A tiled entrance porch is a great asset to any property after all first impressions do count, but since this type of feature will experience heavy traffic, it can be particularly difficult to keep it clean.
This red Quarry tiled porch at the entrance to this house in the old town of Moreton-in-Marsh was in particularly bad condition and in desperate need of restoration. It appeared to me that some decoration work has taken place recently because the tiles were marked with all kinds of staining, including paint, cement and even glue.
I was asked to deep clean the tiles, remove the staining and basically restore the appearance of the tiles back to their origianal condition.
Cleaning Stained Red Quarry Tiles
Due to the fact that the tiles were heavily soiled with paint and adhesives, I decided to clean them first using two of our most powerful cleaning products: Tile Doctor NanoTech HBU and Tile Doctor Remove and Go.
NanoTech HBU uses nano-sized cleaning particles to penetrate deep into difficult-to-reach areas of the stone and tackle ingrained dirt and staining. Remove and Go is specially designed to strip away paints and glues, as well as any old sealer on the tiles, combined together they produce a powerful tile cleaner.
Both products were applied across the tiled porch and left to dwell for 45 minutes. Next, I used a 17″ black scrubbing pad fitted to a buffing machine (on the main surface) and a 6″ pad fitted to a hand held buffing machine around the edges. This way I able to effectively get the products into the tiles and give them a deep clean. I repeated the process several times, rinsing with water in between and extracting the soil with a wet vacuum to ensure a deep and thorough clean.
Some stubborn paint and cement markings remained in places, and I resolved to spot clean these using more NanoTech HBU in combination with a handheld steamer.
Sealing Red Quarry Tiles
When I was happy with the cleaning results I rinsed and neutralised the floor with water. Given that it was only a small area of tiles I was able to dry them with a heat gun, leaving it ready to be sealed.
My choice of sealer was Tile Doctor Colour Grow, which was the perfect fit for these deep red Quarry tiles. Colour Grow not only seals the tiles, it also intensifies the natural shades in the stone to enhance the overall appearance of the feature. I applied four coats of the sealer to ensure the tiles will be protected and easy to keep clean for the long term.
Both myself and the customer was very pleased with the transformation of the porch floor.
Source: Quarry Tile and Grout Cleaning Service in Gloucester
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