grout cleaning

Bathroom Floor Grout Restoration in Tooting SW17

Bathroom Floor Tile Grout Restoration in Tooting SW17

A client was renovating a house in Tooting and wanted to see what could be done to improve the Ceramic floor tiles in the bathroom without the expense of a major overhaul. Having discussed the floor over the phone I was confident it could be improved and agreed a date to come over and survey the tiles and provided a quote for their renovation.

Bathroom Floor Grout Before Restoration in Tooting SW17

Except for one cracked tile, the tiles were in good condition and I could see it was really the grout that was bringing the bathroom down. The grout was generally discoloured and some had cracked and become loose. This cracking issue is indicative of using an inflexible grout when tiling on a wooden floor as these floors tend to have a bit of movement in them.

I discussed my renovation plan with the customer and provided a quote for carrying out the work which was accepted.

Renovating Bathroom Floor Grout

On the first day I set about raking out the cracked grout and stripping out the silicone between the tile and the bath. Silicone seems to attract mould and although it can be cleaned to some extent, I usually find its more effective to simply replace it. I then tidied up the bathroom to remove the waste grout and silicone, so the area was ready for grouting. I used a flexible White grout for this in order to match the original, although most of that was no longer White due to the staining.

I left the grout to set overnight and returned the next day to complete the job starting with the re-application of the silicone sealant, again in White but this time using an anti-mould variety. My attention then turned to the floor tile grouting which of course was now a mixture of fresh new grout and stained grout. I had realised this would be the result, so I had come prepared and was ready to apply Tile Doctor Grout Colourant in white to make everything uniform.

Before applying the colourant, I prepped the grout joint with Tile Doctor Pre-treat cleaner that is an acidic cleaning solution that is sprayed onto the grout and then scrubbed in. This cleans the grout joints, and the acidic nature of the cleaner helps prepare the grout to achieve a better bond with the colourant. The grout was then wiped with a wet sponge to remove the dirt and then dried ready for the colourant. Although the cleaner had helped to clean the grout and remove surface dirt it can’t do anything about deep seated staining, so colouring was still necessary.

Once the grout was dry the White grout colourant was painted onto the grout using a small brush wiping off any excess from the tile as I went. The Tile Doctor range of Grout Colourants come in eleven different colours and form an epoxy barrier over the grout preventing dirt from reaching the grout line and making it much easier to keep clean.

Bathroom Floor Grout After Restoration in Tooting SW17

Once the colourant had dried, I gave the floor a quick clean with Tile Doctor Neutral Tile Cleaner to get the ceramic tiles clean and the job was complete. The refreshed grout now has a consistent white appearance, and it really lifted the appearance of the bathroom.

 

Professional Restoration of a Bathroom Floor Grout in South London

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Porcelain Tile Bathroom Grout Cleaning Wandsworth

Porcelain Tiled Bathroom Grout Renovation in Wandsworth

This is a great example of how easy it is to improve the appearance of a tiled bathroom. In this case the property was in Wandsworth and the tiles were Porcelain. My client had originally asked if I could re-grout their bathroom tiles which included the shower, wall and floor tiles in a room that was around 5sqm.

Porcelain Bathroom Tile Before Grout Renovation Wandsworth

We discussed the bathroom, and I pointed out that if we re-grout the tiles it would only get grubby again at some point. The problem is that the grout is cementitious which leaves it rough and attracts dirt easily. I recommended cleaning up the grout and then applying a grout colourant which would seal the grout in making it much easier to clean. I also offered to remove the silicone sealant between the edges of the bath and tiles. Unfortunately, once mould gets into the silicone, you’re fighting a losing battle, and it is best to just replace it.

Re grouting a Porcelain Tiled Bathroom Floor

Before colouring the grout, it needs to be prepared with an acidic cleaner that will not only remove any dirt but also etch the surface of the grout to improve the bond. Tile Doctor Pre-Treat Cleaner is the product we use for this purpose, but I decided in this case to go with a different product as the floor tiles had some old silicone on them which had been left to dry out. To resolve this, I used a different product in the range called Tile Doctor Grout Clean-Up which is primarily designed for removing grout haze.

