Author name: Dean Copping

Covering North Essex, Dean Copping is your local specialist for tile cleaning, stone cleaning, grout cleaning and tile, stone and grout sealing covering the restoration of all types of stone and tiled flooring including Ceramic, Limestone, Marble, Porcelain, Quarry, Sandstone, Slate, Terracotta, Terrazzo, Travertine and Victorian tile

Terracotta Brick Tiled Kitchen floor Renovation Harwich

Terracotta Brick Tiled Floor Deep Cleaned and Sealed in a Harwich Kitchen

1 Comment / Brick Tile Cleaning, Grout Cleaning, Harwich Tile Cleaning, Terracotta Tile Cleaning / / , , , , , , , , ,

This Terracotta Brick tiled floor had been laid in the kitchen of a house in the port town of Harwich less than a year prior. I suspect the floor hadn’t been sealed very well after installation as it was already proving difficult to keep clean and was beginning to mark easily.

Terracotta Brick Tiled Kitchen floor Before Cleaning Harwich

Terracotta is made from clay and as a result a very porous material that needs to be sealed to prevent dirt becoming trapped in its pores. Sealing keeps the dirt on the surface where it can be easily cleaned away. I recommended giving the floor a deep clean to remove dirt ingrained dirt from the pores of the bricks and then sealing with a stronger product that could take some wear. Kitchens are after all one of the busiest rooms in the house.

Happy with my quote a date was agreed for the work to start and the products needed were ordered in time for my arrival.

Cleaning a Brick Terracotta Kitchen Floor

To get the brick tile and grout clean I sprayed the floor with a strong dilution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean and left it to soak in for ten minutes. The dwell time is important as it gives the product time to start breaking down old sealers and ingrained dirt.

The next step was to run a black scrubbing pad fitted to a rotary machine over the floor which in turn with the Pro-Clean lifts out the dirt to the surface. The pads can struggle to get into the recesses of the grout lines and along the edges so I like to follow this up with a handheld scrubbing brush.

The floor was rinsed with clean water to remove all the dirt and soiling using a wet vacuum. I carried out an inspection of the floor at this point looking for stubborn marks and staining and then re-treated those areas to a spot clean using the same process.

I used a full litre of Pro-Clean on the floor getting it clean and then once satisfied it was as clean as it could be I left it to dry off fully overnight assisted with a couple of down blowers.

Sealing a Brick Tiled Kitchen Floor

Returning on the 2nd day the tiles were tested for moisture using a damp meter to check they were dry enough to accept a sealer. The blowers had done the job and the meter confirmed all was well.

Work then started on sealing the Terracotta bricks using Tile Doctor Seal & Go Extra, this is a modern acrylic based sealer that improves the appearance of the brick tile bringing out the colour. Terracotta is as mentioned earlier quite a porous material so it took the application of five coats to fully seal the floor, fortunately it was only a small area so only 1 litre of sealer was needed.

Terracotta Brick Tiled Kitchen floor After Cleaning Harwich

The work made a big improvement to the appearance of the floor and what was once a dull almost grey herringbone pattern brick floor is now a colourful attractive feature that will prove much easier to keep clean.

For aftercare cleaning I recommended the use of Tile Doctor Neutral Tile Cleaner, which is a mild but effective, neutral ph cleaner. We recommend this as many of the products you find in supermarkets are simply too strong and bleach based which will slowly strip off the sealer and allow dirt back into the floor.

 

Professional Restoration of a Brick Tiled Kitchen Floor in Essex

Terracotta Brick Tiled Floor Deep Cleaned and Sealed in a Harwich Kitchen Read More »

Encaustic Tiled Bathroom Floor Renovation Saffron Walden

Encaustic Tiled Bathroom – Saffron Walden, Essex

1 Comment / Encaustic Cement Tile Cleaning, Saffron Walden Tile Cleaning / / , , , , , , , ,

This modern Encaustic tiled floor had been laid in the bathroom of a house in Saffron Walden about a year prior to my visit. It was now beginning to mark easily and its appearance had diminished, additionally my customer was finding it hard to keep clean. All these issues are classic symptoms of the sealer wearing down, so I recommended giving the floor a deep clean with burnishing pads and then resealing. It was only a small floor so the process should only take a day.

Encaustic Tiled Bathroom Floor Before Cleaning Saffron Walden

Modern Encaustic tiles are very popular these days due to the spectacular colours and patterns available and they do look great in smaller areas such as bathrooms. Many varieties do require you to maintain the sealer though and this requirement is often overlooked when being sold. This is not usually a problem when used to create a wall feature, however when installed on a floor you can expect the sealer to wear down with foot traffic. Once the sealer wears down it allows dirt to become ingrained in the tile and this becomes difficult to remove, thereby making the floor difficult to keep clean.

Another problem we find with sealed tiles in bathrooms and kitchens is the use of bleach-based cleaning products, the products are very strong and will quickly erode the sealer with regular use leaving the tiles vulnerable. This is why we always recommend the use of pH neutral tile maintenance products such as Tile Doctor Neutral Tile Cleaner.

