kitchen

Limestone floor during cleaning Lyndhurst New Forest

Limestone Kitchen Floor Polished in Lyndhurst, New Forest

Limestone is a beautiful flooring material however it’s a porous sedimentary rock which is not as tough as its cousins, Marble and Travertine, and therefore will need more Maintenance over time. This Limestone tiled kitchen floor in Lyndhurst is a great example of how this material can lose its appearance without a regular maintenance regime in place.

Limestone floor before cleaning Lyndhurst New Forest Limestone floor during cleaning Lyndhurst New Forest

Cleaning Limestone Kitchen Tiles

To restore the appearance of polished Limestone we use a set of diamond encrusted Burnishing Pads which effectively cut back the layer of dirt on the floor and then build back up the polish. It was a reasonably large kitchen with an island worktop to so we worked in sections removing the kick boards as we went.

You can see the effectiveness of the process from the test patch below.

Limestone floor before cleaning Lyndhurst New Forest

We stated the burnishing process with the coarse pad fitted to a rotary machine and applied with a little water. The coarse pad is very good at removing dirt and old sealers from stone and once completed the resultant surface water and loose dirt is removed using a wet vacuum.

At this point the grout was also cleaned by applying a strong solution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean which was scrubbed in along the grout lines, this is necessary as the recessed nature of the grout makes it difficult for the pads to reach it.

Limestone floor during cleaning Lyndhurst New Forest

I mentioned earlier there are four pads in the burnishing system, so once the floor was rinsed with water following the grout cleaning the other three pads were applied to the stone floor in sequence finishing on the finer polishing pads one after the other until we were left with a high shine finish.

Sealing Limestone Tiled Floor

We left the floor to dry and came back later to seal the floor, the floor must be dry before sealing otherwise it can effect the performance of the sealer. Once we were happy the floor was dry we proceeded to seal the Limestone tile using two coats of Tile Doctor Colour Grow which is a colour enhancing product that impregnates the pores of the stone bringing out the natural colours and protecting it from within.

Limestone floor after polishing Lyndhurst New Forest Limestone floor after polishing Lyndhurst New Forest

 
 

Maintaining Limestone Floor Tiles in the Hampshire New Forest

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Slate Tile Cleaining Floor Bognor Regis Finish

Cleaning Slate Tiles in Bognor Regis

These slate tiles were installed in the back kitchen of a house in the seaside resort town of Bognor Regis, they were in good physical condition but unfortunately any sealer had worn off some time ago causing them to lose their appearance and look faded.

Slate Tile Cleaining Floor Bognor Regis Before

Cleaning Slate Tiled Floors

Dirt had become ingrained into the tile so I went straight for a powerful cleaning combination of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean Tile and Grout cleaner mixed 50:50 with NanoTech UltraClean. The UltraClean adds tiny abrasive particles to the Pro-Clean making it a more effective cleaning product. The solution was left to dwell on the floor for a while before being scrubbed into the tiles with a rotary machine fitted with a black scrubbing pad; as usual a stiff hand brush was used along the grout lines to get them clean.

Slate Tile Cleaining Floor Bognor Regis During
The soiled solution was removed using a wet vacuum and floor thoroughly rinsed down with clean water. Pro-Clean works as a stripper as well as a cleaner and so any remaining sealer was also removed in the process.

Sealing Slate Floor Tiles

This process took a day so the floor was left to dry overnight and we came back the next day to seal it with five coats of Tile Doctor Seal and Go which is the ideal sealer for Slate tiles as it provides good stain protection with leaves a nice sheen finish; Seal and Go is also water based so there’s no smell like you get with other sealers.

Slate Tile Cleaining Floor Bognor Regis Finish
The slate tiles now look 100% improved and the sealer should keep them that way for two to three years depending on floor traffic.

Cleaning and Sealing a Slate Kitchen Tiles in Hampshire

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Southampton Slate Tiled Floor Before and After Cleaning

Cleaning Slate Tiles in a Southampton Kitchen

This beautiful slate floor installed in the Kitchen of a house in Southampton had tons of character but unfortunately years of use had left it looking rather washed out and was overdue for a deep clean and re-seal.

