tile restoration Archives - South London Tile Doctor

Shower Tile and Grout Cleaned and Renovated in Battersea Shower Cubicle

Ceramic Tiled Shower Cubicle Refreshed in Battersea

I was contacted by a customer in Battersea who was concerned about the state of their Ceramic Tiled shower cubicle. Ceramic tiles are glazed so usually very easy to keep clean however grout has a rough surface and attracts dirt easily. Where this happens it best to keep on top of the problem with regular cleaning as once you get a deep-seated stain on grout it’s very difficult to get it clean again.

The photograph below shows the worst of the problem where dirt had collected behind a wire basket that was fixed to the wall. The basket allowed dirt to build-up behind it and had deposited rust on the tile and grout.

Ceramic Shower Before Tile Cleaning Battersea

Maintaining grout is a large part of the work Tile Doctor does and we have several tried and tested products and processes for doing this. Having spoken to the client over the phone and having been sent photographs via email I created a quote for the work which should only take a few hours. My customer was happy with the quote and we agreed a date to do the work.

Cleaning a Ceramic Tiled Shower Cubicle

To begin, I cleaned the grout lines using our acidic cleaning product, Tile Doctor Grout Clean-Up. The product is decanted into a spray bottle and sprayed onto the tile and grout where it was left to dwell for ten minutes before being scrubbed in with a handheld scrubbing brush. Spraying the solution onto the wall mixes it with air to make it lighter and more able to stick to the wall.

Being a concentrated phosphoric acid cleaner, Grout Clean-Up effectively removes mineral deposits including rust and old grout smears from the tile surface to leaving it looking much fresher, it also prepares the grout for a superior bond with the grout colourant that was to be added later.

Following this, I rinsed down the tile and grout with water to remove the dislodged dirt. The next step was to remove all the existing silicone mastic with a sharp knife; the mastic sealant stained with mould and much in need of replacement. Once all the rubbish was swept out, I dried any remaining dampness from the grout and tiles with a heat gun.

I then moved onto to recolouring the grout using a Tile Doctor Grout Colourant which is simply painted onto the grout lines using a small brush and any excess wiped of the tile before it dries. There are eleven colours available in the Tile Doctor colourant range and in this case, we chose a colour to match the tiles.

Ceramic Shower After Tile Cleaning Battersea

The application of Grout Colourant not only colours the grout joints – it also seals the grout in so dirt can’t become stuck in its rough surface, this also makes it very easy to clean going forward.

Once the restoration was finished, I resealed the shower base with fresh mould resistant silicone mastic to match the tile and grout. Tile Doctor don’t sell this but there are many makes available from local DIY stores.

Ceramic Tiled Shower Cubicle Cleaning and Grout Recolouring in South London

Ceramic Tiled Shower Cubicle Refreshed in Battersea Read More »

Victorian Tiled Hallway Floor Renovated Fulham

Restoration of an Unloved Victorian Tiled Hallway Floor in Fulham

1 Comment / Putney Tile Cleaning, Victorian Tile Cleaning / Daniel

I received a request to quote for the restoration of this Victorian tiled floor in the hallway of a property in Fulham which as you can see from the photographs was in a very poor condition.

Victorian Tiled Hallway Before Cleaning Fulham

I visited the property to survey the floor and could see that except for a few loose tiles it was in good physical condition. From experience I knew it would respond well to a deep clean and seal so I carried out a test clean on a small area to demonstrate its potential. The tiles came up well and my client was satisfied it would be worthwhile to have it restored.

When you have period features such as this floor in a property it is a shame not to make the most of them, they are sought after and will increase its value. Having agreed my quote, we arranged to carry out the work the following week.