Cleaning an Encaustic Tiled Bathroom Floor

To resolve the problem, I started with the application of a coarse 400-grit burnishing pad fitted to a rotary machine and lubricated with water. The floor was just big enough to squeeze the buffer machine in, and it made quick work of removing what was left of the old sealer and ingrained dirt. After a rinse with more water, the soiling was extracted with a wet vacuum and I repeated the process with the 800 and 1500-grit pads, rinsing and extracting after each pad. These pads gradually refine the tile and slowly build-up a polish on its surface.

Finally, I moved onto the very fine 3000-grit pad which is applied with only a mist of water sprayed onto the surface to bring up the final polished appearance. This last pad has the added advantage of leaving the tiles fairly dry, however, just to be sure I installed a couple of down blowers to fully dry out the floor before sealing.

Sealing an Encaustic Tiled Bathroom Floor

The blowers worked well, and I was able to seal the floor later that day using four coats of Tile Doctor Colour Grow using around a litre of sealer. This is an impregnating sealer that works by soaking into the tiles, where it occupies the pores to prevent dirt from becoming ingrained there.

Encaustic Tiled Bathroom Floor After Cleaning Sealing Saffron Walden

The appearance of the encaustic tiles now looks great with a nice even, easy to maintain sheen. I also left them a free bottle of Tile Doctor Neutral Tile Cleaner to maintain their floor after we had finished.

 

Professional Restoration of an Encaustic Tiled Bathroom Floor in North Essex

Encaustic Tiled Bathroom – Saffron Walden, Essex Read More »

Terracotta Tiled Floor Deep Cleaned and Sealed in Wivenhoe Essex

Blending New and Old Terracotta Floors Tiles in Wivenhoe Colchester

1 Comment / Colchester Tile Cleaning, Grout Cleaning, Terracotta Tile Cleaning / / , , , , , , , , , , ,

This Terracotta tiled floor with Black tomettes was installed in the kitchen of a house in the town of Wivenhoe, south of Colchester. The floor had been partly replaced due to a water leak and the difference between the new and original was noticeable. Unhappy with the appearance the owner contacted me to see if anything could be done.

Terracotta Tiled Kitchen Floor Before Cleaning Wivenhoe Terracotta Tiled Kitchen Floor Before Cleaning Wivenhoe

I visited the property to survey the Terracotta floor and I could see solution would be to deep clean the whole floor, including the Grout and then reseal with a sealer that would bring out the beauty in the tile and give both sections the same appearance. Happy to proceed with my plan we scheduled a date for the work to be done a few weeks later.

Terracotta Tiled Kitchen Floor Before Cleaning Wivenhoe

Cleaning a Terracotta Tiled Kitchen Floor

Cleaning started with the spraying the Terracotta floor with a dilution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean which is our go to tile and grout cleaning product. After spraying onto the tile and grout it is then then left to soak in for around ten minutes before being scrubbed in using a rotary machine fitted with a black scrubbing pad. This process removed the many years of dirt that had built up in the original floor and got both areas clean to the same standard. Two litres of Pro-Clean was used during this process and a wet vacuum was used to extract the soiling and water used to rinse the floor after scrubbing. Pro-Clean is an alkaline product so once satisfied the floor was clean it was given a good rinse with water and further extraction to neutralise the pH of the floor after cleaning.

Sealing a Terracotta Tiled Kitchen Floor

The floor was left to dry out overnight and after checking moisture levels the following day it was sealed with five coats of Tile Doctor Seal & Go which is a water-based sealer that adds a subtle sheen finish. Terracotta being made from clay is very porous and so absorbed two litres of sealer before it was fully sealed and protected from ingrained dirt.

Terracotta Tiled Kitchen Floor After Cleaning Sealing Wivenhoe

The new sealer did a great job of blending in the appearance of the new and old Terracotta floor and will make future cleaning much easier. Speaking of which, I recommend using Tile Doctor Neutral Tile Cleaner for regular cleaning, it’s a pH neutral tile cleaning product that can be used daily if required. It’s a mild cleaning product that won’t strip the tiles of the newly applied sealer like many strong household cleaners can. It’s also concentrated so a small amount goes along way.

Terracotta Tiled Kitchen Floor After Cleaning Sealing Wivenhoe Terracotta Tiled Kitchen Floor After Cleaning Sealing Wivenhoe

 

Professional Renovation of a Terracotta Tiled Kitchen Floor in Essex

Blending New and Old Terracotta Floors Tiles in Wivenhoe Colchester Read More »

Bleach Stained Terracotta Kitchen Floor Renovated in Colchester

Bleached Stained Terracotta Tiled Kitchen Floor Renovation in Colchester

1 Comment / Colchester Tile Cleaning, Grout Cleaning, Terracotta Tile Cleaning / / , , , , , , , , , , , ,

The owner of this property in Colchester got in touch to have their Terracotta Kitchen floor tiles renovated after they were marked with bleach. If you look closely at the before pictures you will see the terracotta tiles have white lines running across them.