Southampton Slate Tiled Floor before Cleaning

Cleaning Slate Tiled Floors

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 UltraClean which adds tiny abrasive particles to the solution to make a more effective cleaning product. The solution was left to dwell on the floor for a while before being scrubbed into the tiles with a rotary machine fitted with a black scrubbing pad; a stiff hand brush was used along the grout lines. The soiled solution was removed using a wet vacuum and floor thoroughly rinsed down with clean water. Pro-Clean works as a stripper as well as a cleaner and so any remaining sealer was also removed using this process, had that been a problem I would of resorted to Tile Doctor Remove and Go which is a much stronger coatings remover.

The soiled cleaning solution was removed using a wet vacuum and this was followed by washing down the area thoroughly with clean water; any stubborn marks were revisited with a repeat of the same process until we were happy the tiles were clean.

Sealing Black Slate Floor Tiles

This process took most of the day so we left the floor to dry overnight and came back the next day to seal it using Tile Doctor Seal and Go, a highly recommended sealer for Slate which provides good stain protection with a low sheen finish, slate is quite porous and it took five coats before it was fully sealed.

Southampton Slate Tiled Floor after Cleaning
I think you will agree the floor is transformed, the natural colours of the slate have come through and the low sheen has given the floor a nice health appearance.

Cleaning and Sealing a Slate Kitchen Tiles in Hampshire

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Black Slate Floor Portsmouth Finished

Cleaning Black Slate Tiles in Portsmouth

This was a straightforward black slate tile clean and seal in a large kitchen of a house in Portsmouth, the tile and grout were in good physical condition and just needed of a deep clean.

Black Slate Floor Portsmouth Before Black Slate Floor Portsmouth Before

Cleaning Slate Tiled Floor

The first step was to give the tiles a really good clean using a dilution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean which was left to dwell on the tile for a while before being scrubbed into the floor using a rotary machine fitted with a black pad. It was a large area so we worked in sections and used a stiff brush along the grout lines to get them clean.

The soiled cleaning solution was removed using a wet vacuum before washing down the area thoroughly with clean water; any stubborn marks were revisited with a repeat of the same process until we were happy the tiles were clean.

Black Slate Floor Portsmouth Cleaning Black Slate Floor Portsmouth Cleaning

Sealing Black Slate Floor Tiles

We left the floor to dry overnight and came back the next day to seal it using Tile Doctor Seal and Go, a highly recommended sealer for Slate which provides good stain protection with a low sheen finish, slate is quite porous and it took five coats before it was fully sealed.

Black Slate Floor Finished Black Slate Floor Finished

The black slate looked amazing when we had finished, the customer was certainly happy with the result.

Cleaning and Sealing a Black Slate Tiled Floor in Hampshire

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Fareham Terracotta Floor Finished

Terracotta Tiled Floor Maintained in Fareham, Hampshire

This Terracotta tiled floor was installed in the kitchen of a house in Fareham. The floor was in need of a deep clean especially in the high traffic areas where the sealer had worn down and on the tiles near the kitchen units there were some stubborn stains from spillages.

Fareham Terracotta Floor Before

Cleaning Terracotta Tile

I started the job using a solution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean, which is a heavy duty alkaline product ideal for cleaning natural products such as Terracotta, this was scrubbed in with a black pad fitted to a rotary machine. The cleaning process was repeated a couple of times and a stiff hand brush was used along the grout lines to clean up the grout. To treat the suborn stains we mixed Pro-Clean 50/50 with Tile Doctor NanoTech UltraClean which adds tiny abrasive particles to the cleaner making it even more effective; its best to leave the resultant solution to soak into the tile for half an hour before working it in with a scrubbing brush. Once happy the floor was clean it was given a thorough rinse to remove any remaining chemical and left it to dry overnight.

Fareham Terracotta Floor During

Sealing Terracotta Tile

The next day came back to seal the Terracotta but first checked the floor for any spots we might had missed and also to ensure it had dried sufficiently. Tile Doctor Seal and Go was used to seal the floor, it’s a water based sealer so it doesn’t give off an odour when it’s drying and also offers durable stain protection together with a low sheen finish. Terracotta is very porous and in the end the floor actually took seven coats of sealant before it was fully sealed. Applying a sealer does takes a long time to apply as you have to wait for it to dry before applying the next coat.

Fareham Terracotta Floor Finished
The work took two days in all and you can see the difference for yourself, the Terracotta tile and grout look wonderful and have lifted the overall look of the Kitchen.

Terracotta Floor Cleaned and Sealed in Fareham

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