We always recommend regular maintenance for stone tiled floors, especially in areas of high traffic and high possibility of spillages, such as kitchens. Unfortunately, most house owners aren’t aware of this as was the case case of this particular Slate tiled kitchen floor at a property in Sunbury-on-Thames. In fact, the sealer hadn’t been refreshed for seven years and I suspect had worn off some years prior. The result? Well, you can see it from the photographs below
Heavy soil and general kitchen spillages was now able to penetrate the pores of the stone leaving it looking stained and grubby.Cleaning using run-of-the-mill household products was proving near impossible and with the customer at a loss as to how to resolve the situation, I was called in to provide the professional attention these tiles so desperately needed.
Cleaning a Dirty Slate Tiled Kitchen Floor
The first order of business was to break down what was left of the old impregnating sealer. To do this I applied Tile Doctor Remove and Go to the floor, it was left to soak in for around ten minutes before being scrubbed into the stone. Remove and Go is a heavy-duty remover for old sealers, adhesive stains and paint splashes that is safe to use on stone, tile and grout.
Another product used was Tile Doctor Pro-Clean, which is a powerful high alkaline cleaner which works well on stone and is especially good at cleaning up grout lines.
This combination of products helped to eliminate all oil-based stains and day-to-day soils from the stone. Next, using a specialised stone rinse extractor and water, I flushed all the old sealer, cleaning products and resultant soil away.
Sealing a Slate Tiled Kitchen Floor
I left the floor overnight to dry completely following the cleaning. Upon my return to the property I applied three coats of Tile Doctor Colour Grow sealer, an impregnating sealer which helps to protect the stone from spillages and ingrained dirt by filling the pores of the stone and acting as a barrier. This subsequently makes daily maintenance easier.
As you may have guessed from the product name, the sealer also enhances the natural colours in the stone. The photos below show just how significant a difference this make to the aesthetic appearance of the floor.
The customer was very pleased with the results and couldn’t quite believe seven years of poor maintenance could be remedied in just two days!
We recommend using a specialist cleaning product such as Tile Doctor Neutral Tile Cleaner for the regular cleaning of sealed tiles. Never use a steam cleaner on a sealed floor and if you wish to use another product always read the label in detail first, most supermarket tile cleaners are only suitable for ceramic tiles as many are acidic and this will erode and reduce the life of the sealer over time.