Slate Tile Cleaning

Welcome to my Work History archive where you will find detailed examples of the cleaning and renovation of Slate flooring carried out in North Kent

Cleaning and Renovating Slate Floors

Slate is a very popular floor and wall tile due to its low porosity; there are many varieties and textures of Slate available as such Tile Doctor has spent many years researching the best cleaning and sealing methods and products. The semi-riven tile is particularly easier to maintain compared to the rough textured Slate commonly available due to its cheaper quarrying cost.

Porosity however small, is the main issue when maintaining Stone floors as dirt can easily become trapped in the pores and once that happens it becomes very difficult to clean. The solution is to prevent the ingress of dirt in the stone by applying a sealer such as Tile Doctor Seal and Go which works very well on Slate. However sealers do wear down with use and the application of unsuitable cleaning products, and so unless regularly maintained the floor will need to be stripped, deep cleaned and then resealed again every three to five years.

Below you will find detailed examples of work we have carried out in the past, it should give you some idea of what’s involved and what can be achieved with the right techniques and products.


Slate Kitchen Floor Tile Renovation Rochester Kent

Rejuvenating a Slate Tiled Kitchen Flooring in Rochester

The photographs below are of Slate tiled Kitchen floor at a property in the historic Kent city of Rochester. It had been a while since the stone had been given a deep clean and seal, so the floor was looking tired and in need of rejuvenating. The occupants were unhappy with its appearance and wanted the life putting back into what was once an attractive floor to be proud of.

Grey Slate Kitchen Floor Before Cleaning Rochester

You can see from the photo above that the Slate tiles were looking dull and washed out, some areas had water staining and in places the grout was heavily stained. Kitchen floors do experience the most wear and of course being in a kitchen they can suffer from accidental spillages etc. Thankfully, we at Tile Doctor are perfectly equipped to deal with these issues so I was confident we could resolve all the problems and dramatically improve its appearance.

Cleaning a Brazilian Slate Tiled Floor

My first course of action was to focus on cleaning the Slate and Grout, the latter of which needed some serious attention. For this a created a strong solution of our reliable high-alkaline tile and grout cleaning product, Tile Doctor Pro-Clean. The solution was applied to the floor, left for ten minutes so it could get to work and then and agitated into the tile and grout using specialised grout brushes and a professional floor buffer fitted with a 17”, circular, nylon brush. This not only cleaned the tiles but also removed any old sealant remaining on the floor. The pads do struggle to reach into the recesses of the grout lines, so I followed up scrubbing the grout by hand using a wire brush and more Pro-Clean.

The floor was rinsed with water and the resulting slurry was quickly extracted using a wet vacuum. The floor was then given an acid wash using a weak dilution of Tile Doctor Grout Clean-Up. This product is made from concentrated phosphoric acid and is great for removing grout smears and salts from the tile and grout ensuring there’s nothing that can detract from the natural appearance of the stone. Giving the floor an acid rinse also ensures a better bond with the sealer.

The floor was given a final rinse and mop with plain water to neutralise the tile and grout after remove any trace of cleaning product. This was followed up with the wet vacuum ensuring the floor was as dry as it could be by the end of the first day.

Grey Slate Kitchen Floor During Cleaning Rochester

Sealing a Slate Tiled Kitchen Floor

I then left the floor to dry off overnight and returned the next day to apply a fresh sealer that will protect the stone from ingrained dirt and improve its appearance. The floor has to be dry before applying the sealer, so I checked first with a moisture meter on various parts of the floor to be sure.

Happy the floor was dry I started with the application of Tile Doctor X-Tra Seal which is a very modern product oil-based resin formula that provides strong water and stain repellency, ideal for a kitchen. X-Tra Seal has a low sheen finish and contains a colour enhancer that puts the black back into the tiles.

Grey Slate Kitchen Floor After Cleaning Rochester

Once complete the Grout was clean and the Slate was given a new lease of life with its original vigour restored. And of course, the occupants now had a Kitchen floor they could be proud of!

 

Professional Renovation of a Slate Tiled Floor in Kent

Rejuvenating a Slate Tiled Kitchen Flooring in Rochester Read More »

Slate Tiled Floor Before After Restoration Sevenoaks

Slate Tiled Wet Room Treated for Grout Haze and Restored in Sevenoaks

A builder had made a real mess of this customer’s new Slate tiled wet room. When installing any new natural stone tiles, it is always recommended to apply the sealer before grouting, since – as was the case here – the porosity of the stone can cause the grout to stick with to the stone, leaving a terrible blotchy and uneven appearance.

Slate Tiled Floor Before Restoration Sevenoaks
What’s more, once stuck to the stone, the grout is essentially impossible for the tiler to remove. In this wet room, light grey grout had been left smeared all over the Slate tiled walls, causing haze in some places.

