Slate tiles have been in use for centuries, often chosen for roofing and both interior and exterior flooring due to their hard-wearing nature. While the popularity of the material perhaps peaked a hundred or more years ago, punctuated by the so-called “Slate boom” in 1870s Europe, it is still seen used en masse in large construction projects globally, and Slate tiled floors remain a feature of many houses in the UK, both old and new.
Despite its natural durability, Slate still requires regular maintenance, especially when used as flooring in the high traffic areas of a house. This tired and dirty looking Slate tiled floor in the kitchen of a house in Hampton, Middlesex was in certain need of the old sealer being stripped off, following by a deep cleaning and the application of a fresh seal.
Cleaning a Slate Tiled Floor
To begin the job, we mixed a strong cleaning solution consisting of Tile Doctor Remove and Go stripper and Tile Doctor Pro Clean. Pro Clean is a heavy duty alkaline-based cleaner that is designed to tackle significant levels of soiled build up on natural stone floors.
This solution was then spread evenly across the surface area of the floor and left for roughly ten minutes to dwell and soak into the Slate, allowing it to start stripping off the old sealer.
Next, I fitted a black scrubbing pad to my rotary buffing machine and proceeded to agitate the solution, breaking up the dirt and general muck afflicting the tiles, as well as the old sealer. As the slurry of muck emerged I promptly rinsed it away with clean water, before extracting the excess moisture with a wet vacuum.
Sealing a Slate Tiled Floor
After being left to dry completely over night, the floor was ready to receive a new application of sealer. Since the customer requested a high sheen finish and a floor that was easy to maintain, we opted to go for the solvent based topical sealer known as Tile Doctor Seal & Go. The sealer acts as a layer of protection for the floor against dirt and stains.
As you can see from the pictures, the restoration has fully restored the lustre to these Slate tiles and has set up floor to be easy maintained for the customer in the future.
Sealers protect your floor from staining and enhance the floor of the stone, however they do wear down over time depending on floor traffic and what products are used to clean the floor (don’t use anything even mildly acidic) and this is when dirt can become ingrained in the stone, so if you do want to keep your floor looking its best talk to Tile Doctor their regular maintenance service that will ensure your sealer is kept topped up.