Terracotta Tiled Kitchen Floor Before Cleaning Colchester Essex

Intrigued, I arranged to visit the property and take a look at the problem. I suspect the Terracotta had been protected with some sort of sealer and the bleach being very acidic had basically cut through it leaving the conspicuous lines in the floor.

Terracotta Tiled Kitchen Floor Before Cleaning Colchester Essex

I was very confident that the floor could be deep cleaned and once a fresh seal had been applied the problem would be resolved and the tiles would look great. My client was happy to go ahead with the quotation and we arranged a mutually convenient time to carry out the renovation.

Deep Cleaning a Terracotta Tiled Kitchen Floor in Colchester

First, I applied tape to all the the plinths and around the doorways to protect the wood from the cleaning products we would be using. To get the tiles clean a strong dilution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean was sprayed on to the tiles and left to soak in for roughly ten minutes. This dwell time allows time for the cleaner to breakdown the old sealer and ingrained dirt so its can be removed easier.

Next a Black scrubbing pad was fitted to a rotary buffing machine and was slowly worked over the floor to scrub the solution into the Tile and Grout to release years of dirt. More Pro-Clean was scrubbed in along the grout lines with a stiff brush to get them clean. In total two litres of Tile Doctor Pro Clean was used during the cleaning.

The cleaning solution went black with the dirt and the soiling was rinsed with water and extracted using a wet vacuum. Rinsing with water helps to neutralise any remaining cleaning solution and the wet vacuum is used to get the floor as dry as possible. At this point the floor looked a whole lot better and was left to dry out overnight.

Sealing a Terracotta Tiled Kitchen Floor in Colchester

The following morning, I used the damp meter to check the floors moisture readings and I was pleased to see the readings were acceptable and the tiles could be sealed. If the floor was still damp the seal would not cure properly so this is an important step.

Terracotta is a porous material so four coats of sealer were applied allowing each coat to dry before applying the next. On this floor I used Tile Doctor Seal & Go Extra which is a water-based sealer manufactured using a special acrylic-based formula that leaves a subtle sheen, Terracotta is quite a porous material so two litres of sealer were used in total.

Terracotta Tiled Kitchen Floor After Cleaning Colchester Essex

Once complete the tiles looked much lighter and cleaner with no staining. Additionally, the new sealer will make the floor easy to maintain and my client was very pleased with the transformation.

On the topic of maintenance, I recommended they use Tile Doctor Neutral Tile Cleaner to clean the floor. It is a pH neutral product which will not compromise the newly applied seal, which can be the problem with many household cleaning products which are simply too strong for use on a sealed floor. This will ensure the longevity of the seal and will make the floor easy to maintain which is of course a bonus.

Terracotta Tiled Kitchen Floor After Cleaning Colchester Essex

 

Professional Restoration of a Terracotta Tiled Kitchen Floor In North Essex

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COVID-19 Symptoms

Working Through COVID-19

Events / / , , , ,

Due to the impact of the Covid-19 Coronavirus it’s become necessary to change our working practices in-line with government guidelines and to take action to minimise health risks to you and our team.  At present, none of our team are showing any symptoms of the virus so we are continuing home visits for quotes and to complete scheduled works should it be safe to do so.

All Tile Doctors are aware to look out for the known symptoms of High Temperature and New Continuous Cough. We are aware of the need to self-isolate should it be necessary and should this be the case we will contact you to postpone. We also ask you monitor your own health and contact us should it be necessary for you to postpone for the same reason. Should you be in a high-risk group we recommend contacting us to re-arrange a visit to later in the year.

Naturally the situation could change very quickly and therefore we will no longer ask for any official notice should you wish to postpone or cancel a booking, however we would appreciate a phone call.

Our Tile Doctors are aware of the guidelines and will carry out a risk assessment at every premises they visit. They also understand the importance of observing the following whilst on site:

  • Avoiding Physical Contact
  • The importance of Social Distancing
  • Wearing single use Gloves and Overshoes
  • Regular hand washing and use of liquid sanitiser
  • Cleaning Equipment with Detergent after use

We are monitoring Government guidance and will ensure we continually adjust our working practices as required and endeavour to keep you informed. These are challenging times that are impossible to predict, the key is to stay safe and accepting of late changes should they occur.

Regards

Dean Copping
North Essex Tile Doctor
#TileDoctorUK #weareinthistogether #pulltogether #staystrong

For more information about Covid-19 virus we recommend the following sources:
https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/
https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/coronavirus-covid-19-list-of-guidance
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-track-coronavirus-cases

Working Through COVID-19 Read More »

Textured Porcelain Tile Cleaning in Chelmsford

Textured Porcelain Tiles cleaned in Chelmsford

1 Comment / Chelmsford Tile Cleaning, Porcelain Tile Cleaning, Work History / / , , , , , , , ,

“Our Porcelain tiles are unclean-able, please help”
We are always happy to help someone in distress, and this was the opening sentence of a conversation between ourselves and a very distressed home owner in Chelmsford. Chelmsford is a London commuter town situated approximately 30 miles from London.

