Black Grout Archives - South West London Tile Doctor

Colour Restored to Black Grout on a Ceramic Tiled Floor in Richmond

This customer from Richmond called Tile Doctor due to see what could be done to improve the Grout on their Ceramic tiled floor which had been installed throughout the ground floor. Having previously called in a cleaning company to deep clean the tile and grout it now needed remedial work to restore the appearance of the grout. The grout had originally been painted black and this had been badly scrapped by the cleaning company leaving it in a bad state, also he felt the tiles could had not been cleaned properly either.

Having visited the property to survey the floor I was able to reassure the customer that the Grout could be restored and discussed the benefits of the Tile Doctor Grout Colourants. These colourants are made from epoxy and are much more hard wearing than the paint-based product which we usually only recommend for touching up.

Ceramic Tile and Grout Floor Before Cleaning Richmond

Ceramic Tile and Grout Bathroom Floor Before Cleaning Richmond

I worked out a quote for deep cleaning the tiles and colouring the grout with a black colourant to restore the appearance of the floor. After reviewing and answering any questions they quote was accepted and a date scheduled.

Deep Cleaning a Ceramic Floor Tiles

I started off by checking the whole floor for missing grout and then raking out the problem areas and re-filling using a fast-drying black grout.

Attention then turned to deep cleaning the Ceramic floor tiles starting with the application of a medium dilution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean. This was left mopped onto the floor and then left for ten minutes before being worked into the tiles using a Victor Trojan floor buffer fitted with a Black scrubbing pad. The pad is run over each tile several times moving slowly with small circles to ensure the floor was getting a good scrub and I was getting everything off.

Ceramic Tile and Grout Floor During Cleaning Richmond

There was also a small toilet area to be done which was too small for the Victor machine so and I did this using the same process but with a handheld Dewalt polisher fitted with with a 6-inch black scrubbing pad. Once an area had been scrubbed it was rinsed with water and then all the liquids extracted using an industrial wet vacuum.

Once the floor was cleaned work started on epoxy sealing the grout using Tile Doctor Black epoxy grout colourant, this not only seals the grout but also gives everything a uniformed colour the whole way through. I didn’t need to wire brush and clean the grout on this occasion as the grout had already been cleaned earlier.

In total It took three coats of Black grout colourant to achieve the desired effect and nine hours of hard work on my hands and knees.

Ceramic Tile and Grout Bathroom Floor After Renovation Richmond

Ceramic Tile and Grout Floor After Cleaning Richmond

When finished the Ceramic tiled floor was cleaner, the black grout had been restored and my customer was very happy and requested I return to renovate two bathrooms. For aftercare cleaning I recommended they use Tile Doctor Neutral Cleaner which is a mild yet effective product.

Ceramic Tile and Grout Colour Restoration in South London

Black Slate Kitchen Floor Renovation Tooting

Black Slate Tiled Kitchen Floor Renovated in Tooting

Grout Cleaning, Slate Tile Cleaning / Daniel Connelly

The photos below are of a Black Slate Kitchen floor at a property in Tooting SW17, which as you can see had lost all its colour and character. I went over to survey the floor and discussed a renovation plan with the owner.

One of the problems was the grout which like the tile hadn’t faired very well over the years and being in the Kitchen was subject to staining. I explained that like all stone floors the Slate needed to be sealed in order to keep the dirt out of its pores and keep it looking its best. Sealers however wear down with use and in this case the floor hadn’t been deep cleaned and sealed for some time.

I costed out a renovation plan which included deep cleaning the Slate tile removing any remaining sealer in the process, renovating the grout, and then re-sealing the whole floor to bring back the appearance of the stone and protect it going forward. Happy with the quote we agreed a date to start the work.

Deep Cleaning a Natural Black Slate Tiled Kitchen Floor

Normally I would use a Tile Doctor product called Remove and Go to remove the sealer, however in this case testing had shown that what was left of the sealer could be removed with Pro-Clean which is also our go to Tile and Grout Cleaner.

I used a strong dilution of Pro-Clean to do this, spraying it onto the floor and leaving it to soak in for ten minutes and break down the dirt etc. Then using a black scrubbing pad fitted to a heavy rotary buffer machine it was worked into the Slate to release the dirt and old sealer. The floor was then rinsed with water and the soiling extracted with a wet vacuum.

The pads can struggle to get into the corners and edges of the floor and the recesses of the grout line. So, to complete the cleaning a handheld scrubbing brush was used and a wire brush run along the grout lines, again with more Tile Doctor Pro-Clean. After another rinse and extraction with the wet vacuum the floor was left to dry aided with a couple of floor blowers.

Grout Colouring and Sealing Black Slate Tiled Kitchen Floor

Once dry the grout was coloured with a Black Tile Doctor grout colourant which is basically painted onto the grout with a small brush and any excess wiped off the tile. This grout colourant gives the grout a uniform appearance and adds an impenetrable barrier over the grout sealing it in and keeping it safe from further staining. Keeping grout clean in a kitchen is always a problem so the colourant will protect it and make it very easy to clean.

Black Slate During Cleaning Grout Colouring Tooting

The last step was to seal the Slate for which I used Tile Doctor X-Tra Seal. This was chosen because it’s an impregnating oil-based sealer that will restore the beautiful dark colour in the stone. Impregnators work by occupying the tiny pores in the stone thereby forcing dirt to remain on the surface where they can easily be cleaned away.

Black Slate During Sealing Tooting

In the subject of maintenance cleaning, I recommend the use of Tile Doctor Neutral Tile Cleaner which is a gentle but effective cleaner that won’t harm the sealer. Many of the floor cleaning products you find in supermarkets etc are not for use on sealed stone, they contain strong chemicals such as bleach etc which will strip off the sealer prematurely so best avoided.

Black Slate After Renovation Tooting

Professional Renovation of Black Slate Tiled Kitchen Floor in South London

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