sealing victorian floor Archives - South London Tile Doctor

Victorian Tiled Hallway Cleaning in Richmond

This hallway floor was at a property in the London borough of Richmond which had just been sold and the new owner wanted the Victorian tiled floor cleaning before she moved in.

Cleaning a Victorian Floor

To clean the floor I applied a 50/50 mix of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean and NanoTech Ultra Clean diluted with water. Pro-Clean is a strong alkaline cleaner so it won’t damage the tile like some acidic cleaners and NanoTech Ultra Clean adds tiny abrasive particles to the solution that can help penetrate into the tile to lift out the dirt. This was left to dwell and soak into the floor for a while before being agitated using a rotary machine fitted with a black scrubbing pad. This worked to clean the floor and strip any remaining sealer from the tile; the soiled solution was removed from the floor using a wet vacuum and then thoroughly rinsed to remove any cleaning products before sealing and neutralise the floor.

Sealing a Victorian Floor Sealing

The floor was dried using an floor blower, which is a like an industrial hair dryer, before being sealed with five coats of Tile Doctor Seal and Go which is an ideal sealer for Victorian tiled floors as it leaves a low sheen finish whilst providing excellent stain protection. You have to wait for each coat to dry before moving on to the next so it was a long day, fortunately the house was empty which made the job easier.

Victorian Tiled hallway floor cleaned and sealed in Richmond

Victorian Tiled Hallway Cleaning in Richmond Read More »

Victorian Tiled Floor Restoration in Fulham

Putney Tile Cleaning, Victorian Tile Cleaning, Work History / Daniel

Details below of a Victorian tiled floor that we cleaned and sealed for a gentleman in Fulham South West London after he had refurbished his house and the workmen had left it worse for wear.

Victorian Floor Cleaning

I used a strong solution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean diluted with hot water and applied to the floor and agitated using a rotary machine fitted with a black scrubbing pad. This worked to clean the floor and strip the existing sealer from the whole area, I then got on my hands and knees to scrub the edges and to check that all paint and glue had been removed. The soiled solution was removed using a wet vacuum and then rinsed three times before using an industrial steamer over the whole floor. This helps to neutralise and remove any products which could upset a sealer.

Victorian Floor Sealing

I then left the floor to dry out and came back two days later to seal it. On my return I checked that all the chemicals had been removed and that there was no paint and muck left on the floor.

Once I was happy I then laid 6 coats of Tile Doctor Seal and Go which is an ideal sealer for Victorian tiled floors as it provides stain resistance with a low sheen finish. An industrial air mover was used to reduce drying times between coats. The last step was to buff the floor using a white buffing pad to harden the seal. The gentleman was really happy with the result and was pleased that the new tiles that had been laid as part of the renovation now blended in perfectly with the old tiles.

Victorian Tiled floor cleaned and sealed in Fulham

Victorian Tiled Floor Restoration in Fulham Read More »

Victorian Tiled floor restoration in Lewisham

Peckham Tile Cleaning, Victorian Tile Cleaning, Work History / Daniel

I’m not sure if Tile Doctor is the reason for this but there seems to have been a marked increase in the restoring of floors that have been found hidden under carpet; this particular floor was Victorian Tiles and the lady who owned the house had discovered it after lifting the carpet that had been down for 15 years and wanted to make a feature of it. The carpet had done a reasonable job of protecting it but it was dull and there were what appeared to be white paint spots on the surface.

Victorian Tiled Floor Before Restoration

Cleaning a Victorian Tiled Floor

I started the cleaning process using a solution of Tile Doctor Nanotech Ultra-Clean which is an abrasive tile and stone cleaner mixed 50/50 with Tile Doctor Remove and Go which is a multi-purpose tile friendly stripper that can remove sealers and other coatings. The working space was quite tight so this was applied to half of the floor and left to soak in for an hour whilst I setup equipment. After an hour I scrubbed the floor using a rotary machine fitted with a black scrubbing pad and plain water. The soiled solution was then removed using a wet vacuum before repeating the process on the other half of the floor. The tiled floor was then rinsed twice thoroughly before using a steamer to clean deep into the pores of the Victorian Tile.

Sealing Victorian Tiles

The next step was to Seal the Floor but it needs to be dry first, fortunately I have an industrial airmover fan that speeds this along nicely. The floor was sealed using 5 coats of Tile Doctor Seal and Go which provides stain protection along with a low sheen finish that really brings out the beauty in Victorian Floor tiles. The transformation was quite evident and the owner has very happy with the result and left the following testimonial.

“Fab Service, Great result, Will Recommend.”

Victorian Tiled Floor Cleaned and Sealed in Lewisham

Victorian Tiled floor restoration in Lewisham Read More »