean stubborn staining and clean the grout. For this task I used a strong dilution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean scrubbing it in by hand using stiff brushes and aided with a hand-held steamer to help treat the stubborn staining. Once done the floor was given a final rinse and then as much moisture as possible removed with the wet vacuum.

Sealing Old Terracotta Floor Tiles

We then left the floor to dry off completely and came back a couple of days later to seal the Terracotta tile.

I mentioned earlier that Terracotta is porous; in fact it’s probably the most porous material I deal with, so to fully seal the floor I had to apply eight coats of Tile Doctor Seal and Go which will provide complete and long lasting protection against staining and dirt. Seal and Go also adds an appealing satin sheen to the tile and the new seal will make it much easier to clean in future.

Terracotta Floor Files After Cleaning Amersham Council Offices

The floor tile and grout now look much healthier and I’m sure the council will be very impressed when they go back to work after the holidays.

Happy New Year…

Professional Terracotta Tiled Floor Renovation in Buckinghamshire

Terracotta Tiled Floor Refurbished in Amersham Council Building Read More »

Porcelain Kitchen Grout Before and After Colouring in Leighton Buzzard

Porcelain Tiled Kitchen and Hallway Refresh in Leighton Buzzard

1 Comment / Grout Cleaning, Leighton Buzzard Tile Cleaning, Porcelain Tile Cleaning, Work History / Jack Day / Buckinghamshire, cleaning, Colouring, Grout, Hallway, kitchen, Leighton Buzzard, Porcelain, Tiled

This Porcelain tiled floor had been laid in the hallway and kitchen of a house in Leighton Buzzard five to six years earlier. During that time the floor had become very dirty and the grout was discoloured to the point where it had turned black and no matter how hard the customer tried they were unable to get the grout clean.

On my initial visit to the property we discussed the options with the customer and decided that the best thing to do would be to thoroughly clean the grout and then seal it with grout colorant saving a messy and costly replacement of the grout.

Hallway Porcelian Tile and Grout Before Cleaning Leighton Buzzard

Cleaning Porcelain Tiles and Grout

To get the porcelain tiles clean and deal with the worst of the grout I treated the floor with a strong dilution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean. The product was mopped onto the floor and then left to dwell for 20 minutes. It was then scrubbed into the tiles with a black pad fitted to a rotary machine running on a slow speed. I also ran a stiff grout brush along the grout lines to get the grout as clean as possible.

The floor was then rinsed with water under high pressure and the slurry extracted using a wet vacuum. As we were grout colouring later I gave the grout a further scrub using Grout Colourant Pre-Treater which ensures a better bond between the grout and the colourant, this was then rinsed off with more water and also extracted using the wet vacuum.

Kitchen Porcelain Tile and Grout After Cleaning Before Grout Colouring Leighton Buzzard

Re-Colouring Grout

Once the grout was dry I started applying the Grout Colourant in a colour that best matched the original grout and colour of the tile. The process is quite straight forward and involves using a small brush to carefully apply the colorant along each grout line. When I was finished, I made sure to clean any excess product off the tiles before it had time to dry.

Kitchen Porcelain Tile and Grout After Cleaning and Grout Colouring Leighton Buzzard

My photographs probably don’t do the floor justice but hopefully you can appreciate how the grout is now uniform in colour and with the protection of the grout colourant which forms a barrier over the grout it will stay that way for a long time to come.

Restoring the Appearance of Porcelain Tile and Grout in Buckinghamshire

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Travertine Kitchen Floor Tiles Transformed in Aylesbury

1 Comment / Aylesbury Tile Cleaning, Travertine Tile Cleaning, Work History / Jack Day / Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, Burnishing, Floor, kitchen, Polishing, Tiles, Travertine

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.

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

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