restoration Archives - South Middlesex Tile Doctor

Victorian Tiled Hallway Restored back to Health in Twickenham

Apologies in advance but I forgot to take the usual before photograph of this Victorian tiled hallway in Twickenham that I worked on recently. It’s a shame really as it was certainly in need of a good clean and re-seal after years of inadequate maintenance and I’m sure a photo would have helped.

Victorian tiles are porous and do need a sealer to stop dirt becoming ingrained, as once that happens they can be difficult to clean and a Hallway is an especially high traffic area that will see a lot of dirt being tramped in. That activity also wears down the sealer over time so it’s important to keep it topped up.

Cleaning Victorian Tiles

On these tiles, we used a 50:50 combination of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean mixed with Tile Doctor Remove and Go. This combination of products works very well to break down old sealers and also to clean the general soil away from the tile. As usual it was left to soak into the tiles for ten minutes before using a heavy duty scrubbing machine to scrub the floor clean. This achieved a good result and the soil and products were then flushed away using our special flushing tool which fires a jet of water onto the tile whilst vacuuming at the same time (no mess!) to an external tank.

Sealing Victorian Tiles

After allowing the tiles to dry off overnight with some heating on, the floor was ready to accept a new seal the next day. Our customer decided to have a sheen finish so we opted to apply Tile Doctor Seal and Go. These tiles are very porous and so need seven coats to be applied to the floor before it was completely sealed.

Apologies again for not taking a before photo so you can compare the difference however hopefully you can see how health the floor looks following the deep cleaning and application of a fresh sealer which will ensure future maintenance is a lot easier for the customer.

Professional Victorian Tiled Hallway Restoration in Middlesex

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Porcelain Tile and Grout Clean in Teddington

1 Comment / Grout Cleaning, Porcelain Tile Cleaning, Teddington Tile Cleaning, Work History / Jonathan Oldham

This Porcelain hallway and kitchen floor in Teddington, Middlesex, had extensive soiling in the grout lines and some staining on some of the Porcelain tiles from drink spillages. Porcelain is very robust material but like any surface the sooner you clean-up a spillage the less staining you are likely to experience.

Porcelain Tile and Grout Before Cleaning

Cleaning Porcelain Tile and Grout

To clean the tile and grout I applied a dilution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean, which is an effective Tile and Grout cleaner, with a mop and left it to soak in for a while before working it into the floor using a rotary machine fitted with a black scrubbing pad and a stiff brush along the grout lines. The soiled cleaning solution was removed using a wet vacuum and rinsed down with clean water. This process was repeated until I was satisfied the tile and grout was clean.

I then waited for the floor to dry before applying a coat of Tile Doctor Grout Sealer to the grout lines in order to help make future maintenance easier, this type of Porcelain did not need sealing so only the grout would benefit from this preventative measure. The process is very straightforward and can be sprayed onto the grout line wiping off the excess from the adjacent tile within a few minutes.

I think you will agree from the photographs that the grout which was very prominent has now almost disappeared restoring the floor to its original appearance.

Porcelain Tile and Grout Cleaned and Sealed in Middlesex

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Cleaning a Slate Wet Room in Richmond

1 Comment / Richmond Tile Cleaning, Slate Tile Cleaning, Work History / Jonathan Oldham

This bathroom in Richmond, Surrey was tiled in Slate on the walls and floor to create a wet room effect. Overtime the old sealer had perished allowing soiling and shower products to stain tile and grout there was also evidence of heavy Limescale deposits.

Cleaning the Slate Tiled Floor

We decided to give the tile and grout a deep cleaning using a strong mixture of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean combined 50/50 with Nanotech Ultra Clean to make it more effective. To get the cleaning solution to stick to the wall tile and grout it was decanted into a spray bottle and sprayed on to the tile, this combines it with air making it lighter and allowing it to dwell on the vertical surface.

The solution was then worked into the Slate tile and grout by hand using a stiff scrubbing brush and then washed off using clean water, this process had to be repeated a number of times until we were happy that the tile and the grout were clean again. Pro-Clean is also an effective sealer stripper so will have removed any remaining sealer from the surface, this is important as the new sealer may not have been compatible with the old.

