Terracotta Tile Cleaning Archives - North Kent Tile Doctor

Terracotta Tiled Kitchen Floor Maintained in Faversham

Terracotta Tiled Floor Deep Cleaned and Sealed in Faversham

I was called to a rural area near Faversham where my clients owned a large old house with an expansive Terracotta floor that needed renovation. The house had been extended at some point and the whole lower floor was tiled with Terracotta which had previously been professionally deep cleaned and sealed some years prior by one of my Tile Doctor predecessors. As such, they were aware of the processes involved and had high expectations!

Terracotta Tiled Kitchen Floor Before Cleaning Faversham

Although the sealer had stood the test of time, it had now worn thin on the most heavily used areas of the floor. Those areas were now allowing dirt to become trapped in the pores of the tile, so it was now due another deep clean and reseal. I performed a survey, discussed which sealer options they preferred, and submitted my quote. With the quote accepted, the dates were agreed, and the products were ordered to be delivered to their property well ahead of my arrival.

Cleaning a Terracotta Tiled Hallway Floor

Previously, this had been a three-day job, but I enlisted the help of a colleague for day one to help get the work done in two. Work started with the use of a carbide brush attached to a rotary buffer machine to work a strong dilution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean into the floor. This is our go to Tile and Grout Cleaner which is safe to use on all types of hard floor.

This not only took most of the old sealer off, but as the bristles flexed, they also cleaned most of the wide grout lines. The muck and the slurry were extracted with a wet vacuum. The next stage was for the pair of us to get on our hands and knees with wire brushes and more Tile Doctor Pro-Clean to get the grout lines fully dirt-free. A black pad was then fitted to the buffer and the tiles were cleaned again, and the last vestiges of the sealer removed.

Next the floor was treated to an acid wash using Tile Doctor Grout Clean-Up which was mopped onto the floor. This further cleans up the tiles by removing any stubborn mineral deposits and grout smears, being acidic it also neutralises the pH level of the floor following the use of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean which is a strong alkaline. This was then rinsed off with water and extracted with the wet vacuum as before.

Terracotta is a very porous stone and given a lot of water had been applied during the cleaning process I was aware it could take some time for the tiles to dry. As a result, I left the floor to settle down and dry out for the following couple of days before I revisited to apply the sealer.

Sealing a Terracotta Tiled Kitchen Floor

The couple had been very happy with the look of the last sealer and its durability. So, they opted to go for more of the same. The product used was Tile Doctor Seal and Go Extra which is a water-based sealer that results in an attractive low sheen finish. Three coats were needed to fully seal the Terracotta.

Terracotta Tiled Kitchen Floor After Cleaning Faversham

They were very happy with the results and that I had lived up to their expectations. The last thing to do was provide aftercare instruction on how to best look after the sealer with Tile Doctor’s Neutral pH Cleaner.

Terracotta Tiled Kitchen Floor After Cleaning Faversham

Professional Cleaning of a Terracotta Tiled Kitchen in North Kent

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Terracotta Kitchen Floor Tile Renovation Herne Bay Farmhouse

Dirty Terracotta Farmhouse Floor Deep Cleaned and Sealed in Herne Bay

1 Comment / Grout Cleaning, Herne Bay Tile Cleaning, Terracotta Tile Cleaning / Graham Davis

I was called to a large working farmhouse near Herne Bay to look at renovating a heavily soiled Terracotta tiled kitchen floor. Kitchen floors are one of the busiest in any house but even more so in a farmhouse where muddy boots and paws were frequent visitors.

Terracotta Kitchen Floor Tiles Before Cleaning Herne Bay

Having inspected the floor I asked if it would be ok to do a cleaning test, so they could see the potential improvement and I could work out which products would have the best effect. I was confident I could have a major impact on the floor so I chose an unobtrusive tile under one of the counter tops to do the test, this way if the family decided not to progress with the work, then a glaringly clean tile wouldn’t be centre stage!

I cleaned the tile and demonstrated my results to the husband who would show it to his wife later that day. In the meantime, I put together a quote and emailed it through. Suitably impressed, they awarded the job to me but on the understanding that Christmas and New Year were to get in the way and that the work would need to happen in January.

Cleaning Dirty Terracotta Floor Tiles in Herne Bay

Dates were agreed upon and when they came about, I turned up at 9am sharp on the first day. Every floor is different, and I found that the best result for this particular floor was achieved by hand scrubbing the grout lines with a wire brush and a strong dilution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean, a powerful alkaline cleaner. The tiles were then cleaned individually using a six-inch carbide brush fitted to a handheld buffer.

