Heywood Tile Cleaning

Heywood Tile Cleaning

Welcome to my Work History archive where you will find examples of the cleaning and renovation of tiles carried out in Heywood.

Victorian Tiled Floor After Renovation Heywood

Carpet Covered Victorian Tiled Hallway Floor Renovated in Heywood

This client from Heywood reached out for some advice regarding their Victorian tiled floor that needed renovating. It was quite a large hallway and porch that needed attention and having tried cleaning it themselves they realised the tiles contained a lot of ingrained dirt that was proving stubborn to remove.

Victorian Tiled Floor Before Cleaning Heywood

They had uncovered the original Victorian floor under old carpet, and though there was some damage to the perimeter due to carpet fitting and plumbing updates etc it was broadly complete. There was also some work required in the porch due to settlement.

Victorian Tiled Floor Before Cleaning Heywood

The client had attempted to clean the floor themselves as much as they could but there was ground in dirt and staining from carpet glue and paint which meant it looked permanently unclean. In addition, it was ‘sticky’, and unpleasant to walk on due in part to unstable old sealers.

They needed a quote for someone to clean and seal the tiles properly and leave a serviceable floor that could be maintained easily. For now, repairs were to be left except for replacement of a missing piece and re-fixing a few loose tiles at the foot of the stairs.

Happy with the quote, we agreed a date for the work to start.

Cleaning and Repairing a Victorian Tiled Hallway

The first job was to re-secure the tiles by the stairs and adding the missing piece of tile that I mentioned earlier. This was followed by removing what was left of the sticky old sealer which was done using a strong dilution of Tile Doctor Remove and Go and a 50-grit diamond pad. Coarse pads are ideal for removing the ingrained patterns that carpet can leave on a tile after being covered for many years. The floor was then inspected, and any stubborn areas re-done before extracting the soiling with a wet vacuum.

Victorian Tiled Floor During Cleaning Heywood

The next job was to clean the floor using a gel cleaner called Tile Doctor Oxy-Gel. Due to the age of the property and the fact there was a cellar below, I wanted to minimise the use of water, this would also help with drying times. The gel was spread onto the floor with a little water and then scrubbed into the tiles using a 100-grit diamond pad. Once the whole floor was cleaned in this manner the soiling was extracted as before with the wet vacuum.

The last step in the cleaning process was to treat the floor to an acid wash using Tile Doctor Acid-Gel. This is another specialist Tile Doctor gel-based product that has several benefits including the further cleaning of the tiles, neutralising the PH level of the floor and countering salts which are quite common with old floors.

Victorian Tiled Floor During Cleaning Heywood

The floor was now free of ingrained dirt and staining and after a final rinse and extraction with the wet vacuum the floor was left to dry off overnight.

Sealing a Victorian Tiled Hallway

I returned the next day to seal the tiles and started by taking moisture readings from the tiles using a damp meter. This confirmed the floor was dry and ready for sealing.

I was then able to move onto sealing the floor using Tile Doctor X-Tra seal which is a long-lasting oil-based impregnating sealer that improves colour in the tile and is fully breathable, an important consideration when sealing an old floor that was previously covered in carpet. This product is also rated for external as well as internal use so its ideal for hallways which can get wet.

Victorian Tiled Floor During Sealing Heywood

Once complete the floor looked new again, much to the delight of my clients who were very happy with the work and left the following comment on our feedback system:

”Kevin was fantastic – he was so helpful and knowledgeable and made our old, tired floor look brilliant. Would 100% recommend”

Victorian Tiled Floor After Renovation Heywood

Before leaving I took time to discuss aftercare for which I recommended they use Tile Doctor Neutral Tile Cleaner, being pH neutral its ideal for the regular cleaning of sealed tiles. Many of the tile cleaning products you find in supermarkets are very strong and will strip the sealer off a floor so always read the label.

Victorian Tiled Floor After Renovation Heywood

 

Professional Restoration of a Victorian Tiled Hallway in South Lancashire

Carpet Covered Victorian Tiled Hallway Floor Renovated in Heywood Read More »

Very Dirty Porcelain Kitchen Tiles Refreshed in Heywood

Very Dirty Porcelain Kitchen Tiles Refreshed in Heywood

Porcelain tiles are known to be provide durability at a reasonably low cost in comparison to some other types of stone flooring however you do have to be careful as many varieties are micro-porous and need to be sealed to ensure dirt doesn’t become ingrained making them difficult to clean.

Porcelain Floor Tiles Before Cleaning in Heywood
I recently visited a customer in Heywood, which sits between Bury and Rochdale, who was suffering from this exact problem. Their Porcelain kitchen tiles had been laid about twelve months prior as part of some changes to the property. Unfortunately, builder’s dirt, grout and plaster got stuck to the tiles during the building works and nothing the customer had tried could get it out. The customer was very unhappy with the floor and thought that nothing would resolve the issue, they had even considered ripping it out and getting new flooring.

Porcelain Floor Tiles Before Cleaning in Heywood
As their last cry for help, they got in touch with Tile Doctor and being their local representative, I went around to take a look at the problem. I conducted a test clean using Tile Doctor Pro Clean, which is our highly reliable alkaline-based cleaner for tile and stone. The product was scrubbed into a test patch of the tile and grout with a black pad. The results were promising and so the customer booked a day for us to do the job.

Cleaning a Dirty Micro Porous Porcelain Tiled Floor

On our return we repeated the process with Pro-Clean using a black scrubbing pad this time fitted to a heavy rotary machine which weighs 41kg! This combined with the Pro Clean gave the tile and grout a deep clean. Some stubborn areas were scrubbed by hand, especially in the corners where machine would not reach. The grout lines were also given special attention with a grout brush and more Pro-Clean to get them clean again.

Porcelain Floor Tiles During Cleaning in Heywood
The now dirty cleaning solution was rinsed with water and then removed using a wet vacuum. Being micro-porous the tiles didn’t take too long to dry.

Porcelain Floor Tiles During Cleaning in Heywood

Sealing a Micro Porous Porcelain Tiled Floor

The results from the cleaning were great so, once the floor had dried completely, we sealed the tiles using a coat of Tile Doctor Ultra-Seal to protect them from dirt becoming ingrained in the pores of the Porcelain and Grout and also to ensure the floor would be much easier to clean in future.

Ultra-Seal is a premium quality sealer which offers a natural look finish and is designed to provide maximum stain protection, which makes it excellent for use in food preparation and serving areas such as this kitchen. It also very works well as a grout sealer.

Porcelain Floor Tiles After Cleaning and Sealing in Heywood
The customer was over the moon with the outcome of the clean. Perhaps most importantly, this job has saved them the significant cost of having to replace the floor. Another satisfied customer!

Porcelain Floor Tiles After Cleaning and Sealing in Heywood
 

Builders Clean of a Dirty Micro-Porcelain Tiled Floor in Lancashire

Very Dirty Porcelain Kitchen Tiles Refreshed in Heywood Read More »

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South Lancashire Tile Doctor

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