Porcelain Bathroom Tile During Grout Renovation Wandsworth

It was only a small area, so I worked the Tile Doctor Grout Clean-Up into the tiles and grout by hand and then rinsed it off with water and extracted with a wet vacuum. The grout was then dried, and I started applying the Tile Doctor Grout Colourant in white with a small brush wiping off the excess as I went. The colourant is available in a range of eleven colours so there is usually a match for most situations. The colourant adds an epoxy barrier over the grout; this then prevents dirt from going into the grout line and means the floor is much easier to keep clean.

The last step in the renovation involved carefully stripping out the old silicone and replacing it with a new anti-mould variety. This last step really finished off the bathroom giving the impression it was a new installation.

My clients were very happy with the result, the bathroom was transformed, and they were relieved that the problem was solved so easily.

Porcelain Bathroom Tile After Grout Renovation Wandsworth

For aftercare cleaning I recommended regular use of Tile Doctor Neutral Tile Cleaner which is a mild yet effective tile and grout cleaning product that would help keep the bathroom looking good going forward.

 

Professional Restoration of a Porcelain Tiled Bathroom Grout in South London

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Porcelain Pool Surround Oxshott Before and After

Removing Limescale from Porcelain Swimming Pool tiles in Oxshott

The owner of this swimming pool at a large residence in the suburban village of Oxshott had put the property on the market and naturally wanted the pool area to look its best. The pool was surrounded by Porcelain tiles which are very resilient and generally a good choice for a swimming pool surround, additionally the slate effect tiles in this post had a riven surface which would make them less slippery than the highly polished variety. The chemicals used in swimming pools however are quite strong and I suspect this has contributed to the build-up of Limescale on the surface of the tiles.

Cleaning Porcelain Tiles

The first job was to give the tiles a deep clean and this was done by scrubbing in Tile Doctor Pro-Clean diluted 1 part cleaner to four parts hot water using a black scrubbing pad fitted to a rotary machine. Once scrubbed the soiled cleaning solution was removed using a wet vacuum and the tiles given a thorough rinse. There were a lot of tiles to clean and naturally care has to be taken to avoid getting any cleaning solution in the pool.

Porcelain Pool Surround Oxshott Before Cleaning Porcelain Pool Surround Oxshott Before Cleaning

After rinsing the tiles were dried with the assistance of an air mover so we could get an idea of what other remedial work would be required and in this case it became clear where the areas with Limescale staining were.

Porcelain Pool Surround Oxshott During Cleaning

Removing Limescale from Porcelain Tiles

To remove the Limescale each stain was spot treated using Tile Doctor Grout Clean-up which is a strong acid based cleaning product normally used to remove grout smears from tiles but also equally useful at dealing with mineral deposits such as Limescale. You have to be very careful with acids on tiles, especially natural stone so once it had done its job the tiles were thoroughly rinsed and the whole floor rinsed again once we have completed everything.

Porcelain Pool Surround Oxshott After Cleaning Porcelain Pool Surround Oxshott After Cleaning

When we had finished the client couldn’t believe the transformation we have managed to achieve.

Porcelain Pool Surround Oxshott Before And After
 

Deep cleaning Porcelain pool surround tiles in OxShott, Surrey

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Marble Tiled Hallway Farnborough

Marble Tiled Hallway Cleaned and Polished in Farnborough

It’s not our local area but following a recommendation to this client by another customer we were asked to have clean and seal these Marble tiles in the hallway of a house in Farnborough.

Marble Tile Cleaning and Polishing

There was no sealer present on the Marble tiled floor so gave the floor a clean with a dilution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean which is safe to use on stone floors, Pro-Clean is also very effective on grout so we took the opportunity to get into the grout lines as well. Once we were happy with the tile and grout we removed the soiled cleaning solution using a wet vacuum and washed the floor down with clean water.

The next step was to use a set of diamond encrusted burnishing Pads fitted to a rotary buffing machine to polish the floor. The pads come in a set and are very effective at restoring the shine back on Marble, Limestone and Travertine etc.

Marble Tiled Hallway Farnborough

Sealing Marble Tiles

Once the floor was polished we applied two coats of Tile Doctor Ultra-Seal which provides a high level of surface protection whilst maintaining the natural look of the Marble tiles. Once the sealer had dried we buffed the floor again using a white polishing pad.

Marble Tiled Hallway Farnborough2
I’m, afraid I forgot to take any photographs before we started cleaning so you can see the difference we made to the floor, needless to say however the customer was very happy with the results

Marble Floor Tiles and Grout Refreshed in Farnborough

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