I managed to extract a lot of ingrained dirt from the pores of the Terracotta, so It was clearly some time since the tiles had been sealed. The cleaning solution soon turned into a dark slurry which was rinsed off with water and extracted with a wet vacuum. The floor then needed washing with a mop and bucket and further cleaning with a 17-inch Black scrubbing pad fitted to a floor buffer to make sure the floor was as clean as it could be. After another rinse and extraction with the wet vacuum I was satisfied. The work was time consuming, but well worth the effort to see the tiles transformed.

Terracotta is made from clay and like a sponge very porous, the tiles were now dark with the water they had absorbed and needed to dry out before the final step of applying a sealer could happen.

I had already arranged to leave a full day in-between before returning to seal and left a damp meter with the owners so they could check the tiles themselves. A day of drying was sufficient however and I got a call the night before that the tiles were sufficiently dry.

Sealing Old Terracotta Floor Tiles in Herne Bay

When I arrived the following morning, the floor looked so much lighter and 100% cleaner. Having retrieved my damp meter, I checked the moisture levels in the floor and confirmed it was ready to be sealed.

Having discussed desired finish with the clients during my initial visit it was clear they wanted the tiles to have a subtle sheen. From this I chose to seal the Terracotta with Tile Doctor Seal and Go Extra, this is a topical sealer which works very well on porous clay tiles and would produce the sheen finish they wanted.

Seal and Go Extra works by forming a breathable barrier over the tile, thereby keeping dirt on the surface where is can easily be removed through regular cleaning. Three coats were applied allowing each coat to dry before applying the next. The colour intensifier in the sealer, along with the sheen, totally transformed the tiles.

Terracotta Kitchen Floor Tiles After Cleaning Sealing Herne Bay

The customers’ expectations were comfortably exceeded, and they were so happy with the result they left the following glowing review:

‘Our floor looks incredible, better than we could have hoped for. It has changed our whole kitchen for the better. Graham was really nice and did a thorough and efficient job with beautiful results’

On the subject of regular cleaning, I recommended they use Tile Doctor Neutral Tile Cleaner, this will ensure that the floor is cleaned without compromising the newly applied sealant. Household cleaners tend to contain strong chemicals such as bleach which will break down the sealer prematurely, so always check the label.

Terracotta Kitchen Floor Tiles After Cleaning Sealing Herne Bay

Professional Cleaning of a Terracotta Tiled Farmhouse Kitchen Floor in Kent

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Efflorescent Stained Terracotta Floor Renovation Edenbridge

Efflorescent Salt Stained Terracotta Floor Renovated in Edenbridge

1 Comment / Grout Cleaning, Margate Tile Cleaning, Terracotta Tile Cleaning / Graham Davis

This customer from Edenbridge asked me to renovate their Terracotta Kitchen floor which has been ruined by a water leak from the dishwasher. The water had caused enormous amounts of damage throughout the lower floor and had resulted in the appearance of white efflorescence as it dried out. Unfortunately, the floor had previously been sealed with some sort of lacquer which the efflorescent salts couldn’t get past resulting in a build-up under the lacquer on many of the tiles.

Terracotta Kitchen Floor Before Cleaning Edenbridge

To resolve, the lacquer needed to be stripped off, the floor cleaned and dried and then re-sealed with a breathable sealer that could cope with the efflorescence should it re-appear. I created a quote for the work which would take two days and emailed it over to the customer. They were relieved to have found someone who understood the problem and had a solution so accepted the quote and a date was agreed for the work to start.

Cleaning Dirty Terracotta Floor Tiles in Edenbridge

The first job was to remove the lacquer which I did with liberal amounts of Tile Doctor’s Remove and Go which is an alkaline coatings remover. A 50/50 dilution of product to water was applied and left to dwell for ten minutes. This was then agitated with a rotary floor buffer fitted with a silicon carbide brush and more water. The resultant slurry was then extracted with a wet vacuum.

Next was the hands and knees job of cleaning the wide grout lines that are typical feature of a Terracotta floor. I used a strong dilution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean for this, again its left to soak in for ten minutes before being scrubbed in. This did the job of getting the grout clean and as I progressed the dirt was rinsed off and extracted again with the wet vacuum.

With the floor clean my attention turned to dealing with the efflorescence which was still present in the floor and would certainly re-appear as the floor dried. The solution is to counter the alkaline salts by giving the tiles an acid wash using Tile Doctor Acid Gel. The gel is applied to the floor and worked in with a black pad fitted to the rotary floor buffer. The gel is then rinsed off an extracted as before. As well as dealing with the efflorescence this product also neutralises the pH of the floor after the use of the alkaline cleaning products used earlier.

