Terracotta Tile Cleaning Archives

Terracotta Floor Tile Floor Cleaning Sealing Woodbridge

Terracotta Tiled Floor Renovation in Woodbridge

This Terracotta tiled floor was in the kitchen of a house in the river side town of Woodbridge. The client had inherited the property and was looking to freshen it up prior to selling. The house had terracotta floors in nearly every room on the ground floor including a cellar, some areas of which were showing signs of damp.

Terracotta Tiled Floor Before Cleaning Woodbridge

After visiting the property, I could see the terracotta clearly hadn’t been sealed for some time as the dirt was well ingrained into the pores of the tile and it would need a deep clean to get it all out. After carrying out a few tests I was able to come up with a renovation plan and produce a quote for the work. Happy to proceed we agreed a date for the work to begin which would take four days.

Terracotta Tiled Floor Before Cleaning Woodbridge

Cleaning a Terracotta Tiled Ground Floor

To get the floor clean I started with a strong dilution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean, which was applied to the tiles and left to soak in for ten minutes. The dwell time gives the product time to break down the soiling before scrubbing. The product was then worked into the tile and grout using a Black pad fitted to a rotary floor machine.

The grout was also scrubbed by hand using our wire brushes to get it as clean as it could be. All the soils released from the tile were rinsed away with water and then extracted using a wet vacuum. Most of the floors were quite dirty so after inspecting the floor they were re-treated until we were satisfied. Five litres of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean were used in the process.

The damp areas were treated to an acid wash using a product called Tile Doctor Acid Gel, this neutralises any alkaline efflorescence that may have built up in the floor. The gel was brushed into the floor and then the resultant slurry removed by rinsing and the wet vacuum as before.

Sealing a Terracotta Tiled Ground Floor

The floors were then left to dry out over a weekend, and we then returned the following week to apply a sealer. Before doing so several moisture readings were taken with a damp meter to make sure the floor was dry. The readings were satisfactory, so the floors were then sealed with Tile Doctor Colour Grow, which is a breathable impregnating sealer. There were several floors to do and with Terracotta being quite porous five litres of sealer were needed for this.

Terracotta Tiled Floor After Cleaning Sealing Woodbridge

The client was happy that we had managed to get the floors looking so good. We left a free bottle of Tile Doctor Neutral Cleaner for the client to use to maintain their floor. This should keep it looking good and the property now looked much more appealing to a potential purchaser.

Terracotta Tiled Floor After Cleaning Sealing Woodbridge

Professional Restoration of a Terracotta Tiled Ground Floor in Suffolk

Terracotta Tiled Floor Renovation in Woodbridge Read More »

Terracotta Kitchen Floor Tile and Grout Renovated in Hoo Woodbridge

Terracotta Tiled Kitchen Floor Renovated in Hoo Woodbridge

1 Comment / Terracotta Tile Cleaning, Woodbridge Tile Cleaning / Bruce Copping

This Terracotta tiled kitchen floor at a house in the small hamlet of Hoo near Woodbridge is a great example of an unmaintained floor. Terracotta is a very porous material and will easily absorb fluids and dirt if left unprotected and by unprotected, I mean sealed. Sealers prevent dirt from becoming ingrained in the pores of the tile however they do wear off over time and once that happens, they become very difficult to keep clean. The same thing happens with the top layer of grout and so it’s important to maintain the sealer on both the tile and grout especially in a kitchen environment where spills and therefore staining is more likely to occur.

Terracotta Tiled Kitchen Floor Before Renovation Hoo Woodbridge

I visited the property to survey the Terracotta floor and I could see the whole floor, including the grout, needed a deep clean and application of a fresh sealer. Due to its size and the logistics of furniture moving I could see it would need to be done in two halves. I explained the process and conducted a small demonstration so they could see the results. Happy to proceed with my renovation plan we scheduled a date for the work to be done a few weeks later.

Cleaning a Terracotta Tiled Kitchen Floor

Cleaning started with the spraying the Terracotta floor with a strong dilution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean. After sprayed onto the tiles and grout it is then then left to soak in for around ten minutes. Normally I would use a stronger product to remove a sealer but when a lot of it has been worn off anyway, I find a strong dilution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean does the job.

The floor was then scrubbed using a rotary machine fitted with a black scrubbing pad. This process took some time and in all, five litres of Pro-Clean was consumed in the cleaning process to remove the many years of dirt that had built up in the floor. A wet vacuum was then used to remove the soiling and water used to rinse the floor after scrubbing. Pro-Clean is an alkaline product so it is a good idea to give the floor a good rinse following its use to neutralise the pH of the floor after cleaning.