Cleaning a Victorian Tiled Hallway Floor

To get all the dirt out of the pores of the tiles I first applied a strong dilution of Tile Doctor Remove and Go and after leaving it to soak in for ten minutes was scrubbed in with a black pad. I also used a steam cleaner during this process to help lift the dirt out of the pores. From what I could tell the tiles had a variety of contaminants including paint, plaster, cement, and dirt. Luckily Tile Doctor Remove and Go can handle all of these. I had to repeat the process on the stubborn stains and then removed all the slurry and dirt using a wet vacuum.

I then moved onto the loose tiles which needed to have the old adhesive removed from the tile and the base. The original tiles were then cleaned up by hand before new rapid setting adhesive was applied to secure them back into the floor.

Once the loose tiles had set, I moved onto the next step of giving the floor an Acid Rinse using Tile Doctor Acid Gel. This cleans up the tiles further by removing old grout smears and dissolving efflorescent salts in the floor. This is a common in properties of this age which don’t have a damp proof membrane to stop moisture rising through the tile. This process also neutralises the pH level of the floor after the use of strong alkaline cleaning products like Tile Doctor Remove and Go. The floor was rinsed again afterwards, and the soiling extracted with a wet vacuum before leaving it to dry off overnight.

Sealing a Victorian Tiled Hallway Floor

The next day the moisture levels of the tiles were checked with a damp meter to ensure they were dry enough to be sealed. The readings were fine, so I was able to apply a couple of coats of Tile Doctor Colour Grow which is a breathable colour enhancing sealer. This is a super durable product which will give great protection to the floor, especially when it is in a high traffic area such as a hallway.

Victorian Tiled Hallway After Renovation Fulham

My client was amazed with the transformation and said he never expected it to come out as good as it did. I must admit considering the state it was into to start with I can understand his expectations mustn’t have been that high.

For aftercare I recommended the use of Tile Doctor Neutral Tile Cleaner to maintain the floor, this is a pH neutral product which will ensure the longevity of the newly applied sealer and is mild enough to use every day. Its supplied as a concentrate so you only need a small amount of cleaning fluid to clean the floor and so a one litre bottle will last a while.

Professional Restoration of a Victorian Tiled Hallway in South London

Restoration of an Unloved Victorian Tiled Hallway Floor in Fulham Read More »

Quarry Tiled Porch Before After Restoration South Croydon

Painted Quarry Tiled Porch Floor Restored in South Croydon

1 Comment / Croydon Tile Cleaning, Quarry Tile Cleaning, Work History / Daniel

I thought you might find this Quarry tiled floor restoration from a property in South Croydon interesting, especially considering the transformation that we were able to achieve. The Quarry Tiles were in a covered porch at the front of the property and the previous owners had painted them with red tile paint several times and they had also become stained from other decoration work. They were now in a neglected state and really needed to be stripped of paint and restored.

Quarry Tiled Porch Before Restoration South Croydon

Removing Paint from Quarry Tiles

To get the red paint off the Quarry tiles, Tile Doctor Nanotech HBU Remover was applied to the floor and left to dwell and soak into the tile and grout for about twenty minutes. HBU stands for Heavy Build-Up and is a strong product that utilised small Nano sized abrasive particles to remove floor coatings. There were a number of layers of paint that needed removing so a scouring pad was used to work the product into the floor.

Quarry Tiled Porch During Restoration South Croydon

As you can imagine that paint didn’t want to come off easily, so it took several attempts before the Quarry tiles were completely clean. After each application the floor was given a thorough rinse to remove any trace of product and the soil removed with a wet vacuum.

Grout Renovation with a Charcoal Grout Colourant

When we eventually cleaned everything off, we found the grout had absorbed the paint in places leaving a patchy appearance. Removing and replacing the grout would take a long time so I suggested to the owner that we Colour Seal the grout lines using a Charcoal Grey Grout Colourant. The colourant is basically painted onto the grout with a small brush and when it hardens it forms a protective barrier over the grout and would give a consistent appearance. The process is quite quick and given then grout lines had already been given a good scrub the colourant should achieve a good bond. The owner was happy to for us to proceed and I think you will agree we achieved a very good result.