The floor was then mopped twice with just water and then dried as much as possible with the wet vacuum. The next step would be sealing so that’s all I could do on the first day so once done I left it to dry off.

Sealing a Terracotta Tiled Floor in Edenbridge

Terracotta is very porous, so instead of returning the next day to seal, as with many other stone types, I allowed an extra day. Applying sealer to a damp floor is not a good idea as the result can be patchy and inconsistent; with this in mind my first task of the day was to ensure the floor had dried sufficiently by taking several moisture readings with a damp meter.

The owner had already left for work that day but had given me a spare key, so I was able to let myself into the property. We had discussed sealing beforehand, and they had mentioned that they liked the appearance of the floor before the water leak and wanted a sealer that would give the same natural finish.

With this in mind, I sealed the Terracotta with Tile Doctor Ultra-Seal which is a modern impregnating sealer that is almost invisible and doesn’t change the appearance of the tile. Ultra-Seal is also breathable so any moisture and efflorescence still in the subfloor would be able to rise through the tile and evaporate at the surface without causing a problem.

Two liberal coats of sealer were applied to the Terracotta and Grout over a period of a few hours. I then hung around to ensure that I was satisfied with the dried finish and let myself out. The fresh sealer will protect the floor from dirt becoming ingrained in the tile keeping in on the surface where it can be easily mopped away.

Terracotta Kitchen Floor After Cleaning Edenbridge

For the regular cleaning of Terracotta tiled floors, I recommend the use of Tile Doctor Neutral Tile Cleaner which is an effective tile cleaner that is gentle enough not to compromise the newly applied sealant. Many household cleaning products are simply to strong for cleaning sealed floors and contain strong chemicals such as bleach that can break down a sealer.

Terracotta Kitchen Floor After Cleaning Edenbridge

Professional Renovation of an Efflorescent Salt Stained Terracotta Kitchen Floor in Kent

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Dirty Terracotta Floor Deep Cleaned and Sealed in Sandwich

1 Comment / Grout Cleaning, Margate Tile Cleaning, Terracotta Tile Cleaning, Work by Category, Work by Location, Work History / Graham Davis

I was called to a property in Sandwich, which is a few miles south of Margate, to look at renovating the Terracotta flooring in the kitchen, dining room and conservatory. The house was originally three cottages and close to the end of a project to convert them into one property.

Terracotta Floor Before Cleaning Sandwich Kent

The floor hadn’t been cleaned in years and the porous nature of the Terracotta tiles meant that the floor had taken on a lot of dirt. During my visit to the property, I carried out a small cleaning test on one of the tiles to show the client what they could expect by way of results. The test went well, and I was able to work out an accurate quote for the renovation. Happy with the test clean and my quote I was booked to do the work and we arranged a convenient date of my return.

Sandwich is a beautiful historic part of Kent, it was one of the Cinque Ports and still retains many of its medieval buildings and older properties. As you may have suspected the town also gave the name to the food, we regularly tuck into courtesy of John Montagu who was the 4th Earl of Sandwich.

Cleaning Dirty Terracotta Floor Tiles in Sandwich

Working in sections I started with the application of a strong solution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean which was left to soak into the tiles for roughly ten minutes. This was then worked into the Terracotta using a 400-grit burnishing pad fitted to a rotary buffer machine. The process generated a lot of red slurry which was vacuumed away using an industrial wet vacuum. The tiles were exceptionally dirty and more rinsing with water, and vacuuming was needed to remove all the soiling.

Terracotta Floor During Cleaning Sandwich Kent

The pad had struggled to reach into the pits of the tiles and recessed grout so for the next step I chose to fit a nylon wire attachment to the floor buffer and run it over the tiles and the especially the grout. This did the job and cleaned out the puts and the grout lines very well. The floor immediately looked significantly better.

Using fresh water with a weak solution of Tile Doctor Grout Clean Up, a mop and bucket the floor was given an acid wash to remove any old grout smears and neutralise any alkaline salts that could lead to efflorescence issues later. Once done the floor was rinsed with more water and the solution vacuumed off the floor. The floor was then left to dry for two days so it would be ready for the next step of sealing.

Sealing Old Terracotta Floor Tiles in Sandwich

Two days later I returned on schedule ready to apply a fresh sealer. I was concerned about the amount of water used during the cleaning process, so I started by checking the moisture level of the tiles with a damp meter.

I was happy with the readings so lost no time in applying the sealer. Three coats of Tile Doctor Colour Grow were applied which is an impregnating breathable sealer that soaks into the Terracotta occupying its pores and preventing dirt from residing there. This product contains a colour enhancing element that really brings out the colour in the Terracotta and being fully breathable it will be able to cope with any moisture rising through the tile which can be an issue with these old floors that don’t have a damp proof membrane.

