Seal and Go Archives - North Lincolnshire Tile Doctor

Cleaning and Sealing Encaustic Kitchen Floor Tiles in Hemswell Cliff

The photographs below are of an Encaustic Tiled Floor which had been installed some years prior in the kitchen of at a property in the village of Hemswell Cliff which is between Gainsborough and Market Rasen.

I paid a visit to the property initially to survey the floor and discuss the problem with the client. The main issue was the tiles had become dull and she couldn’t keep them clean. I explained that Encaustic tiles are porous and need to be kept sealed to prevent the dirt from becoming ingrained in its pores; over the years since installation the sealer had simply worn down and now dirt was getting into the pores of the tile and once that happens it can be difficult to get it out.

To prove my point, I carried out a demonstration on how I would clean them and explained the different sealer options available and how each sealer can have a different effect. She was pleased with the demonstration and was happy to accept my quote to deep clean the whole floor and then re-seal it.

Deep Cleaning Encaustic Kitchen Floor Tiles

I set about scrubbing the floor using a hot water dilution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean Tile and Grout cleaner combined 50:50 with NanoTech HBU Remover which adds tiny abrasive particles to the solution to make a more effective cleaning product. The solution was worked into the tiles by scrubbing with a rotary machine fitted with a Black scrubbing pad.

The pads struggle to reach into the recesses between the tiles so to get the grout clean I scrubbed them by hand using a stiff brush. Once done the soiled solution was removed using a wet vacuum and floor inspected to ensure it was as clean as possible. Any stubborn areas were spot treated by hand and then the whole area thoroughly rinsed down with clean water to remove any trace of cleaning product.

Finally, the wet vacuum was used to dry the floor as much as possible with assistance from a Turbo Air blower to help reduce the drying time.

Sealing Encaustic Floor Tiles

It wasn’t a particularly large floor and a warm day so I was able to complete the cleaning process by lunch time and after a few hours later with the assistance of the air blower the floor was dry and ready to be sealed.

Having discussed sealer choice with the client earlier a decision had been made to seal the encaustic tiles with Tile Doctor Seal and Go which adds a nice subtle sheen to the tile. Five coats of Tile Doctor Seal and Go were needed before the tiles were fully sealed, it’s a water based protective sealer so it doesn’t give off any odour whilst it dries and it provided the finish the customer was looking for.

Once completed the colours in the tiles were really vivid and resulted in one happy customer with a clean easy to maintain floor. On the subject of cleaning, I recommended the use of Tile Doctor Neutral Tile Cleaner which is a mild but effective tile cleaner. The problem with many of the tile cleaning products you find in supermarkets is they contain bleach which is simply too strong for use on a sealed tile as it will strip off the sealer.

Professional Maintenance Cleaning of Encaustic Floor Tiles in Lincolnshire

Cleaning and Sealing Encaustic Kitchen Floor Tiles in Hemswell Cliff Read More »

Terracotta Floor Restoration Mablethorpe

Renovating Terracotta Floor Tiles in Mablethorpe

1 Comment / Mablethorpe Tile Cleaning, Terracotta Tile Cleaning / William

Details below of a Terracotta Tiled floor that was installed in the Kitchen, Hallway and WC of a house in Mablethorpe. You can see from the photographs below that the floor was not looking its best having been splashed with paint from decorating and overdue a deep clean and seal.

Terracotta Floor Before Restoration Mablethorpe

Terracotta tiles are very porous and need to be sealed to prevent dirt from becoming ingrained in the tile as once that happens, they become very difficult to keep clean and just look permanently dirty. Unfortunately, sealers wear off with use and so overtime dirt starts to become lodged in the tiles. Another problem we find is the premature degradation of the sealer due to the use of bleach-based supermarket floor cleaning products that are simply too strong for use on a sealed floor.

Having surveyed the floor I could see straight away that the tiles needed a deep clean to remove the ingrained dirt and deal with the paint spots, then resealing with a durable product that will enhance the look of the floor and importantly protect the Terracotta. I worked out a quote for the renovation work which my client was happy to accept and a date was set for my return.