There were a number of areas that had stubborn Limescale deposits so we treated them with Tile Doctor Remove and Go which is a very strong product that as the name suggests will pretty much remove anything but is safe to use on Tile and Grout. Once this process was complete the whole area was given a thorough wash down with water a number of times to remove any remaining chemical and neutralise the surface ready for sealing.

Sealing Indian Slate Tiles

We left the floor to dry off overnight and came back the next day to re-seal the tile and grout. We choose to do this with Tile Doctor Colour Grow which is an impregnating sealer that will sit in the pores of the tile and grout rather than on the surface and help protect it for longer, it’s also a great product to use on natural stone such as Slate as it really brings out the natural colours in the stone.

Certainly my customer was pleased with the results and left the following message:

Jon was friendly and professional, working to a very high standard and keeping me well informed throughout the process.

Cleaning and Sealing a Slate Tiled Shower room in Richmond

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Victorian Tiled Floor Maintained in Shepperton, Middlesex

1 Comment / Shepperton Tile Cleaning, Victorian Tile Cleaning, Work History / Jonathan Oldham

Details below of a Victorian tiled floor we did recently in in St Margaret’s, Shepperton. The floor had not been maintained for a while and was in need of a mechanical scrub clean and a new seal, building and renovations have been on-going for some time and so in some areas there was a lot of ground in dust and soil.

Cleaning Victorian Tiles

We set about cleaning the floor using Tile Doctor Pro-Clean which was applied with a mop and left it to dwell on the floor for five minutes in order to give it chance to soak into the tile and get to work on the dirt. The solution was then worked into the floor with the use of a rotary scrubbing machine fitted with a scrubbing pad. The soiled residue was then vacuumed away and the floor was rinsed through, the process was then repeated until we were happy with the overall condition of the tiles.

Sealing Victorian Tiles

Due to moisture being held in the substrate we had to allow seven days for the floor to dry and tests were performed with a damp meter to ensure the floor was ready to accept a sealer. Four coats of Tile Doctor Seal and Go were then applied which is a recommended Sealer for Victorian Tile, offering good stain protection and adding a low sheen to the surface. Sealing the floor also makes cleaning it much easier going forward, it is however a slow process as you have to let each coat dry before applying the next.

We can maintain all types of tile, stone and grout servicing the Twickenham and the surrounding areas so please get in touch for a free evaluation of your floor.

Maintaining Victorian Tiles in Middlesex

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Terracotta Tiled Floor Maintained in Shepperton, Middlesex

1 Comment / Shepperton Tile Cleaning, Terracotta Tile Cleaning, Work History / Jonathan Oldham

This Terracotta tiled floor was laid in the kitchen of a property located in Shepperton, Middlesex. It had been laid eight years prior and had an initial sealer applied. Over the years the customer had applied polish to help maintain a shine however the sealer and polish were now in a bad state and holding onto dirt. You can see this in the photographs below which show the tiles looking quite dull and the grout grey.

Cleaning Terracotta Tiles

I started the job using a strong solution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean, which is a heavy duty alkaline product ideal for cleaning natural products such as Terracotta and stripping off old sealers and polish, this was scrubbed in with a black pad fitted to a rotary machine. We repeated the process a couple of times and also used a stiff hand brushes along the grout lines where the pads can often struggle to reach. Once happy the floor was clean it was given a thorough rinse to remove any remaining chemical and left it to dry.

Sealing Terracotta Tile

We left the floor to dry for 48 hours and then returned to re-seal it. Tile Doctor Seal and Go was used to seal the floor, it’s a topical water based sealer that doesn’t give off an odour when it’s drying and also offers durable stain protection together with a low sheen finish which really enhances the natural colour of the tile. Terracotta is very porous and in the end the floor actually took six coats of sealer before it was fully sealed. Applying a sealer does take a long time to apply as you have to wait for it to dry before applying the next coat.

The work took two days in all and you can see the difference for yourself, the floor now looks much improved certainly the customer was very pleased with the end result and now has a floor that is easy to maintain for the future. I cover Shepperton and the surrounding areas so please feel free to contact me.

Kitchen Terracotta Floor Cleaned and Sealed in Middlesex

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