Sealing Porch Quarry Tiles

The floor was left to dry out for a few days and we returned to finish the restoration by sealing the tiles in order to protect them from future staining and also make them easier to clean. I used an impregnating colour enhancing sealer called Tile Doctor Colour Grow for this purpose and I think you will agree the floor looks much improved.

My customer was delighted with the final result and left the following review on our website.

“My small hall floor proved to be a challenge but couldn’t be more pleased with the results. Very professional service throughout. I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend.
Helen B, South Croydon.”

Quarry Tiles Restored in South London

Painted Quarry Tiled Porch Floor Restored in South Croydon Read More »

Marble Wall and Floor Tile Refresh in Woking

1 Comment / Epsom Tile Cleaning, Marble Tile Cleaning, Work History / Daniel

This job was to refresh the Marble tile installed in a house in Woking. There were a number of different marble tiles installed on the wall and floor including two shower cubicles, a bathroom floor, a small cloakroom floor and the kitchen floor; the pictures below show before and after photographs for each job.

Cleaning a Marble Tile Shower Cubicle

I started with the shower cubicles using Tile Doctor Oxy-Pro which is a specific product for cleaning showers and comes with a spray attachment that mixes the cleaning agent with air making it lighter and helping it stick to vertical surfaces. This was left to dwell on the surface for a while and then the tiles were scrubbed before being rinsed down. This action not only cleaned the dirt and soap scum off the tile it also got rid of some mould that had started to grow.

In one shower there was a build-up of limescale on the wall so to get rid of this I used a little Tile Doctor Grout Clean-up, this product is usually for removing grout smears from tile however it’s also good at removing most types of mineral deposits such as Limescale, you do have to be quick though as it’s an Acid based product I had to be quick and to thoroughly rinse because I didn’t want to damage the marble.

Marble Mosaic Bathroom floor tile cleaning

The next job was to tackle the bathroom floor which was tiled with small Marble mosaic tiles. A long time was spent cleaning and scrubbing the grout of this floor using a solution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean mixed 50/50 with NanoTech Ultra-Clean to add tiny abrasive particles making a very effective tile cleaner. Again once the cleaning was finished cleaning the floor was rinsed thoroughly with clean water to remove any cleaning product.

Marble Kitchen floor tile cleaning

The next floor on the list was the kitchen floor, again all Marble tile; on this I used a rotary scrubbing machine fitted with a medium brush head and again a mixture of Pro-Clean and NanoTech UltraClean. The reason I used a brush head instead of a scrubbing pad is because it is a textured marble the brushes will get into the nooks and crannies, the grout was especially stained in this area and this is now much improved.

Marble Cloakroom floor cleaning

The last floor on the list to do was the cloakroom WC which was cleaned using the same method as on the bathroom floor described above using the Pro-Clean, NanoTech, and UltraClean mixture worked in with some elbow grease.

Once everything had been cleaned, and rinsed. I left it all to dry out overnight.

Sealing Marble Tiles

The following day before I sealed I checked everything just in case I had missed anything, but it was all okay. I sealed everything twice using Tile Doctor Colour Grow and checked that the tiles were properly sealed by doing a water test. When sealing you have to make sure that you don’t let the seal puddle so I buff the tiles with terry towelling and on the large areas I also buff the floors with a white buffing pad.

As you can imagine this was a very large job and when everything was eventually finished the lady said she was really happy and couldn’t believe how the tiles had come out, she even had her neighbours round to see how it all turned out and they were all suitably impressed.

Multiple Marble Tile Wall and Floor Tiles cleaned in Woking, Surrey

Marble Wall and Floor Tile Refresh in Woking Read More »

Kitchen Travertine Tiled floor cleaning in Mortlake

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

We recently cleaned and sealed a small Travertine floor in a kitchen for a customer in Mortlake near Richmond upon Thames in Surrey. To be fair the floor wasn’t that bad, it was just a bit dirty because the customer had been told to use a steamer to clean the floor which was bad advice as the heat from the steam was breaking down the sealer and resulting in the tiles getting dirty.