Deep Cleaning Terracotta Floor Tiles

To get the tiles clean we applied a strong dilution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean mixed 50/50 with Nanotech Ultra Clean which combines well to produce a heavy-duty alkaline cleaner/coatings stripper. This combination is ideal for working with difficult floors and for best results I spray the solution onto the tile and grout and leave it soak in for ten to twenty minutes. Long dwell times give the product more time to work breaking down the dirt and softening up the paint.

The next step was to work the products into the floor using a black scrubbing pad fitted to a rotary machine running at a slow speed. Once done the resultant slurry was rinsed off with water and then extracted with a wet vacuum. The floor was inspected and any stubborn staining was spot treated using the same process until I was completely happy the floor was clean.

The floor was still quite wet at this stage with small puddles of water forming in the dips of the uneven floor; the wet vacuum took care of most of this but the floor was still too damp for sealing so I left a couple of air blowers to assist with the drying of the floor and returned two days later to start the sealing.

Sealing Terracotta Floor Tiles

When I returned the floor was mainly dry but there were a couple of damp spots which I took care of with a heat gun. Tile Doctor Seal and Go was used to seal the floor; Terracotta can be very porous so eight coats were required to completely seal the floor so it was some time before it was finished.

Terracotta Floor After Restoration Mablethorpe

When finished, I gave the customer instructions on how to maintain the floor using Tile Doctor Neutral Clean which is a mild but effective Tile and Grout cleaner. He was over the moon with the result and said that it had far exceeded his expectations which is always nice to hear.

Professional Terracotta Tile Maintenance Service in Mablethorpe

Renovating Terracotta Floor Tiles in Mablethorpe Read More »

Painted Victorian Hallway Floor Tile Restoration Louth

Tile Paint Removed from Victorian Hallway Tiles in Louth

1 Comment / Louth Tile Cleaning, Victorian Tile Cleaning / William

These photos taken at a property in Louth area great example of how well old Victorian tiles respond to restoration. A previous owner of the property had decided they didn’t like the classic look of the tiled floor and decided to modernise the look by painting over the whole floor with white tile paint.

Roll on twenty years and the paint had started to wear away and the whole floor was looking rather miserable. The current property owners (and quite sensibly on my opinion) had realised the value and original period floor can add to a property and rather than cover the whole thing up decided to get in touch with Tile Doctor about the possibility of having it restored.

Painted Victorian Hallway Floor Tiled Louth Before Paint Removal

I went over to Louth to survey the tiles and run some tests to see what would shift the paint and whether the tiles underneath could be saved. Fortunately, the results were encouraging and gave them a price for restoring the whole floor back to its original state. This included removing the paint, deep cleaning the tiles and then sealing to protect it.

Removing Paint from a Victorian Tiled Floor

To remove the layer of paint from the surface of the tiles, I needed to use a solvent remover product specifically designed to remove paints, this was applied liberally to the affected area and left to dwell.

Once the stripper had removed top layer coat of paint I was left with a grey undercoat. To lift this out of the tiles and grout I used Tile Doctor Remove & Go in combination with a steamer. The heat of the steamer helped to strip away the excess paint, making removal a much easier process. Remove & Go is a multi-purpose coatings remover designed to remove all sorts of products including sealers, paint, and adhesives, all of which seemed to be present on these tiles.

Painted Victorian Hallway Floor Tiled Louth During Paint Removal

The process was quite time consuming but it had the added bonus of lifting out dirt trapped in the pores of the Victorian tiles leaving them clean. To finish the floor was rinsed with water and the soiling removed with an industrial wet vacuum.

Painted Victorian Hallway Floor Tiled Louth After Paint Removal

Sealing a Victorian Tiled Floor

After leaving the area to dry for a full five days, I returned to the property to seal the tiles which would improve their appearance further and will protect them from dirt becoming ingrained in the pores.

