dirty floors Archives - Monmouthshire Tile Doctor

Black Slate Tiled Kitchen Floor Renovated in Caldicot

I recently cleaned and sealed this small Black Slate tiled kitchen floor in the market town of Caldicot. You can see from the before image below that the sealer that was applied when the floor was installed twelve years ago had completely failed and had begun to flake away. Kitchen floors and especially small floors like this one do get a lot of foot traffic resulting in wear to the sealer, they are also subject to staining from cooking.

Slate Tiled Kitchen Floor Before Cleaning Caldicot

To restore the Slate back to its original appearance what was left of the old sealer would need to be stripped back entirely, then the tiles would need deep cleaning and resealing. In this case the customer wanted to keep the permanent wet look finish however I had a sealer in mind that would provide this.

I discussed with the client the process to get the floor cleaned and restored and created a quote for doing the work which would only take a day. Happy with the quote a date was set for the work to start.

Cleaning a Black Slate Tiled Kitchen Floor

After protecting the kitchen unit plinths from splashing I started by brushing diluted Tile Doctor Pro-Clean onto each tile and left it to dwell for fifteen minutes. This gives the product time to breakdown and lift the remnants of the remaining sealer. The solution was then agitated with a seventeen-inch 120-grit poly brush that attaches to a rotary floor machine along with more water to help lubricate the process.

Fortunately, being a small floor with large format Slate tiles there wasn’t much grout so it didn’t take too long to get the grout clean with more Pro-Clean scrubbed in by hand with a scrubbing brush.

The scrubbing turns the cleaning solution black with the dirt and old sealer released from the tile which was then vacuumed up. I noticed however that not all the sealer had been removed so I repeated this process once again until I was satisfied.

After drying the floor completely using an air mover it was evident that all the previous sealer had been removed and the floor was now ready to be sealed

Sealing a Black Slate Tiled Kitchen Floor

The customer had requested a high satin finish, the same as it looked after it was first laid. To achieve this, I applied Tile Doctor Seal and Go, applying four even coats which left the floor glistening.

The new sealer will ensure dirt cannot find its way into the pores of stone and remains on the surface where it can easily be cleaned away by the client. This allows the customer to easily maintain the cleanliness of the floor.

Slate Tiled Kitchen Floor After Cleaning Sealing Caldicot

My customer was delighted with the results and said that it even looked better than when it was installed over 12 years ago! For aftercare I left the customer with a bottle of Tile Doctor PH Neutral Tile Cleaner which will help maintain the appearance of the floor. You do need to be careful when choosing a floor cleaning product as most are simply too strong for use on sealed tiles and will strip off a sealer with repeated use.

Professional Restoration of a Black Slate Tiled Kitchen Floor in Monmouthshire

Chinese Slate Tiled Kitchen Floor Cleaning Chepstow

Nine Year Old Chinese Slate Floor Renovated in Chepstow

1 Comment / Chepstow Tile Cleaning, Slate Tile Cleaning, Work History / Max Iacono

The tiles pictured are Chinese Slate which were laid in the Kitchen of a house in Chepstow around nine years ago. The town of Chepstow is located on the Welsh side of the River Seven and has the River Wye running through it.

Chinese Slate Tiled Kitchen Floor Before Cleaning Chepstow

The floor had not been professionally cleaned and sealed since installation. During this time the old sealer had mostly worn off allowing dirt to get into the pores of the stone leaving it looking dull, uninviting and dirty. The grout lines had also collected dirt and many of the lines had darkened.

I discussed with the client the process to get the floor cleaned and restored and demonstrated the effectiveness of the process on a small test area. They were impressed and were happy to go ahead with my quote, so we scheduled in the work which would take two days.

Cleaning a Chinese Slate Tiled Kitchen Floor

To get the floor clean and remove what was left of the old sealer I first made the floor wet and then added a strong dilution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean mixed with Tile Doctor Remove and Go to give it extra power. This cleaning cocktail was left to soak into the tiles for ten minutes before being scrubbed in with a black scrubbing pad fitted to a rotary machine and by hand where necessary. This combination works well on really dirty floors such as this.

The scrubbing action released the years of dirt from the pores of the Slate and it wasn’t long before the cleaning solution turned black. This was then extracted off the floor using a wet vacuum. We then gave the floor a thorough inspection. There were one or two areas that were particularly stubborn, so these areas were retreated using the same process and the grout scrubbed by hand using more Tile Doctor Pro Clean.

The floor was then given another rinse with water and then dried as much as possible with the wet vacuum. This got the floor dry, but it would need to be completely dry before sealing so it was then left to dry off fully overnight.

Sealing a Chinese Slate Tiled Kitchen Floor

I came back the next day to seal the floor first checking the moisture level of the stone by taking readings with a damp meter to ensure it was dry. I chose to use Tile Doctor Colour Grow for the sealer as the colour enhancing formula would be the best product to bring out the natural colours in the Chinese slate. Colour Grow is an impregnating sealer which will provides durable protection as well as allowing the surface to breath. Three coats were applied, allowing each to dry before applying the next one.

Chinese Slate Tiled Kitchen Floor After Cleaning Chepstow

The client was so happy, so much that she said it looked better than when first laid!

I discussed aftercare with her and recommended the use of Tile Doctor Neutral Tile Cleaner, it’s pH balanced so it won’t prematurely erode the sealer which can be the problem with stronger products you find in supermarkets. It comes in concentrated form so one bottle lasts a long time.

Professional Restoration of a Chinese Slate Tiled Kitchen Floor in Monmouthshire

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