Patio Cleaning Archives - South London Tile Doctor

Renovating a Dirty Limestone Patio in Putney

This work was conducted earlier in the year when I was contacted by a previous client from Putney who needed help renovating their Limestone tiled patio. I usually work on indoor stone floors so I didn’t anticipate any issues apart from having to contend with the weather.

Limestone Patio Before Cleaning Putney

I went over to survey the patio and come up with a renovation plan. I could see the Patio was in good physical shape but it had a lot of green algae staining and was generally very dirty with ingrained dirt. After measuring up and working out a renovation plan I was able to email over a quote which was accepted and a date scheduled for the work to start.

Limestone Patio Before Cleaning Putney

Deep Cleaning a Limestone Patio

Work started by giving the whole area a thorough wash to clear any grit and general dirt using a pressure washer and extracting the slurry with a wet vacuum. It was a large area so the work was done in sections.

Working in sections again the next was to burnish the limestone starting with a coarse 400-grit diamond pad which is applied with water for lubrication. This coarse pad opens the pores in the stone allowing the ingrained dirt to be flushed out. The soiling was extracted with the wet vacuum and work progressed onto the next pads which are a finer 800 and 1500-grit. Again, water was used for lubrication and the soiling extracted after each pad was applied. These finer pads slowly close the pores in the stone and refine the appearance of the stone building up a lovely finish on the Limestone.

Limestone Patio Renovation Putney

The next step was to clean the grout using a dilution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean scrubbing them by hand with a stiff brush. The pads do a good job of cleaning the stone but can struggle to reach into the recesses of the grout line.

After another extraction with the wet vacuum the last pad in the set was applied to the patio as before which is a very fine 3500-grit that adds the final polish to the Limestone. This pad is applied dry with only a little water sprayed onto the tile.

Sealing a Limestone Patio

Once the patio was dry it was sealed using Tile Doctor Ultra-Seal which is a natural look sealer that will protect the stone from dirt becomes ingrained in the stone. The sealer soaks into the pores of the stone preventing dirt from residing there and keeping it on the surface where it can be easily rinsed away.

Limestone Patio Renovation Putney

Once complete the patio looked like a new installation and the new sealer will help it stay that way for many years to come.

Limestone Patio After Renovation Putney

Professional Renovation of a Limestone Patio in London

Renovating a Dirty Limestone Patio in Putney Read More »

Indian Sandstone Patio Transformed in Chiswick

This Indian Sandstone patio renovation was completed in Chiswick during the summer. I thought I would share it with as there was ten years of lichen and grime built-up on the stone that needed removing. Also, patio cleaning is not something that people generally associate with Tile Doctor but the fact is our stone cleaning equipment works just as well outdoors as it does in (weather permitting) so it is something we do.

Indian Sandstone Patio Before Renovation Chiswick

Indian Sandstone is a very beautiful stone and looks great when its clean, however outside it will soon degrade due to the weather and really needs to be maintained annually to keep it looking at its best. As mentioned earlier this patio had not been touched for ten years and due to the surrounding trees and other vegetation it was badly stained with dirt, algae and lichen turning everything dark.

This project was a difficult one to quote for as you never know what your going to find under all that dirt so I had to set the customers’ expectations accordingly

Deep Cleaning an Indian Sandstone Patio in Chiswick

Cleaning started by pressure washing the stone and mortar to dislodge as much muck and grime as possible and reveal the stone underneath. It was a large patio but fortunately I have a professional high-pressure machine that cuts through the dirt very effectively.

With the soiling removed the next step was to remove ingrained dirt and blackspots from the Sandstone. To do this a strong dilution of Tile Doctor Patio Cleaner was sprayed on to the stone and left to soak in for about forty minutes and agitated with a brush.

I find dwell time is essential for this product so it’s worth experimenting with longer times If needed. This product is very strong and really designed for professional use so If your using it yourself do read the label to make sure its compatible with the stone and do wear protection.

Once done the patio was rinsed with hot water (circa 70 degrees) and the soiling removed with a wet vacuum. It was then inspected and any stubborn stains re-treated.

Indian Sandstone Patio After Renovation Chiswick

This process took a whole day to complete and I managed to get the Indian Sandstone paving incredibly clean. The subtle colours of the stone paving were really evident and made a massive transformation from the original.

Patio Cleaning