Tile Renovation Archives - Monmouthshire Tile Doctor

Victorian Tiled Hallway Deep Cleaned and Sealed in Newport

I was contacted by a professional couple who were despairing over the state of their Victorian tiled hallway floor which was dull and uninviting. The property was in Newport which is on the south east side of Wales around twelve miles east of the bustling city of Cardiff.

I went over to visit the property which was a beautiful Victorian period terrace house nestled amongst other properties of a similar age properties. The couple wanted their Victorian hallway floor to be brought back to life, so I demonstrated the cleaning process I intended to use on a small part of the floor. Immediately it had the desired effect and the floor looked much cleaner. I could see that there were no structural issues with the floor and the test clean proved it was just ingrained dirt that was the problem. The clients were happy with the result of the demonstration and subsequent quote, so we arranged a suitable date to come back and complete the work.

Victorian Tiled Hallway Before Cleaning Newport Gwent

Cleaning/Repairing a Victorian Tiled Hallway Floor

When I arrived, I started by protecting the skirting boards with tape and then set about giving the Victorian tiles a deep clean. I applied a combination of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean and Remove and Go leaving it to dwell for a short time to allow the products to soak into the pores of the tiles and start breaking down the ingrained dirt. After about ten minutes I scrubbed the floor with black scrubbing pad attached to a rotary floor buffer which released the years of grime and dirt. The floor was then rinsed with water and the soil removed using a wet vacuum. I repeated the process to ensure the floor was as clean as possible.

A further inspection of the Victorian tiles revealed a few stubborn marks which were dealt with using handheld diamond burnishing blocks. These are also handy for getting into the corners of the floor which were difficult to reach with the rotary machine. The floor was then left overnight to dry out.

Sealing a Victorian Tiled Hallway Floor

The following day I returned, and I checked the floor was dry using a moisture meter to ensure it was dry. Once I was happy, I started to seal the floor with Tile Doctor Seal & Go which is a water-based sealer that works well on Victorian tiles. Several coats were applied building up layers to produce a stunning satin finish.

Once I had finished the floor was looking so much cleaner and brighter and the addition of the sealer will protect the floor from dirt and keep it looking good for some time to come. My clients were over the moon with the floor!

Victorian Tiled Hallway After Cleaning and Sealing Newport Gwent

For aftercare I recommend Tile Doctor Neutral Tile Cleaner, which unlike the stronger products you find in supermarkets is ideal for cleaning sealed floors and will ensure the sealer stays in good condition.

Professional Renovation of a Victorian Tiled Hallway in Monmouthshire

Victorian Tiled Hallway Before and After Cleaning Abergavenny

Dirty Victorian Tiled Hallway Renovated in Abergavenny

1 Comment / Abergavenny Tile Cleaning, Victorian Tile Cleaning, Work History / Max Iacono

This lovely Victorian tiled floor was located in the hallway of a beautiful house in Abergavenny which is an old Market Town that dates back to Roman times on the outskirts of the Brecon Beacons national park.

Victorian Tiled Hallway Before Cleaning Abergavenny

It has been sometime since it was last given a thorough clean and seal and was now in need of some TLC to give it a new lease of life and have a chance to take centre stage again. The floor was in excellent condition, but the old sealer had worn off in the high traffic areas and dirt had now penetrated the pores of the clay tiles making it difficult to maintain effectively.

Repairing and Cleaning Dirty Victorian Tiles

To get the tile and grout clean and remove what remained of the old sealer I applied a 50/50 mixture of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean combined with Remove and Go. This was further diluted with water and applied to the floor for ten minutes, so it could soak into the tile and get to work breaking down the old sealers and dirt. The solution was then worked into the tile and grout using a 17” black scrubbing pad fitted to a rotary buffer machine running on slow speed to reduce splashing. This process released the years of grime and dirt build up from the floor and a wet vacuum was used to extract the soil.

I gave the floor a rinse with water which was then removed using the wet vacuum and the floor inspected to ensure it was clean and that what was let of the old sealer was now removed. There were a few stubborn areas than needed attention, so the treatment was repeated until I was satisfied.

The floor was then given a thorough rinse to remove any trace of cleaning products and then dried with the wet vacuum to remove as much moisture as possible. It’s not wise to apply sealer when the floor is still damp so once I was done cleaning I left for the day so that is could dry off fully overnight.

Sealing Victorian Tiles

My first task upon returning to the property the next day was to check for any dampness. If you neglect to remove all excess moisture from the surface of the tiles before sealing it is more than likely going to cloud the sealer, rendering it less effective I’m protecting the stone against ingrained dirt and stains.

Once satisfied that the floor was completely dry I was able to complete the renovation by applying several coats of Tile Doctor Seal and Go which is a topical sealant that works really well on Victorian tiles and leaves a lovely satin finish that brings out the colours.

Victorian Tiled Hallway After Cleaning Abergavenny

My customer was very pleased with the outcome and left the following comment on the Tile Doctor feedback system.

Paul was very professional and did a fantastic job with our Victorian tiled hallway. It looks so much better. I would definitely recommend Tile doctor to anyone needing cleaning or restoring of tiles.
Sarah T, Abergavenny

Professional Victorian Tiled Floor Restoration in the Monmouthshire

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