Floor Tile Cleaning Archives - South West London Tile Doctor

Grout Revamp of a Ceramic Tiled Bathroom Floor in Isleworth

The Grout on this bathroom floor at a property in Isleworth was in quite a state and was bringing down the overall look of the bathroom. Ceramic tiles are impermeable so very easy to clean so although I would include giving them a thorough clean, I knew it was the grout that would be the most work.

Bathroom Floor Grout Before Restoration Isleworth

After taking a look, I realised that the staining was so deep cleaning wouldn’t give a consistent look so immediately recommended colouring the grout and replacing the tired silicone sealant all of which could be done in a day. Happy with my suggestion I worked out a quote which was accepted and a date agreed.

Deep Cleaning Grout on a Ceramic Tiled Floor

To start the grout was given a scrub using pre-treat cleaner, it’s comes in a spray bottle so it’s very easy to apply. It’s an effective ready-to-use cleaner designed to clean and lightly etch the grout to achieve a superior bond with the colourant which would come next.

As part of the cleaning, I also gave the ceramic tiles a light scrub with Tile Doctor Pro-Clean which is an alkaline Tile and Grout cleaning solution. The bathroom floor was a small area so this work was carried out by hand using a scrubbing brush. Once done the floor was rinsed with water and the soiling extracted with a wet vacuum until as dry as possible.

The next step was to strip out the silicone sealant between the tile and verticals; this is done using a sharp knife until all the remnants of silicone are removed. With that completed work moved on to colouring using a bottle of Tile Doctor Grout Colourant in White. The colourant is painted onto the grout line using a small brush and any excess wiped off the tile afterwards. Two coats of colourant were needed to achieve a consistent appearance.

To finish fresh anti-mould silicone sealant in White was applied between the floor tiles and vertical surfaces.

Bathroom Floor Grout After Restoration Isleworth

Once complete the bathroom looked fresh and crisp giving the impression of a new installation. For aftercare cleaning I like to recommend Tile Doctor Neutral Tile Cleaner along with a two-chamber mop and bucket that can keep clean and dirty water separate.

Professional Cleaning of Ceramic Tile and Grout in South London

Small Quarry Tiled Kitchen Floor Renovation Purley

30-Year-Old Laminate Floor Removed to Reveal Heavily Stained Quarry Tiles

Quarry Tile Cleaning / Daniel Connelly

The photos below are of a Quarry tiled floor situated in a small kitchen at a house in Purley. The quarry tiles were previously covered in laminate for about 30 years which had recently been removed. This left the floor in quite a state as you can see from the photograph below. The floor was stained with numerous deposits including paint and adhesive and some sort of wax covering which was all over the surface.

Small Quarry Tiled Kitchen Floor Before Renovation Purley

Cleaning a Quarry Tiled Kitchen Floor

Before cleaning I covered the entire kitchen in a drop cloth to protect the units from splashing, I normally remove the kick boards as part of this process however, in this case the bottom of the units were already siliconed to the tiles. This is good practice as otherwise the boards which are usually made of MDF can soak up the water used during cleaning and warp the boards.

Next, I tackled the staining, surface paint, adhesive and wax using a strong dilution of Tile Doctor Remove & Go combined with Tile Doctor Pro-Clean to make a double strength stripper and cleaner. This was applied to the tiles and grout, and then left to soak in for ten minutes. I used a floor scraper to dislodge the glue which had been softened by the solution and then removed using a wet vacuum. The next step was to scrub the floor with a carbide brush and a coarse 200-grit diamond pad using only water to lubricate the process.

Once this was done, I rinsed the floor with water and extracted the slurry with the wet vacuum and allowed it to dry.

Sealing a Quarry Tiled Kitchen Floor

Once the floor was dry, I returned to protect the tiles by applying Tile Doctor Colour Grow sealer. This is an impregnating sealer that works by soaking into the pores of the quarry tiles occupying the spaces within and thereby preventing dirt from becoming ingrained and making it much easier to clean. Tile Doctor Colour Grow also contains a colour enhancer that works well on Quarry tiles as it brings out the red colours in the tiles. Two coats of the sealer were applied allowing thirty minutes between coats.

I recommended the use of Tile Doctor Neutral Tile Cleaner for ongoing maintenance. This is a pH neutral product which is mild enough to use every day, gentle on the floor and will ensure the newly applied sealer will stay in place and the floor will continue to look great.

Small Quarry Tiled Kitchen Floor After Renovation Purley

The result was transformational, and it certainly impressed my customer who left the following 5 star feedback.

“Daniel and his team were amazing! Extremely professional, thorough, and undeniably delivered an excellent end result for my old and tired tiles. So impressed! I would most certainly use this service again. By Sarah, Purley, 12 June 2023”

Professional Renovation of a Quarry Tiled Kitchen in South London

30-Year-Old Laminate Floor Removed to Reveal Heavily Stained Quarry Tiles Read More »