Welwyn Garden City Tile Cleaning Archives - Hertfordshire Tile Doctor

Travertine Tiled Floor Before and After Honing Welwyn Garden City

Travertine Tiled Floor Diamond Honed in Welwyn Garden City

The Travertine tiled floor of this kitchen/family room in at a house in Welwyn Garden City, Hertfordshire needed some care and attention. As one of the busiest rooms of this family house, this floor had been ingrained with dirt from frequent foot traffic and required some minor repairs.

Travertine is a natural stone material that has unique features and colouring that no other stone can offer. The distinctive natural designs and patterns found within Travertine make it very popular as a flooring material. Nowadays it is also often used as bathroom wall tiles and table tops. Travertine’s durability makes it ideal for residential installations however like all-natural stone it does need regular maintenance to keep it looking good.

Travertine Floor Before Cleaning Welwyn Garden City

After discussing the floor with the owner over the phone I arranged a visit in-order to get a better look at the stone and to work out the best method for cleaning it. After inspecting the Travertine tiles, I concluded that the best way to restore the floor would be to use a set of diamond encrusted burnishing pads to hone and refine the surface of the stone floor and recover the original polished appearance.

Cleaning and Repairing a Travertine Tiled Floor

This is the process that we followed to bring back the natural lustre of the Travertine floor.
* The door thresholds, skirtings, doors, kitchen fronts and plinths were protected with tape and furniture was relocated to other rooms as required.
* A strong dilution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean was mopped onto the floor and allowed to dwell for around 15 minutes. The cleaning solution was then worked into the tile and grout using a rotary floor machine fitted with a black scrubbing pad. We used finer detail pads and brushes for the trickier bits around the edges and also the grout lines.
* The soiled cleaning solution was extracted off the floor with a wet vacuum and the floor rinsed thoroughly with water.
* Once the floor had dried we carried out infill repairs with Limestone coloured grouts and stone resin.

Honing the Travertine Tiles with Burnishing Pads

Following the initial clean we started with the five-stage diamond honing process using a set of Burnishing Pads. Lubricated with water this process uses a coarse pad to cut back through the tile to remove the etch marks and ingrained dirt, then by applying a series of finer grades of diamond pads it brings back a shinier finish. The pads are encrusted with industrial diamonds of different grades which are hard enough to polish the stone.

We also used hand-held burnishing blocks in the tight corners and along the edges to ensure the whole floor was treated. The floor is rinsed with water between each stage and the resultant slurry is removed with a wet vacuum.

Sealing a Travertine Tiled Kitchen and Family room Floor

We returned the following day. After ensuring the floor was clean and fully dry we moved on to the sealing process, the sealant ensures the floor has a nice durable finish and is protected from staining and ingrained dirt.

When it comes to sealing Travertine I usually recommend an impregnating product called Tile Doctor Colour Grow which enhances the natural brown shades in the tile however the customer wanted the tiles to have a natural look to them so only one coats of Colour Grow was applied and this was followed by two coats of Tile Doctor Ultra Seal which gives the stone a natural finish.

Travertine Floor After Cleaning Welwyn Garden City

The completed floor now looks clean and fresh and a big improvement on how the stone and grout it looked when I first arrived. The family were very happy with the result and the new sealer will make the floor much more manageable going forward.

Restoring a Travertine Tiled Kitchen and Family room Floor in Hertfordshire

Travertine Tiled Floor Diamond Honed in Welwyn Garden City Read More »

Terracotta Lodge Floor Tile Before and After Cleaning in Welwyn Garden City

Traditional Terracotta Kitchen Floor Renovated in Welwyn Garden City

1 Comment / Terracotta Tile Cleaning, Welwyn Garden City Tile Cleaning, Work History / Robert Voyce

The pictures below were taken at a beautiful Hertfordshire Lodge located on the outskirts of Welwyn Garden City where the traditional Terracotta Kitchen floor had lost its appeal and was now in need of renovation.

Welwyn Garden City is actually a new town that was created in the 1920 with an aim to create a modern garden city, the architecture is therefore fairly modern.

Terracotta Lodge Floor Tile Before Cleaning in Welwyn Garden City

Deep Cleaning Kitchen Terracotta Tiles

As usual the first step before starting the cleaning process was to clear the floor of as move furniture as practical and use protective tape to cover the threshold edges, skirting’s and doors and use a protective sheet to the fixed kitchen units.

To deep clean the Terracotta tiles and remove any trace of old sealers and waxes present a strong dilution of Tile Doctor Remove and Go was applied to the floor and left to soak in for about ten minutes. Then the solution was agitated using detail brushes along the grout lines and edges and polypropylene pads.

Once done the now soiled cleaning solution was extracted from the floor using a wet vacuum and the tile and grout rinsed with fresh water.

This process removed most of the dirt and old coatings but more work was required so a further treatment using a strong dilution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean which is a strong tile cleaner and sealer remove was applied and worked in using an orbital floor machine fitted with a scrubbing pad.

Again the soiled cleaning solution was removed using a wet vacuum and the tile and grout given a steam clean to remove any trace of cleaning product residue. The floor was then left for two days to fully dry out.

Sealing Terracotta Kitchen Tiles

On our return the floor was checked for dampness before we proceeded to seal the floor; sealing damp tiles can result in a patchy finish so this is always worth checking.

To seal we gave the Terracotta tiles a primer coat of Tile Doctor Colour Grow which is an impregnating sealer that brings out the natural colours in the tile and by occupying the pores of the clay tile it stops dirt becoming ingrained. This was then followed by six coats of Tile Doctor Seal and Go which works really well on Terracotta and adds a nice satin sheen finish. The floor now looks much healthier and has really lifted the appearance of the kitchen.

Terracotta Lodge Floor Tile After Cleaning in Welwyn Garden City

Before leaving we advised the customer to avoid commercial acid based cleaning products as these are not appropriate for sealed Terracotta tiles. We suggest using a low alkaline/neutral PH product such as Tile Doctor Neutral Tile Cleaner as this will maximise the life of the sealer and maintain the sheen of the tile.

Traditional Terracotta in the Kitchen Restored in Welwyn Garden City

Traditional Terracotta Kitchen Floor Renovated in Welwyn Garden City Read More »

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Hertfordshire Tile Doctor

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