Grout Clean-up Archives - Nottinghamshire Tile Doctor

Old Terracotta Tiled Kitchen Floor Renovation Sutton-in-Ashfield

Old Terracotta Tiled Kitchen Floor Renovated in Sutton-in-Ashfield

This old Terracotta tiled kitchen floor was located in a small 17th-century cottage in the historic market town of Sutton-in-Ashfield. The floor had accumulated years of soiling and layers of traditional dressings, leaving the Terracotta looking dark, tired and masking much of its natural colour.

Terracotta floors of this age were historically often finished using Linseed Oil and Wax. While these materials provided protection and helped enhance the appearance of the tiles, they require regular maintenance and, over time, can become heavily soiled and difficult to maintain.

Old Terracotta Tiled Kitchen Floor Before Cleaning Sutton in Ashfield

The customer contacted Tile Doctor to deep clean the floor and bring it back into good condition. I explained that the first stage would be to remove the old, worn coatings and accumulated soiling before applying a more modern sealing system that would provide better long-term protection.

Happy with my suggestion and quote a date was scheduled for the work which would take place over three days.

Deep Cleaning old Coatings off a Terracotta Tiled Floor

I began by applying Tile Doctor Remove & Go, our coating and soiling remover, across the floor. This was left to dwell for approximately 30 minutes; this allowed the product plenty of time to break down the old Linseed Oil and Wax coatings.

The floor was then worked thoroughly, including the grout lines, using a grout brush and mechanical agitation from a rotary floor machine fitted with a Silicone Carbide Brush. This combination was particularly effective at working the cleaning solution into the textured surface of the Terracotta and Grout lines releasing the coatings and ingrained dirt.

The resulting slurry was removed using a wet vacuum and the floor inspected to ensure it was clean. The process was repeated where needed until the floor was clean and ready for the second stage of cleaning.

A diluted solution of Tile Doctor Grout Clean-Up was then applied and agitated using the brushes. This was again removed with the wet vacuum before the floor was thoroughly rinsed with fresh water. This is an acidic product that is good at removing mineral based contaminates and dissolve salts which can result in efflorescence as the floor dries.

Sealing a Terracotta Tiled Floor

The floor was left to dry out overnight and I returned the following day to begin the sealing process.
The first stage was to apply two coats of Tile Doctor Colour Grow, an impregnating sealer designed to penetrate the Terracotta and provide stain protection while enhancing the natural colours in the Terracotta.

Colour Grow leaves a matt finish so after leaving it to dry overnight, I returned for a third day to apply four coats of Tile Doctor Seal & Go which leaves a satin floor finish. This combination of sealers will provide maximum protection against soil and moisture ingress while helping to retain the appearance of the newly renovated floor.

Once done the completed floor was transformed, with the natural character and colour of the old Terracotta brought back to life while providing the customer with a considerably more practical finish for a busy kitchen.

Old Terracotta Tiled Kitchen Floor After Cleaning Sealing Sutton in Ashfield

Routine Cleaning of Terracotta Tiles

Whilst at the property I took time to go through future cleaning and explained that maintaining the floor correctly is important, particularly given its age and new sealer. I advised using Tile Doctor Neutral Tile Cleaner for routine cleaning, unlike many general-purpose floor cleaners you find in supermarkets this product won’t damage the sealer.

I also recommended having me return once a year to complete an annual maintenance clean. This will keep the floor looking its best and prevent soil and contamination from becoming established in the surface again.

Old Terracotta Tiled Kitchen Floor Renovated in Nottinghamshire

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20-Year-Old Porcelain Floor & Grouting Deep Clean in Beeston

Here we have a 20-year-old Porcelain tiled kitchen floor at a property in Beeston where I was asked to carry out a deep clean. The main issue was the Grout which had basically turned from what was a nice clean white to a grubby dark grey with accumulated dirt. The porcelain tiles were matt with an unusual, speckled pattern.

Porcelain tiles are generally easy to keep clean due to being impervious to water. The trouble is however that the dirt from the tile gets washed into the grout line during cleaning where it gets stuck in the cementitious grout, eventually causing it to discolour.

Porcelain Floor Tile and Grout Before Cleaning Beeston

I quoted for cleaning the tiles and giving the grout a deep clean to remove the dirt and restore its fresh white colour. Happy to have found a solution to their grout issues my quote was accepted and a date booked in the diary.

Cleaning a Porcelain Tiled Kitchen

On my return I decided it would make sense to focus on the discoloured grout first and review the tiles second. So, to help break down the soiling that had built along the grout line I started with an application of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean diluted 1:4 with water. This product is a strong alkaline degreaser that’s safe to use on all types of tiles and grout.

The solution was allowed to soak in for fifteen minutes prior to scrubbing with a rotary floor machine fitted with a nylon scrub brush. The brush works well on grout as the bristles get into the recesses of the grout lines. The brush was run over the grout lines first to get them as clean as possible and then moved over the surface of the porcelain tiles.

Porcelain Floor Tile and Grout During Cleaning Beeston

Once done the resulting slurry was removed with a wet vacuum and the grout inspected, any stubborn staining was then re-treated with more Tile Doctor Pro-Clean and scrubbed by hand.

Sealing a Porcelain Tiled Kitchen

The next step was to give the floor an acid wash to further clean up the tile and grout and to neutralise the pH level of the floor following cleaning with Tile Doctor Pro-Clean. To do this I used Tile Doctor Grout Clean-Up using a 1:10 dilution with water. It was applied to the tile & grouting and then brushed in before being rinsed off with water and extracted with the wet vacuum.

Porcelain Floor Tile and Grout After Cleaning Beeston

Finally, the floor was given a thorough rinse with fresh water and then dried with the wet vacuum. To speed up the drying times a floor fan was deployed which ensured the floor was dry before I left allowing the client could see how effective the work had been. There is no need to apply a sealer as the tiles are sealed during production.