Sealing a Terracotta Tiled Kitchen Floor

The floor was left to dry out overnight and after checking moisture levels the following day it was sealed with five coats of Tile Doctor Seal & Go which is a water-based sealer that adds a subtle sheen finish. With it being such a large area, it took five litres of sealer to seal both areas and in total we spent four days at the property.

Terracotta Tiled Kitchen Floor After Renovation Hoo Woodbridge

For maintenance cleaning I recommended Tile Doctor Neutral Tile Cleaner which is a pH neutral tile cleaning product but can be used daily if required. It’s a mild cleaning product that won’t strip the tiles of the newly applied sealer like many strong household cleaners can. It’s a concentrated cleaner that has a nice fragrance and being concentrated a small amount goes along way so a bottle should last a while.

The floor now has a nice, easy to maintain sheen which should last for many years to come.

Professional Restoration of a Terracotta Tiled Kitchen Floor in Suffolk

Terracotta Tiled Kitchen Floor Renovated in Hoo Woodbridge Read More »

Pamment Tiled Hallway Maintained in Creeting St Peter, Suffolk

Stowmarket Tile Cleaning, Terracotta Tile Cleaning, Work History / Bruce Copping

This Pamment tiled hall was in a Grade II listed former Manor House in the village of Creeting St Peter, there were three areas of floor requiring attention two having being recently laid and the other the original floor. Similar to Terracotta, Pamment tiles are made from Clay and have been traditionally used throughout Norfork and Suffollk.

Cleaning Pamment Tiles

I started the job using a solution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean, which is a heavy duty cleaner ideal for stone, tile and grout. The cleaner was diluted with water and left to soak into the Pamment tile and grout for about 10 minutes before being scrubbed in with a black pad fitted to a rotary machine. The soiled solution was then removed with a wet vacuum and washed down with clean water to neutralise the floor of any chemical; we repeated this process a couple of times and we also used a stiff hand brushes to clean up the grout lines. Once happy the floor was given a final rinse and left to dry overnight, A dehumidifier was left running to ensure that the floor would be dry enough to seal the next day.

Sealing Pamment Tiles

The next day came back to do the sealing and after checking the floor had dried sufficiently proceeded to seal it . Tile Doctor Seal and Go was used to seal the floor, it’s a water based sealer so it doesn’t give off an odour when it’s drying and also offers durable stain protection together with a low sheen finish which enhances the look of the tile. Like Terracotta Pamment tiles are very porous and took seven coats of sealer r before it was fully sealed.

The work took two days in all and now the floor is much easier to maintain.

Pamment Tiled Floor Cleaned and Sealed in Suffolk

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Terracotta Tiled Floor Maintained in Cringleford, Norwich

Beccles Tile Cleaning, Terracotta Tile Cleaning, Work History / Bruce Copping

This terracotta floor was in a 1950’s style property in the village of Cringleford near Norwich. In total there was 13m2 of tile laid in the kitchen and conservatory around fifteen years ago. The floor had been given very little treatment since then resulting in the tiles looking faded and dull.

Cleaning Terracotta Tile

I started the job using a solution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean, which is a heavy duty alkaline product ideal for cleaning natural products such as Terracotta, this was scrubbed in with a black pad fitted to a rotary machine. We used 3 litres of Pro-Clean in total having had to repeat the cleaning a couple of times, we also used stiff hand brushes along the grout lines where the pads can often struggle to reach. Once happy the floor was clean it was given a thorough rinse to remove any remaining chemical and left it to dry overnight. A dehumidifier was left running to ensure that the floor was dry enough to seal the next day.

Sealing Terracotta Tile

The next day came back to do the sealing and checked the floor first for any spots we might had missed and also to ensure it had dried sufficiently. Tile Doctor Seal and Go was used to seal the floor, it’s a water based sealer so it doesn’t give off an odour when it’s drying and also offers durable stain protection together with a low sheen finish. Terracotta is very porous and in the end the floor actually took seven coats of sealer requiring three litres of Seal and Go before it was fully sealed. Applying a sealer does takes a long time to apply as you have to wait for it to dry before applying the next coat.

The work took two days in all and you can see the difference for yourself, the floor now looks wonderful and will be a lot easier to maintain going forward.

Terracotta Floor Cleaned and Sealed in Norfolk

Terracotta Tiled Floor Maintained in Cringleford, Norwich Read More »

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Suffolk Tile Doctor

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