The pictures below are of a Quarry tiled floor at a property in Pentlow village, North of Braintree. The tiles had been covered in carpet for many years and it was now looking stained and worse for wear. Unsurprisingly the owner had decided it was time to get rid of the carpet and make the best of the Quarry tiled floor underneath which extended all the way into the dining room.
I surveyed the floor and could see the carpet had been fixed in place with adhesive which had stained the tiles and would need removing. The grout was also in a bad state with deep seated stains which I doubted would clean up to a consistent standard. With all this in mind I created a quote to deep clean the Quarry tile and grout and then sealing, I also added in an option to colour the grout which would be a lot easier than re-grouting.
Happy with my quote the owner gave the go ahead and a date was booked to start the work.
Deep Cleaning a Quarry Tiled Kitchen Floor in Pentlow
First, I removed the carpet to reveal the whole floor, the kickboards below the kitchen units were also removed and tape applied everywhere else to protect the wood from the cleaning products we would be using.
With the woodwork protected I set about the deep clean with the application of a strong dilution of Tile Doctor Remove and Go and left to soak in for roughly ten minutes. This product is a coatings remover and tile cleaner which breaks down or softens the carpet glue and other soiling making it easier to remove.
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. I also ran a stiff brush along the
grout lines to get them clean. After the whole floor had been scrubbed the soiling was rinsed off with water and extracted with a wet vacuum.
The floor was then inspected and the process repeated where required and spot treated in some areas to remove the glue by hand with a scraper. In total two litres of Tile Doctor Remove and Go was used during the cleaning.
The next step was to give the floor and acid rinse using Tile Doctor Acid Gel which further cleans up the tile and grout. Another advantage of this is the acidic nature of the product microscopically etches the grout to provide a stronger bond with a grout colourant, it also neutralises the pH level of the floor following the use of Remove and Go which is a strong alkaline product.
Applying Natural Grey Grout Colourant in Pentlow
The Quarry tiles were now clean but although the grout was now cleaner it was still stained in places. The solution was as suspected to apply a grout colourant. Available in eleven colours the Tile Doctor colourants are not like those grout pens you buy in DIY stores; they are made from a waterproof epoxy that adds a barrier over the grout.
Once the grout was clean and dry, I applied the colourant with a small brush wiping off any excess that got on the Quarry tiles quickly afterwards, I find a wet wipe is good for this. The floor consisted of small format square tiles which meant a lot of grout to cover. It’s a tedious process that has to be done by hand however the result was transformative.
Sealing a Quarry Tiled Kitchen Floor in Pentlow
The floor was left to dry out overnight and the following morning, I used the damp meter to check the floors moisture readings. I was pleased to see the readings were acceptable and the tiles could be sealed. If the floor was still damp the seal may not cure properly so this is an important step.
To seal the Quarry tile and grout looked like a new I applied three coats of Tile Doctor Colour Grow. This is an impregnating sealer that works by soaking into the tile occupying the pores and thereby ensuring dirt remains on the surface where it can be easily cleaned away.
The Quarry tile and grout responded very well to the treatment and if you didn’t know you would think it was a new floor. 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 left the owner with a complimentary bottle of Tile Doctor Neutral Tile Cleaner. This 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.
When cleaning tiles with a mop we recommend using two buckets, one containing a neutral pH cleaning fluid such as Tile Doctor Neutral Tile Cleaner or Stone Soap and the second where you rinse your mop afterwards, otherwise you will contaminate your cleaning fluid with dirt every time you rinse.