Slate Tiled Floor Before Restoration Sevenoaks
Understandably, she was very upset with the situation and was eager to secure some professional help, courtesy of the Kent Tile Doctor. I travelled down to the property, situated in Sevenoaks, Kent, to set the problems right.

Restoring the appearance of a Slate Tiled Wet Room

To begin, I had to tape up all the chrome and metal fittings found around the bathroom to stop them coming into contact with the cleaning products. I them started the restoration by applying Tile Doctor Acid Gel, which is a PH1 blend of Phosphoric and Hydrochloric acids for the removal of grout haze.

As it comes in a gel form, this product is especially effective on vertical or sloped surfaces, where more dwell time is required. A liquid product would, of course, simply run off the tiles. So, working on small areas at a time, I allowed the gel to dwell for around five minutes, before agitating the solution with a pan scrubber, and rinsing the gel off with water. Once I had completed this process on the whole of the wet room, I allowed the tiles to dry out before repeating the process on some of the areas suffering from thicker smears of grout.

Sealing Slate Wet Room Tiles

When I was happy that I had removed all of the grout smears, I ensured that all the tiles were dry before applying Tile Doctor Stone Oil. This product is an easy-to-apply, pre-polish impregnating sealer which is ideal for low porosity stone and also suitable for more porous stone, such as Terracotta. It is also specially designed to enhance the natural colours and textures of tiles, and improve mechanical strength once cured. The oil is particularly effective when used on dark stone, like this Slate, as it really helps to deepen the colour.

I returned the next day to seal the tiles completely using one coat of Tile Doctor Ultra Seal to lock in the Stone Oil applied the previous day. Ultra Seal is a premium, no-sheen, natural-look, solvent-based penetrating sealer formulated to provide maximum stain protection. It allows moisture vapour transmission and is an excellent grout sealer.

Slate Tiled Floor After Restoration Sevenoaks
The customer was very happy with the results, which set this difficult problem right. In particular, she was worried that all of the tiles would have to be removed and the entire wet room would have to be redone. Thankfully that is no longer the case, and she can enjoy this fantastic Slate feature. All she needs to be concerned with now is ensuring the tiles are regularly maintained with professional care, including having the sealer topped up as and when necessary.

Slate Tiled Floor After Restoration Sevenoaks
 

Professional Slate Tile Restoration in a Kent Wet Room

Slate Tiled Wet Room Treated for Grout Haze and Restored in Sevenoaks Read More »

Tired Black Slate Tiled floor in Sevenoaks Restored

Tired Black Slate Tiled floor in Sevenoaks Restored

The photographs below are of a black slate tiled floor in the kitchen and utility room of a house in Knatts Valley, Sevenoaks Kent, it was laid around six years ago when the kitchen was installed. The owner was now having the whole kitchen re-decorated and was considering laying a new floor as the current slate looked so tired and was difficult to clean.

Black Slate Before Cleaning and Sealing

Cleaning Black Slate Tiled Floor

Normally I would use a strong solution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean solution mixed with Tile Doctor Nanotech Ultra-Clean and a floor buffing machine, but due to the deep riven nature of the slate, the floor would have to be scrubbed manually. The floor had been sealed originally and although old and broken there was still a lot of sealer on the floor which all had to be removed. I decided to use the blanket system, which involves a mixture of Tile Doctor Remove & Go mixed with Nanotech Ultra-Clean 70:30 mix. This mixture was applied to floor, and covered in plastic to prevent the solution from drying out. This was left on the floor for two hours, and then scrubbed off, you can just use a natural bristled scrubbing brush, but I find them cumbersome with the solution, so I opt for oversized pan scrubbers, which are pliable for getting into deep riven tiles. As the solution was scrubbed it was rinsed with water and removed with a wet vacuum. When everything was removed for from the floor and vacuumed up, I rinsed the floor again with water and vacuumed up to ensure all the solution had gone, the floor was then left for 48 hours to ensure it had fully dried out.

Black Slate Before Cleaning and Sealing

Sealing Black Slated Tiles

The slate floor was sealed using five coats of Tile Doctor Seal & Go, which despite being a low sheen finish, it really enhanced the colour of the black slate giving it more depth. The tiled floor was ready for light foot traffic in a few hours, achieving a full cure in 24 hours. The beauty of using a topical sealer such as Seal & Go on a riven stone is that the feel of the stone is smoother and therefore easier to mop. For everyday cleaning purposes we recommend Tile Doctor Neutral Cleaner, diluted 1:30 with water.

Black Slate After Cleaning and Sealing Black Slate After Cleaning and Sealing

The customer was very pleased with the result and was pleased not to have to replace the floor.

Restoration of tired black slate floor in Sevenoaks

Tired Black Slate Tiled floor in Sevenoaks Restored Read More »

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