My choice of sealer was Tile Doctor Seal & Go, which is a water-based blend of acrylic polymers designed to provide both a stain resistant surface seal and a long-lasting low-sheen finish. It is suitable for use on most kinds of unsealed, porous surfaces, including Slate, Quarry and Sandstone but works equally well on Victorian tiled floors.

Once complete the floor was transformed, and the owner much relived it had been possible to remove the paint and restore the original beauty of the hallway tiles.

Painted Victorian Hallway Floor Tiled Louth After Restoration

For aftercare I recommend Tile Doctor Neutral Cleaner, it’s a gentle but effective cleaner that won’t harm the seal. You have to be very careful when choosing a sealer for sealed floors as many contain bleach and are simply too strong resulting in the sealer being worn away prematurely.

Professional Restoration of Victorian Hallway Floor Tiles in Lincolnshire

Tile Paint Removed from Victorian Hallway Tiles in Louth Read More »

Quarry Tiled Kitchen Floor Cleaning Grimsby

Quarry Tiled Kitchen Floor Deep Cleaned and Sealed in Grimsby

1 Comment / Grimsby Tile Cleaning, Grout Cleaning, Quarry Tile Cleaning / William

Details below of a Quarry Tiled kitchen floor we were asked to deep clean in the town of Grimsby which is well known as a fishing port. The Quarry tiles were looking dull and tired, there was some staining to the grout all of which is quite typical of the wear and tear you would expect in a kitchen.

Quarry Tiled Kitchen Floor Before Cleaning Grimsby

Quarry tiles are made from clay, which is porous, so unless protected by a sealer they will start to absorb dirt into the pores and once that happens, they will discolour and become difficult to clean easily. Grout is a similar story, being cementitious the top layer is rough and attracts dirt which over time causes it to go dark.

Cleaning Kitchen Quarry Tile and Grout

Sealers wear down in the busiest parts of the floor first and adding a new sealer on top of an old sealer can result in a very patchy appearance. As a result, it’s always best to strip off the original sealer first.

My method for renovating the floor started with the application of a strong solution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean which was sprayed onto the Quarry tile and Grout and left to soak in for about ten minutes. The solution was then scrubbed into the tile with a rotary machine fitted with a black scrubbing pad.

The grout also need attention, unfortunately we don’t have a machine that will get into the grout lines so this had to be manually scrubbed by hand using a grout brush, which as you can imagine took some time to do. The soiled cleaning solution was then rinsed off the floor and removed using a wet vacuum.

The Quarry tile and grout was then inspected and further spot cleaning performed where needed until I was satisfied the floor was as clean as it could be. Once done,
the floor was rinsed thoroughly, dried as much as possible using the wet vacuum and then left to dry off overnight.

Sealing Kitchen Quarry Tile and Grout

The next day work started by checking the moisture readings in the tile using a damp meter. It’s not a good idea to apply a sealer to a damp floor so it’s always a good idea to check first.

The readings were good so I started with the application of the first coat of what would be six coats of sealer. I find Tile Doctor Seal and Go is the best choice for sealing Quarry tiles which provides stain protection to the quarry tile and grout and leaves a nice deep low sheen on the tile surface. Additionally, being water based it doesn’t give off an odour as it dries.

Quarry Tiled Kitchen Floor After Cleaning Grimsby

The result was a complete transformation, the colour of the Quarry tiles was improved enormously and the grout lost its dark appearance. The floor looked like a new installation and my client was very happy with the result as you can imagine.

For aftercare cleaning I recommend the use of Tile Doctor Neutral Cleaner, it’s a gentle but effective tile and grout cleaner that won’t impact the sealer which is the problem with most of the products you find in supermarkets which are simply too strong for use on a sealed floor.

Professional Quarry Tiled and Grout Renovation in Grimsby

Quarry Tiled Kitchen Floor Deep Cleaned and Sealed in Grimsby Read More »