Kitchen Floor Archives - Suffolk Tile Doctor

Terracotta Tiled Kitchen Floor Renovated in Hoo Woodbridge

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

Travertine Kitchen Floor Tiles Before After Cleaning Thurston

Failed Travertine Tile Sealer Resolved in Great Green, Thurston

1 Comment / Bury St Edmunds Tile Cleaning, Grout Cleaning, Travertine Tile Cleaning, Work by Category, Work by Location, Work History / Bruce Copping

The pictures below are of a Travertine tiled floor installed in the large Kitchen of a barn conversion in the small village of Great Green near Thurston which is four miles from Bury St Edmunds. The floor had been laid ten years prior and the customer was now finding it increasingly difficult to get the tile and grout clean.

Travertine Floor Before Cleaning Great Green Thurston

I visited the property to survey the floor and quickly confirmed that the problem was quite clear, the sealant had been worn away over the years and now unprotected dirt was getting into the surface and pores of the stone. Once ingrained with dirt it becomes impossible to get them clean with everyday household cleaners. The floor was in the kitchen which being one of the busiest areas in the house so really needed to be protected.

I ran a test clean on a small patch of travertine and they could see straight away the colour the floor should have been. It was clear the tile and grout would need a deep clean and then resealed however due to the inevitable wear I advised the customer stone floors like these really need continual attention and recommend that after the initial renovation they consider getting us back in once a year to do a surface clean and seal.

Happy with our test clean and quotation we got the go ahead to do the initial clean and seal and we arranged complete the work the following month.

Cleaning a Travertine Tiled Kitchen Floor

On arrival I first taped up the skirting boards and kitchen plinths to protect them from splashing during cleaning. The floor was then scrubbed with a strong dilution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean which was first left to dwell for ten minutes so it could soak into the pores and break down the dirt. For best results I use a rotary buffing machine fitted with a black scrubbing pad. Pro-Clean is a multi-purpose tile and grout cleaning product that really gets to grips with ingrained dirt and grease as well as removing the remains of old sealer.

Scrubbing pads struggle to reach into the grout recesses so I scrubbed the grout lines by hand using a wire brush and more Pro-Clean. The resultant slurry was then vacuumed off the floor using a wet vacuum, the floor was then rinsed with water and vacuumed again.

To improve the appearance of the Travertine tiles further it was given a light burnish using a 400-grit then 800-grit diamond burnishing pad. These pads are attached to the rotary machine and then run over each tile several times using only water for lubrication. This action brings up the natural polished appearance of the stone to leave a mild sheen as per the clients’ request. After another rinse and extraction to remove the slurry generated during burnishing the floor was left to dry off overnight.

Sealing a Travertine Tiled Kitchen Floor

The following day I returned and first took some moisture readings from the floor using a damp meter. I needed to be sure the floor was dry enough to accept the sealer as applying sealer to a damp floor is not recommended.

The floor had dried out nicely, so I began the application of the sealer, Tile Doctor Colour Grow. This product is a colour intensifying impregnating sealer that penetrates the stone, occupying its pores, improving colour, and resulting in long lasting protection. I highly recommend this for use on Travertine and it enhances the natural brown colours in the stone beautifully.

Travertine Floor After Cleaning Great Green Thurston

The job took 2 days in total to complete and the clients were very happy with the result. For aftercare I have advised the use of Tile Doctor Stone Soap which will help maintain the patina whilst keeping the floor clean. I’ve also made a note to give them a call in a years’ time to discuss giving the floor a light Maintenance Clean and apply a new coat of Colour Grow.

Professional Restoration of a Travertine Tiled Kitchen in Suffolk

Failed Travertine Tile Sealer Resolved in Great Green, Thurston Read More »