What causes a tiled floor to become dull and discoloured? Typically, it’s a combination of heavy soil build-up and an ineffective approach to cleaning and maintenance. Such was the case with this heavily soiled Quarry tiled hallway floor in Bedford.
A further problem was that the tiles were very pitted and at some point, in the past they had been filled with grout, additionally, when I took a closer inspection of tiles, I established that there was a wax sealer present on the floor that has bend topped up from time to time – without the tiles being deep cleaned. This has caused an accumulation of soil trapped between multiple layers of wax. The result? Extremely dull and unattractive Quarry tiles that the customer was desperate to get back to looking their best.
Cleaning a Very Dull and Dirty Quarry Tiled Hallway
My first course of action was to vacuum the floor thoroughly to remove any small quantities of grit or loose debris. I then masked up the carpet and radiator to protect them before mixing up a strong dilution of Tile Doctor Pro Clean mixed with hot water. This was then applied to the surface of the floor in small areas of three square metres each. The high alkaline cleaning product was left to dwell for a short period before I agitated the tiles with a black stripping pad to remove the heavy soil. The resulting cleaning slurry was extracted with a wet vax machine.
This cleaning process was repeated throughout the entire area. Inaccessible places, such as under the radiator and stairs, were manually cleaned using hand brushes. I then dried the floor with a fan for 30 minutes, before mopping on a solution of the acid-based Tile Doctor Grout Clean Up to neutralise the Pro Clean and removing the dirt on the grout lines with the hand brushes.
Sealing a Quarry Tiled Hallway
The area was allowed to dry completely overnight. I returned the following day and applied two different types of sealer in two separate test areas so the customer could get a better idea of the final effect that would be achieved.
The customer could’ve opted for Tile Doctor Seal and Go, which is a topical sealer that provides a high quality, durable low-sheen finish. However, after further discussion, it was decided that the best product would be Tile Doctor Colour Grow, which is an impregnating sealer that penetrates the tiles and provides a more natural finish, emphasising the colours in the stone.
As you can see from the photos above, a deep clean and fresh seal truly worked wonders for these Quarry tiles. Both myself and the customer were very happy with the outcome of the work.
Source: Quarry Tile Cleaning and Renovation Service in Bedfordshire
David Vissian is an agent of Tile Doctor, the largest Tile and Stone cleaning network in the UK who have developed the products and techniques to handle a multitude of issues surrounding tiled flooring including stone and grout.