The tile in question was a Porcelain textured tile, the owners had tried to clean and maintain their floor but due to the nature of the tile, which was very textured and coupled with incorrect maintenance it had left the floor looking very dirty and unloved.

We visited the property to see how we could help. The floor was across a large area in a kitchen diner so was subject to heavy usage, it had been down for some time and the new owners had inherited it from the previous owners who apparently had also had no joy in getting it clean. The floor looked very tired and in need of some attention. We discussed with the client what could be done and agreed a price for the work, booking a date for the following week.

Cleaning a Porcelain Tiled Kitchen Floor

Fortunately, dirt and grease are no match for the power of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean, it’s a multi-purpose high-alkaline cleaner, stripper and degreaser that’s a very effective tile and grout cleaner. On this occasion I applied a strong dilution using two parts water and left it to soak into the tiles first.

Working in areas of around 2 to 3 square meters at a time the solution was scrubbed into the floor using a rotary buffing machine fitted with a black scrubbing pad. We then rinsed the floor thoroughly with water and used a wet pick up vacuum to extract not only the dirt but also any product residue leaving the tiles clean and fresh.

Textured Porcelain Tile Cleaning in Chelmsford
Apologies on only taking one photo, I usually take more but it slipped my mind on this occasion, however if you look closely it clearly shows the difference the cleaning process was making. The client was very satisfied with the work carried out, they knew the floor should have looked a lot better than it had and now it finally looked clean!

Before leaving we explained how to maintain the floor and left a bottle of Tile Doctor Neutral Cleaner to keep the floor looking fresh. Tile Doctor concentrated Neutral Tile and Stone cleaner has been especially formulated for the regular cleaning of Tile and Grout.

 

Professional Clean of a Porcelain Tiled Kitchen Floor in North Essex

Textured Porcelain Tiles cleaned in Chelmsford Read More »

Travertine Tiled Kitchen Floor Before and After Cleaning Saffron Walden

Neglected Tumbled Travertine Floor Renovated in Saffron Walden

1 Comment / Saffron Walden Tile Cleaning, Travertine Tile Cleaning, Work History / / , , , , , , , ,

We recently visited a property in Saffron Walden, a pretty market town in Essex, where the owner asked us to look at her Tumbled Travertine kitchen floor. The floor had been laid and sealed around 10 years prior and the pits in the Travertine had become very dirty with trapped dirt, the floor now had a grubby neglected look about it. No matter how much they tried to clean with a multitude of household cleaners, the floor had become worse and worse which is not unusual as strong chemicals can strip off the sealer completely which protects the floor.

Tumbled Travertine Before Cleaning Saffron Walden Tumbled Travertine Before Cleaning Saffron Walden

It was clear that the original sealer was no longer doing its job and so I discussed the options for renovating the floor whilst carrying out a test clean. Sealers rarely last ten years, in my experience three years is about the maximum you can expect regardless of manufacturers claims. The test clean went well and we agreed a price and a timescale for the work and scheduled it for the following week.

Cleaning a Tumbled Travertine Tiled Kitchen Floor

It’s not a good idea to apply a different sealer on top of the original unless you know they are compatible, also you can end up with uneven layers so our first step was to strip off any remaining sealer and clean the floor. To do this we used Tile Doctor Remove and Go which is designed for the removal of coatings on tiles such as sealers, adhesives and paints. This product is also great for drawing out ingrained stains and removing heavy grease build-up. It can be used on both vertical and horizontal surfaces. We applied and let it soak into the pores of the Travertine for ten minutes before working it in.

To work the product into the stone and get deep into the pits a coarse 200-grit burnishing pad fitted to a rotary buffing machine was run over the floor and lubricated with plenty of water. After than the floor was rinsed with water and the slurry extracted with a wet vacuum. With the floor clean the process was repeated with finer grades of pads from 800-grit through to 1500-grit. As before between pad the floor was rinsed thoroughly to remove any trace of slurry off the tiles and the slurry extracted with the wet vacuum; the more thorough the rinse the better the finish. By the end of day one the cleaning process was completed, stripped of any coatings and the floor looked much better and lighter in appearance which made the room seem bigger.

Sealing a Tumbled Travertine Tiled Kitchen Floor

The Travertine tiles were left to dry off fully overnight and I started on the second day with a floor inspection to ensure the floor was ready for sealing. At that point I could see that there were a few small areas that needed further attention, so I spot treated them with Hand Burnishing Block. This was followed by spray-burnishing the floor with a very fine 3000-grit polishing pad which is applied using a little water sprayed on to the Travertine. This very fine pad left the floor with a natural looking sheen.

Once we completed this and were satisfied with the finish, all that remained was the sealing of the floor, this will protect it and prevent the dirt from impregnating the pores in the stone. Three coats of Tile Doctor Colour Grow were applied, leaving thirty minutes drying time between each coat. Colour Grow is an impregnating and colour enhancing sealer which leaves the floor resistant to staining and spills whilst improving the natural brown shades in the Travertine resulting in a lovely finish.