Cleaning Travertine Kitchen Tile

I first applied a 50/50 mix of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean and Nanotech Ultra Clean leaving it to dwell on the tile for 15 minutes before scrubbing it in with a rotary Machine fitted with a brush head. Once I was satisfied the floor was clean it was thoroughly rinsed with clean water. The dirty solution removed using a wet vacuum and then left it to dry overnight.

Sealing Travertine Tile

The next day the floor had dried and we proceeded to seal it using two coats of Tile Doctor Colour Grow which as well as providing a good level of stain protection also brings out the natural colours in the stone. I always use a water test to determine if the right about of sealer has been applied, very simply you drop a small amount of water onto the stone and if it forms a bubble on the surface it’s sealed.

Before I left I provided the customer with a proper maintenance plan for the floor, and expect a call in around a years’ time to come and do a deep clean and seal. The customer was delighted with the results and said the floor looked better than when they had it laid.

Resolving Travertine steam cleaning problems in Surrey

Kitchen Travertine Tiled floor cleaning in Mortlake Read More »

Terracotta Tiled Floor Sealing

Clapham Tile Cleaning, Terracotta Tile Cleaning, Work History / Daniel

Although officially the East Surrey Tile Doctor we often get requests further afield through customer recommendations, this particular Terracotta Tiled floor was in Brixton, South London. You can see from the photographs below that the floor was not looking its best and had been splashed with paint.

Terracotta Tile Cleaning

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 with a cleaner containing tiny nano sized abrasive particles that work deep into the floor. This combination is ideal for dealing difficult floors, its best to let it dwell on the floor for 10 to 20 minutes before working it into the tiles with a rotary machine fitted with a black scrubbing pad.

Once that was done the soiled solution was removed from the floor using a wet vacuum and we were then able to see a few spots where old wax remained on the floor. To deal with the wax Tile Doctor Remove and Go, which is a powerful coatings remover, was applied to the floor and left to dwell for a while before rinsing thoroughly with clean water and then treated with a steam cleaning machine to ensure the floor had been neutralised of all chemicals. It’s important not to leave a trace of chemical on the floor as they could react with the sealer.

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.

Terracotta Tile Sealing

When we 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.

When I finished I gave the customer instructions on how to maintain the floor. He was over the moon with the result and said that it had far exceeded his expectations.

Another happy customer.

Terracotta Floor Cleaned and Sealed in Brixton

Terracotta Tiled Floor Sealing Read More »

Quarry Tiled Hallway Floor Cleaned and Sealed in Wallington

Croydon Tile Cleaning, Quarry Tile Cleaning, Work History / Daniel

The owner of this house wanted her hallway quarry tiles renovating, someone had varnished them around 15 years previously and were now overdue a good clean and seal.

Cleaning Hallway Quarry Tiles

The first step was to scrub in a dilution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean with a rotary machine fitted with a black scrubbing pad. However this only managed to remove some of the varnish and so I next applied Tile Doctor Remove and Go which is a much stronger product designed for stripping coatings from floors. The process I used was to apply Remove and Go in sections leaving it to dwell for a hour and then scrubbing it with a brush. I rinsed the floor down to reveal a few stubborn spots that needed some further work and then washed the floor down again before leaving it for the evening to dry.

Sealing Hallway Quarry Tiles

We returned the next day and began to seal the floor using six coats of Tile Doctor Seal and Go which leaves a nice deep low sheen on the tile surface as well as providing stain protection. The owner was extremely happy with the result and left the feedback below.

“Very professional, worked continuously. A joy to have 2 men working in the house who conversed quietly with no unpleasant language! A superb job done on our (more than 100 year old) quarry tile floor.”

Mrs Quested, Wallingon

Quarry Tile Renovation in Wallington

Quarry Tiled Hallway Floor Cleaned and Sealed in Wallington Read More »