floor maintenance Archives - Edinburgh Tile Doctor

Cleaning Victorian Hallway Tiles in Whitburn

This dull and un-inviting Victorian tiled entrance hall was located at a house in the small town of Whitburn in West Lothian which is half between Glasgow and Edinburgh. The tiles were in need of a deep clean and seal and we do see our fair share of Victorian tiled floors in this area and so have become quite experienced in their maintenance.

Victorian Tiles Before Cleaning in Whitburn

Cleaning Victorian Tile and Grout

To clean the floor and remove any remaining sealer a strong dilution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean was applied to the floor and left to soak into the tiles for around fifteen minutes before being worked into the tile and grout using a black scrubbing pad fitted to a rotary bonnet machine. Pro-Clean is a heavy duty alkaline cleaning product that un-like acid based cleaners are safe to use on Tile, Stone and Grout.

The soiled cleaning solution was then rinsed off using water and then the whole process repeated; three times to ensure any remaining sealer was removed and the floor was clean. The final step was to neutralise the floor before sealing which we did by giving it a final wash with Tile Doctor Neutral Tile Cleaner, this time we extracted as much water as possible using a wet vacuum and then left the tile to dry off overnight.

Sealing Victorian Tiles

We came back the next day and after checking the floor was clean and dry proceeded to seal the tiles using five coats of Tile Doctor Seal and Go. Seal and Go is a water based sealer so it doesn’t leave a smell as its drying, it also offers good stain protection and adds a nice sheen to the floor.

Victorian Tiles After Cleaning in Whitburn

The entrance tiles now look new again and the sealer should keep it that way for a long time to come.

Victorian Tile Deep Cleaned and Sealed near Edinburgh

Terracotta Tiled Floor Cleaned in Edinburgh

1 Comment / Edinburgh Tile Cleaning, Terracotta Tile Cleaning, Work History / Thomas Wilson

This Terracotta Tiled Floor in the lounge of a house in Edinburgh was ingrained with dirt from what must have been years of use since it was last given a thorough deep clean and seal.

Terracotta Floor Tiles Edinburgh Before Cleaning

Cleaning Terracotta Tile and Grout

This floor was very dirty so to get them clean a strong dilution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean was applied and left to soak into the pores in the Terracotta for a good while. More Pro-Clean was applied and then worked into the tiles using a rotary bonnet machine fitted with a black scrubbing pad. This action saw the dirt coming out of the floor and it was rinsed away with water using a wet vacuum to extract the soil.

The process was repeated three times before the Terracotta tiles were clean; we also used a stiff grout brush along the grout lines during this process and then at the end the floor was given a good rinse down with more water again a wet vacuum was used to extract the water and get the floor as dry as possible.

Terracotta Floor Tiles Edinburgh After Cleaning

Sealing Terracotta Tiles

The photograph above shows the floor after cleaning as on this occasion and despite being advised against it the client didn’t want the floor sealed so we gave the floor a final wipe with Tile Doctor Neutral Cleaner with cloths to leave a clean finish. Terracotta is a very porous material and so it’s highly recommended that you seal it, leaving it un-sealed will soon see dirt becoming ingrained into the pores of the tile and once there it’s very difficult to remove without going through the deep cleaning process above.

When sealing Terracotta I would recommend Tile Doctor Seal and Go which gives the floor a nice sheen, if you prefer a more natural look however then choose Colour Grow which has the additional benefit of bringing out the natural colours in the tile.

Terracotta Tiled Floor Deep Cleaned in Edinburgh

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