Stone Floor Cleaning Archives - North Kent Tile Doctor

Limestone Floor Tile and Grout Renovation Underriver

Limestone Floor with Dirty Grout Renovated in Underriver, Sevenoaks

I was asked to survey a Limestone floor at a property in Underriver which is a very rural locality close to Sevenoaks in Kent. The Limestone tiles had been laid throughout the lower ground floor and it was clear to me that the protective sealer had worn off completely allowing dirt to become ingrained in the stone and especially the grout which had turned black.

Limestone Floor Tile and Grout Before Cleaning in Underriver Sevenoaks

I understood from the owner that the grout lines should have been a pale cream colour rather than the black it was now. We discussed the process of restoring the floor including the grout, and I gave them a quote for the work which they were happy to accept.

Cleaning a Limestone Tiled Ground Floor

Our first job was to tackle the severe soiling in the grout lines. To do this a strong dilution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean was applied to the floor and left to soak into the stone and especially the grout for about 20 minutes. This was scrubbed in with help from a rotary buffer machine fitted with a soft/medium long-bristled nylon brush.

Limestone Floor Tile and Grout During Cleaning in Underriver Sevenoaks

The resulting slurry was then rinsed with clean water and vacuumed up. I repeated the process in a couple of areas that were particularly heavily soiled. I then spot checked the grout lines and completed the clean with a wire brush and more Tile Doctor Pro-Clean.

With the grout issue resolved I turned my attention to the Limestone tiles for which I used a set of Diamond burnishing pads. Work started with a coarse 400-grit 17” diamond pad fitted to a rotary buffing machine. Then 800 and 1500 grit pads in sequence using water to lubricate the process. The resulting slurry was rinsed off the floor with water after each pad and the soil extracted using a wet vacuum. The floor was then left to dry thoroughly overnight.

Sealing a Limestone Tiled Ground Floor

Returning the next day, the floor was thoroughly vacuumed removed to remove any remaining powder and grit left over from burnishing. This was then followed by applying the last pad in the set which is very fine 3000-grit diamond polishing pad. This last pad really brings up the polished appearance of the limestone, only a little water is used during this action, it’s a process we call a spray burnish. Once done the floor was clean, dry, and ready for a new sealer to be applied.

I had discussed the appearance of different sealers with the customer previously and for this installation we went with Tile Doctor Ultra Seal. It’s a premium penetrating sealer that soaks into the pores of the stone protecting it from within, additionally Ultra-Seal doesn’t alter the natural appearance of the stone giving it undetectable protection from staining.
The whole area was then buffed using a white buffing pad.

Limestone Floor Tile and Grout During Sealing in Underriver Sevenoaks

The customer was delighted with the result and will use Tile Doctor going forward to keep the floor protected. We offer an annual maintenance plan for just this, we can return each year and ensure that the floor is kept in tip top shape.

Limestone Floor Tile and Grout After Cleaning in Underriver Sevenoaks

For day-to-day cleaning, I recommended using Tile Doctor Neutral Tile Cleaner, it’s a mild pH neutral cleaning product that and will keep the floor maintained and won’t impact the sealer which can be a problem with stronger products.

Professional Maintenance of a Limestone Flooring in North Kent

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Travertine Tiled Kitchen Floor Renovated Margate Kent

Badly Maintained Travertine Kitchen Floor Renovated in Margate

1 Comment / Grout Cleaning, Margate Tile Cleaning, Travertine Tile Cleaning, Work by Category, Work by Location, Work History / abzdominise

These photos are of a Travertine tiled floor installed in the kitchen of a property in Margate. The floor had sadly not been maintained correctly over the years and was now looking very dirty which is quite common with travertine due to the porous nature of its surface. Any sealer that may have been present on the floor had long since worn off with wear and now dirt had heavily penetrated the pores making it difficult to keep clean and giving it a flat, lifeless appearance.

Travertine Tiled Kitchen Floor Before Cleaning Margate

The client was looking to revive the floor and was specifically unhappy with what appeared dull looking marks all over the floor and the grout lines which were heavily ingrained with dirt and had now become black.

Travertine is a natural stone material that has unique colours and features that no other stone can offer. The distinctive designs and natural patterns found within travertine make it very popular as a flooring material and if treated properly it can look beautiful. I discussed with the client what Tile Doctor could do to improve the appearance of the floor, we agreed the cost and organised a date to get started.

Cleaning a Travertine Tiled Kitchen Floor

Before starting the first process of cleaning I some some time protected the wooden skirting and kitchen units with decorator’s plastic sheeting to ensure they did not get damaged. The floor was then burnished using a set of Tile Doctor diamond encrusted burnishing pads of different grits.

Travertine Tiled Kitchen Floor During Cleaning Margate

I started with a coarse 200-grit pad which was applied to the tiles with a strong dilution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean to add lubrication and extra cleaning power, then after running the pad over each tile at least three times the floor was rinsed with fresh water and the resultant slurry extracted. This process was repeated through the different pads using only water for lubrication, grits included 400-grit, 800-grit and finished on the 1500-grit.

Travertine Tiled Kitchen Floor During Polishing Margate

The grout lines were then hand scrubbed using more Tile Doctor Pro-Clean which is a multi-purpose alkaline cleaner which is very effective in lifting dirt from tile and grout. I then rinsed the now soiled cleaning solution off the floor with water which was then extracted using the wet vacuum. Once I was satisfied with the tile and grout it was left dry off fully overnight.

Sealing a Travertine Tiled Kitchen Floor in Margate

On my return the next day I applied the last of the burnishing pads which is an extra fine 3000-grit pad which really brings up the polish on the stone. This pad is applied dry with only a little water sprayed onto the stone using a method we call a Spray Burnish. An additional advantage of this is it leaves the dry and ready for sealing.

I had discussed sealing with the customer previously to understand what finish they wanted after cleaning. For this floor they wanted the stone to have a natural appearance, so I recommend Tile Doctor Ultra Seal. It’s an invisible impregnating sealer that doesn’t darken the stone and therefore ticks the box to provide the desired natural look whilst adding protection. Two coats of Ultra-Seal were applied leaving each coat to dry before applying the next, when the last coat was dry the floor was buffed with a soft white buffing pad to bring up the polish further.

Travertine Tiled Kitchen Floor After Polishing Margate

My client was very impressed with the result and left the following feedback on the Tile Doctor feedback system; you know you have done a good job when your client leaves feedback for you.

“Lovely guy that came out, arrived in time and kept me informed of progress of the job. Do not hesitate to use tile doctor”

Travertine Tiled Floor Professionally Cleaned in North Kent

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