The client was very satisfied with the finish, the whole room had been lifted, looking much lighter and brighter.

Tumbled Travertine After Cleaning Saffron Walden Tumbled Travertine After Cleaning Saffron Walden

 

Professional Restoration of Tumbled Travertine Tiled Kitchen in North Essex

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Limestone Fireplace Before After Restoration Chelmsford

Cleaning a Flood Stained Limestone Fireplace in Chelmsford

1 Comment / Chelmsford Tile Cleaning, Fireplace Cleaning, Limestone Tile Cleaning and Polishing, Work History / / , , , , , , , , , , ,

The UK has been experiencing an increasing amount of rain over the last few years and this has resulted in quite a few areas being flooded. One of those areas is the old city of Chelmsford in the middle of Essex which is prone to flooding due to the rivers Cam and Chelmer that run through the town.

Limestone Fireplace Showing Flood Staining Chelmsford

I was asked to visit a property in the town that had been flooded over winter and the red dye in the carpet that was lying on the floor adjacent to their lovely Limestone Fireplace had stained the hearth in several places but primarily around the edges.

Limestone Fireplace Showing Red Dye Staining Chelmsford

The fire place had never been sealed and because of this the stone had sucked up the flood water like a sponge. They had drying equipment installed and as the moisture evaporated the red staining became more and more evident. Since then several companies had been to try and remedy the problem and each one was unsuccessful. The couple contacted us, and we went to assess the problem fully equipped to carry out the work.

Cleaning a Dye Stained Limestone Fireplace Hearth

Had the Fireplace been sealed we our first task would have been to remove to ensure we would have no issues sealing the fireplace later. In this case however that wasn’t an issue, so we were able to move straight onto cleaning up the stone using a set of diamond encrusted hand-held burnishing blocks. We started with the coarsest block (50 grit) and rubbed the stone with a bit of added water as lubrication, before wet vacuuming away the excess residue. This process was then repeated with progressively finer blocks (100, 200 and 400 grit), and the hearths were given a final rinse with fresh water.

The burnishing blocks are excellent tools to remove scratches and marks from tile and stone and did a good job of removing the red dye from around the hearth. They also took care of some marks that had appeared where the owner had placed a couple of slate tiles on the flat part of the hearth.

Limestone Fireplace Showing Rust Stain Spots Chelmsford

Along with these marks were some corrosion spots where a metal ornament had been sitting on the hearth for several years. I treated these with Tile Doctor Rust Away which is a specialist product for removing rust stains from tile and stone after a few applications the stain was gone.

Limestone Fireplace Showing Rust Stain Spots Chelmsford

Sealing a Limestone Fireplace Hearth

After we had cleaned the fireplace up to the satisfaction of the client we used a smail dryer to dry everything out so that we could finish the job and seal the fireplace the same day. Once the stone moisture levels were at the correct level the Limestone Fireplace was sealed using three coats of Tile doctor Ultra-Seal leaving twenty minutes between coats.

Ultra-Seal is a no-sheen product that impregnates the pores of the stone protecting from within without changing the look of the stone thereby leaving it with a natural appearance. I’m please to say our efforts paid off and the Limestone Fireplace and Hearth is now stain free and looking like new.

Limestone Fireplace After Rust Stain Removal Chelmsford Limestone Fireplace After Flood Stain Removal Chelmsford

 

Dye Stained Limestone Fireplace and Hearth Restoration in Chelmsford

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Non-Slip Farm Office Floor Before and after Cleaning Saffron Walden

Cleaning Farm Office Safety Flooring in Saffron Walden

1 Comment / Ceramic Tile Cleaning, Saffron Walden Tile Cleaning, Work History / / , , , , , , ,

It’s worth noting that I don’t just cover Tile, Stone and Grout, the equipment I use works equally well cleaning all types of hard floors including Patios, Vinyl and industrial flooring. An example of this being a request to clean the floors at an office farm near Saffron Walden which is a lovely medieval market town north of Stansted Airport.

Inspecting Farm Office Flooring

It was an incredibly muddy area with lots of tractors and lorries in the yard and poor drainage. As you can imagine all that mud and dirt was regularly being walked into the office and they were struggling to keep it clean. The main issue was that the floor was covered in a specialist textured surface which increases grip and significantly reduces the chance of anyone slipping.

Farm Office Safety Flooring Before Cleaning Saffron Walden Farm Office Safety Flooring Before Cleaning Saffron Walden

Manufactured by a company called Altro this product is known as “Safety Flooring” and given then environment I’m sure it was well specified. The downside of a textured surface however is that it traps dirt and once trapped it can be difficult to shift with conventional cleaning methods and equipment.

Farm Office Safety Flooring Before Cleaning Saffron Walden Farm Office Safety Flooring Before Cleaning Saffron Walden

Deep Cleaning an Altro Safety Floor

The first thing we did was to break out a set of brushes and vacuums in an effort to remove as much dry soil as possible. Once this was done the floor was wetted with a medium dilution of Tile doctor Pro-clean, this product is a great degreaser and after a short time the soil started to lift out of the non-slip textured surface.