Terracotta Floor After Cleaning Sandwich Kent

With a sealer now in place protecting the floor any dirt will remain on the surface where it can be easily mopped away. On that note I recommended the use of Tile Doctor Neutral Tile Cleaner for regular cleaning, this will ensure that the floor can be cleaned without compromising the newly applied sealant. Household cleaners tend to contain strong chemicals which will break down the seal prematurely.

The client was very happy and left the following feedback, its short but he gets the message across.

‘Graham did an excellent job thank you’

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Saltillo Terracotta Tiles Floor Before After Renovation Canterbury

Wax Sealed Saltillo Terracotta Hallway Floor Renovation in Canterbury

Canterbury Tile Cleaning, Terracotta Tile Cleaning, Work by Category, Work by Location, Work History / Graham Davis

Earlier this year I went to visit a property in Canterbury to look at restoring a Terracotta tiled floor. The floor was approximately 11m2 and made from the larger Saltillo type Terracotta tiles. It had been in situ for some time and being located in the hallway it was subject to the heavy foot traffic of a busy household.

Having taken a closer look at the Terracotta tiles I could see there were many high spots due to poor installation by the original tiler, on top of that it had then been sealed with linseed oil followed by a wax paste. Wax was traditionally used to seal Terracotta floors, but it scratches easily and can lead to a thick build-up. Since the introduction of modern sealers designed for the job, we don’t recommend wax treatments anymore.

Saltillo Terracotta Hallway Floor Before Renovation Canterbury

We discussed the process to renovate the floor, explaining that the best course of action would be to use milling pads to level the surface of the tiles which would improve the finish and remove the built-up wax. Once prepared in this way the floor would be sealed to protect it going forward. They were happy with my quotation and we agreed a date to return and complete the work.

Renovating a Terracotta Tiled Hallway Floor

The use of Milling pads can generate a lot of slurry to our first task was to protect the surrounding areas using protective sheeting. The area was quite tight to work in, so we used the smaller six-inch milling pads which are encrusted with coarse industrial diamonds. The pads we fitted to a handheld buffer and worked over the tiles gradually increasing the pads from coarse to finer grits. The machine we use has a water feed that keeps the surface lubricated and this also helps to reduce the dust. The fine slurry generated using this process is rinsed off and extracted with a wet vacuum.

The next step was to remove the old wax the floor had been treated with a dilution of Tile Doctor Wax Away which is designed for exactly this purpose. Its applied to the floor and then scrubbed in using a slow speed rotary machine. Afterwards the floor is rinsed with water several times and the waste removed with the wet vacuum. By the time we had finished that day we could see a big improvement in the floor surface. After the final rinse the floor was left to dry off overnight.

Sealing a Terracotta Tiled Hallway Floor

I came back the following day and using the moisture meter checked that the floor was dry. It was well within the accepted parameters, so I was ready to apply the seal.

To seal the Terracotta, I had selected to use Tile Doctor Colour Grow, this is a modern durable sealer that provides long lasting protection and ideal for busy hallways. Colour grow also also enhances the natural red and orange colours in the Terracotta leaving a nice subtle finish. Three coats of Tile Doctor Colour Grow were applied.

Saltillo Terracotta Hallway Floor After Renovation Canterbury

The photographs I took don’t show the difference in the floor that well, however my customer was very happy with the improvement in the floor and glad that the potential trip hazard has been resolved.

Professional Restoration of a Terracotta Tiled Hallway in East Kent

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Broadstairs Tile Cleaning, Canterbury Tile Cleaning, Ceramic Tile Cleaning, Chatham Tile Cleaning, Edenbridge Tile Cleaning, Encaustic Cement Tile Cleaning, Faversham Tile Cleaning, Fireplace Cleaning, Flagstone Tile Cleaning, Gillingham Tile Cleaning, Gravesend Tile Cleaning, Grout Cleaning, Herne Bay Tile Cleaning, Limestone Tile Cleaning and Polishing, Maidstone Tile Cleaning, Marble Tile Cleaning, Margate Tile Cleaning, Porcelain Tile Cleaning, Quarry Tile Cleaning, Rochester Tile Cleaning, Sandstone Tile Cleaning, Sevenoaks Tile Cleaning, Slate Tile Cleaning, Terracotta Tile Cleaning, Terrazzo Floor Cleaning, Travertine Tile Cleaning, Victorian Tile Cleaning, Vinyl Tile Cleaning, Whitstable Tile Cleaning, Work by Category, Work by Location, Work History / Graham Davis

North Kent Tile Doctor

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