After a dwell time of about ten minutes the Pro-Clean was worked into the floor with a black scrubbing pad fitted to a rotary buffer machine. The machine was run evenly over the floor at a slow speed to reduce splashing. The cleaning solution had turned black at this stage with all the dirt that was being released from the flooring. Once this had been carried out we rinsed the entire floor using our truck mounted cleaning system which is a very efficient machine that applies clean water under pressure to rinse the floor whilst simultaneously extracting the soil back to a recovery tank on the vehicle.

Farm Office Safety Flooring After Cleaning Saffron Walden Farm Office Safety Flooring After Cleaning Saffron Walden

The truck mounted system utilises a powerful vacuum to extracts a lot of the moisture from the floor but to ensure the floor was completely dry we left drying equipment in place to ensure a quick turn-around for the company.

Farm Office Safety Flooring After Cleaning Saffron Walden Farm Office Safety Flooring After Cleaning Saffron Walden

 
 

Industrial Safety Floor Deep Cleaned at an Essex Farm Office

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Terracotta Tiled Kitchen Floor Before and After Renovation Bishop Stortford Essex

Terracotta Tiled Kitchen Floor Clean and Seal in Bishop Stortford

1 Comment / Bishop's Stortford Tile Cleaning, Grout Cleaning, Terracotta Tile Cleaning, Work History / / , , , , , , , , , ,

We had a request to visit a beautiful Barn conversion on the Essex side of the market town of Bishop Stortford, the lady of the house was concerned about her Terracotta tiled Kitchen Floor which was dirty and had become difficult to maintain.

Terracotta Tiled Floor Before Clean and Seal in Bishop Stortford

After taking look I could see that the sealer had worn down and was no longer preventing dirt from becoming ingrained in the pores of the Terracotta tile. This is a common problem with Terracotta which needs a sealer in place if you want to keep the floor looking its best. I recommended we strip off what was left of the old sealer, give the floor a thorough clean and then re-seal it over the course of two days. As it turns out the floor had not been cleaned and resealed in ten years, so my client was happy for me to do the work.

Terracotta Tiled Floor Before Clean and Seal in Bishop Stortford

Deep Cleaning Terracotta Floor Tiles

The first step was to strip the floor off any remaining sealer using a strong dilution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean. The solution was left so soak into the tiles for about twenty minutes before being scrubbed in with a black scrubbing pad fitted to a rotary floor buffer. At this point I also ran a stiff grout brush along the grout lines to get those clean as well.

The now soiled cleaning solution was rinsed with water and mopped off the floor. Any stubborn marks were then retreated using the same process and when I was happy that the floor was clean the floor was given a thorough rinse to remove any trace of cleaning product.

Having removed the old sealer and cleaned the tile and grout the next step was to apply a new sealer however the tiles needed to be dry to do. I decided therefore to seal the floor the following day and left an industrial air mover in place overnight to help dry out the tiles.

Sealing Terracotta Floor Tiles

Returning the next day to seal the floor I checked the floor first to make sure it was dry. All was well, so I proceeded to seal the floor starting with a base coat of Tile Doctor Colour Grow which is an impregnating sealer that soaks into the pores of the tiles, protecting them from within whilst simultaneously enhancing the colours in the tile.

Terracotta Tiled Floor After Clean and Seal in Bishop Stortford

Once the Colour Grow had dried I followed up with three coats of Tile Doctor Seal and Go Extra which like Colour Grow is a fully breathable sealer that lets moisture rise through the floor. Colour Grow however is a Matt sealer whereas Seal and Go adds a gives the floor a nice sheen.

Terracotta Tiled Floor After Clean and Seal in Bishop Stortford

 
 

Terracotta Floor Tile and Grout Cleaned and Sealed in North Kent

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Slate Tiles Before and After Restoration in Thaxted

Lustre Restored to Dirty Slate Tiles in Thaxted

1 Comment / Grout Cleaning, Saffron Walden Tile Cleaning, Slate Tile Cleaning, Work History / / , , , , , , , , , , , ,

The single most important thing you need to do after having a new natural stone floor installed is to seal the tiles. The sealant acts as a barrier of protection for the stone against ingrained dirt, so without it the floor will become very difficult to keep clean.

This is the exact problem faced by my recent customer, who lives in the town of Thaxted in North Essex. Thaxted is a very historic place with over 1000 years of history and several fantastic medieval houses. The Slate kitchen tiles in the property had not been sealed after installation and, despite Slate being naturally durable and hard wearing, the tiles had quickly become dull and difficult to keep clean.

Despite valiant efforts at a DIY restoration, the customer required our professional assistance with deep cleaning and sealing the tiles to restore them back to their best condition.

Slate Tiled Floor Thaxted Before Cleaning

Cleaning a Dirty Slate Tiled Floor

To begin the cleaning process, I applied Tile Doctor Remove and Go across the floor and scrubbed it in using a slow speed rotary machine fitted with a scrubbing pad. Remove and Go is a multi-purpose product: it strips away any old sealer, adhesive and paint stains, and draws out ingrained stains and removes heavy soil build-up. The resulting slurry was then removed using a wet-vac machine.

Next, I focused my attention on the dirty grout lines, treating them with a strong solution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean which was then scrubbed in along the grout line using a stiff brush.

There was still evidence of some grout haze on the stone following installation some years back so the floor was then treated to an acid wash using Tile Doctor Grout Clean-up which is a concentrated phosphoric acid cleaner designed to life grout smears haze (smears).

Once done I pressure washed the floor using a specialised spinning tool which blasts the tiles and grout with water to remove ingrained dirt from the most difficult-to-reach areas in the stone. The water is subsequently vacuumed back into a holding tank in my van without causing any splashing or overspill.

Sealing a Slated Tiled Floor

The customer was keen for the restoration to be finished within the space of a single day, so I installed a few Dri-Pod floor dryers to get the floor dry and ready to be sealed in no time. We typically leave at least 24 hours for these types of floors to dry naturally, but in this scenario the floor dryers were able to remove any excess moisture.

To complete the restoration, I applied four coats of Tile Doctor Seal and Go Extra to the floor to seal it. This a special acrylic-based sealer that protects the stone and allows for moisture vapour transmission. The makes it ideal for situations in which no damp proof membrane has been installed.

The addition of the sealer gave the floor a beautiful lustre – as you can see from the photos below – and will make the floor much easier to keep clean in the future. After months of difficulty, the customer was over the moon that the floor had finally been restored to its peak condition.

Slate Tiled Floor Thaxted After Cleaning

 
 

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Terracotta Tiled Kitchen Cleaned and Sealed in Willingale

Terracotta Tiled Kitchen Floor Repaired, Cleaned and Sealed in Willingale

1 Comment / Chelmsford Tile Cleaning, Terracotta Tile Cleaning, Work History / / , , , , ,

This Terracotta tiled kitchen in the village of Willingale near Maldon, in the Epping Forest District of Essex had lost its finish and looked slightly dull. The client wanted the tiles restored to a shiny finish and additionally wanted the two cracked tiles replaced in the kitchen doorway.

Terracotta Tile Replacement

I started by removing the two cracked tiles using an angle grinder and cleared away the grout to leave the edges of the remaining tiles as smooth as possible.

Terracotta Tiled Kitchen Replacement in Willingale Before Terracotta Tiled Kitchen Replacement in Willingale After

Cleaning a Dull and Dirty Terracotta Tiled Floor

The next stage was to strip and clean the tiles and grout lines. I dampened the tiles with water before applying Tile Doctor Remove and Go, a product which breaks down existing sealers so they can be scrubbed off the tiles and rinsed away. To make the work easier I used a rotary machine fitted with a black scrubbing pad to work the solution in and then pressure washed them using a spinner tool attached to a wet extraction machine mounted in my van. This process blasts any remaining dirt and sealer from the stone and grout lines and vacuums the waste into a holding tank in the van.

Terracotta Tiled Kitchen Repaired and Stripped in Willingale Terracotta Tiled Kitchen Repaired and Stripped in Willingale

This process took most of the day, but just before I left I replaced the broken tiles with two new ones and re grouted them in place, fortunately these tiles were still available and so it wasn’t difficult finding replacements. The tiles and grout were left to dry over night.

Sealing a Terracotta Tiled Floor

The following morning I damp tested the floor before beginning to seal the floor, this is an important check as damp can upset the sealer and lead to unexpected results.

Terracotta Tiled Kitchen Testing for Damp Willingale

Once I was satisfied the tiles were dry I applied five coats of Tile Doctor Seal and Go, leaving the stone with a healthy lustre. Seal and Go is a topical sealer that is highly recommended for Victorian, Terracotta and Quarry tiles and being water based it doesn’t leave a smell as it dries.

Terracotta Tiled Kitchen Cleaned and Sealed in Willingale Terracotta Tiled Kitchen Cleaned and Sealed in Willingale

 
 

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Limestone tiles after cleaning Witham

Shine and Lustre restored to a Limestone Tiled Floor Witham

1 Comment / Limestone Tile Cleaning and Polishing, Witham Tile Cleaning, Work History / / , , , ,

These Limestone tiles had been laid in a modern property in Witham, an Essex town that sits between Chelmsford and Colchester. The property owners had spent many hours over the years cleaning and sealing the floor to maintain its condition, but while the tiles were in certainly in good shape, they had lost their shine and lustre. The result was quite a dull looking floor that could certainly be improved on.

When the property owners contacted me about the problem, I informed them that due to the hardness of the stone only a process known as burnishing, which involves cleaning and polishing with special gritted pads instead of a liquid product, would do the trick to restore the Limestone tiles.

Burnishing a Limestone Tiled Floor

We use burnishing to restore several types polished stone to looking their best, including Limestone, Marble, and Travertine. Tile Doctor’s burnishing system consists of four diamond encrusted twister pads with varying levels of grit. The pads are graded so that each hones the stone to a greater degree than the previous one, resulting in the build-up of a durable polish and shine on the stone.

Using a small amount of water as lubrication, I worked my way through the system, applying each pad in succession, beginning with the Coarse grit pad, before on to Medium, Fine and Very Fine pads. While polishing the tiles, the diamond encrusted pads also serves to break down any dirt. Thankfully, these tiles were already well taken care off and were not currently suffering from heavy soil build up.

After completing the burnishing process, I promptly rinsed away any cleaning slurry and left the floor to dry.

Limestone tiles before cleaning Witham Limestone tiles after cleaning Witham

Sealing a Limestone Tiled Floor

I returned the property once the floor had dried completely to seal the tiles, with my choice of sealer being Tile Doctor Colour Grow. I applied three coats of the sealer to the tiles, before buffing them for a final time.

Colour Grow is an ideal sealer for Limestone for two main reasons. Firstly, it is an impregnating sealer, meaning it penetrates deep into the pores of the Limestone to provide robust protection against ingrained dirt. Secondly, it contains colour intensifying properties which enhance the natural colours in the Limestone.

I took a couple of photographs before and after (above) in which you can see a significant improvement in the shine and lustre of the Limestone tiles. Most of the cream and tan shades in the Limestone were practically invisible before the burnishing was carried out and a fresh seal was applied – now the tiles stand out as the most prominent feature of the room. Needless to say, the customer was very satisfied.
 
 

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Terracotta Tiled Floor After Cleaning in Halstead

Removing 20 Years of Dirt From a Terracotta Tiled Living Room in Halstead

1 Comment / Braintree Tile Cleaning, Terracotta Tile Cleaning, Work History / / , , , , ,

The old town of Halstead, Essex, meaning ‘safe place’ or ‘place of refuge’ in Old English, was the site of this job. Similarly, historic is the property I was called to, a fantastic seventeenth century thatched cottage, situated just on the outskirts of the town.

The owner was keen to have her Terracottatiled living room restored; the tiles had been laid twenty years prior and had been given very little treatment over the following two decades. They were now very dirty and dull looking and were certainly in need of a deep clean, followed by the application of a fresh seal to maintain condition.

Terracotta Tiled Floor Before Cleaning in Halstead

Cleaning a Dull and Dirty Terracotta Tiled Floor

To begin the cleaning process, Tile Doctor Pro-Clean, a heavy duty, high alkaline product designed for cleaning Terracotta and many other types of natural stone, was applied liberally to the floor in a dilute form. The product was then left to dwell for a short period, allowing it to seep into the pores of the stone, before being scrubbed into the tiles using a rotary machine fitted with a black scrubbing pad.

The grout lines should usually be treated individually in the cleaning process since the dirt and stains found here can prove very stubborn, and so they were scrubbed carefully with a special grout brush.

Following this a high pressure spinning tool, which is powered by a machine in my van, was used to blast stubborn ingrained soils from the grout and tile. This tool also serves to rinse the tiles and vacuum all slurry and chemicals back into a waste tank on the van.

The floor was then left to dry fully overnight, allowing for any excess moisture to disappear and leaving the tiles ready to be sealed the following day.

Sealing a Terracotta Tiled Floor

In the morning I arrived back at the property and promptly for any dampness. Once satisfied with the condition of the tiles, I proceeded to apply Tile Doctor Seal and Go. This is an odourless, water-based topical sealer that builds up protection on the surface of the tiles, providing a durable and aesthetically pleasing satin finish.

Terracotta Tiled Floor After Cleaning in Halstead

Since Terracotta is a very porous material, I was required to apply five coats of the sealer, allowing enough to fill the pores completely to offer protection from within.

The results of the restoration were very pleasing for both the customer and myself. I think you will agree that the floor no longer looks like it hasn’t been cleaned for twenty years – in fact, it looks almost brand new!
 
 

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Bishop's Stortford Tile Cleaning, Braintree Tile Cleaning, Ceramic Tile Cleaning, Chelmsford Tile Cleaning, Clacton-on-Sea Tile Cleaning, Colchester Tile Cleaning, Encaustic Cement Tile Cleaning, Fireplace Cleaning, Flagstone Tile Cleaning, Grout Cleaning, Harlow Tile Cleaning, Harwich Tile Cleaning, Limestone Tile Cleaning and Polishing, Maldon Tile Cleaning, Marble Tile Cleaning, Porcelain Tile Cleaning, Quarry Tile Cleaning, Saffron Walden Tile Cleaning, Sandstone Tile Cleaning, Slate Tile Cleaning, Stansted Tile Cleaning, Terracotta Tile Cleaning, Terrazzo Floor Cleaning, Travertine Tile Cleaning, Victorian Tile Cleaning, Vinyl Tile Cleaning, Witham Tile Cleaning, Work by Category, Work by Location, Work History /

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