Suffolk Pro-Clean Archives - Suffolk Tile Doctor

Sandstone Kitchen Floor Renovation Ipswich

Sandstone Floor Renovated in Ipswich Kitchen and Sunroom

This Sandstone tiled floor was in the Kitchen and Sunroom of a house in Ipswich. The protective sealer had clearly worn off and now the floor was really grubby due to the owner being in a wheelchair and the tyres tracked dirt in from the garden.

Sandstone Kitchen Floor Before Cleaning Ipswich

It had been some time since the floor was last sealed and it was clear to me now that the sealer had failed thereby allowing years of dirt and grime to lodge in the pores of the stone leaving it looking permanently dirty. Cleaning with a mop simply won’t make any difference to a floor once it gets in this state which is where Tile Doctor comes in. Also, we often find owners of sealed stone floors don’t realise that most of the tile cleaning products you find in supermarkets are simply too strong for use on a sealed floor and will strip the sealer from the tiles thereby leaving it vulnerable to ingrained dirt.

The solution I quoted for including deep cleaning the sandstone tiles and grout and then resealing the whole floor over two days. Unhappy with the floor and keen to have it renovated I was asked to do do the work and so we scheduled a date.

Cleaning/Repairing a Sandstone Tiled Kitchen and Sunroom Floor

To get the Sandstone clean I sprayed the floor with a strong dilution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean and allowed it to soak in for about ten minutes. The floor was then scrubbed using a 120-grit carborundum silicon carbide brush fitted to a rotary machine. This is a special pad that works really well on riven stone. The resultant slurry was rinsed off with water and extracted with a wet vacuum.

I then turned my attention to the grout which often needs extra attention as the pads can struggle to reach into the recesses of the grout lines. For these I used more Tile Doctor Pro-Clean and hand scrubbed where required with a stiff brush. I also used this time to inspect the floor and spot clean any stubborn areas of dirt on the sandstone that needed more attention.

Sandstone Kitchen Floor During Cleaning Ipswich

After a final rinse and extraction, the stone and grout were looking much cleaner however I needed it to be completely dry before applying the sealer so after extracting as much moisture as possible I left it to dry off overnight. The cleaning has taken the whole of the first day and had used two litres of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean.

Sealing a Sandstone Tiled Kitchen and Sunroom Floor

On day two I started by checking the floor was dry using a damp meter; the moisture readings were fine, and this confirmed the floor was ready to accept a sealer. The sealer chosen for this floor was Tile Doctor Seal & Go Extra, I applied four coats allowing each coat to dry before applying the next consuming three litres of sealer in the process.

Sandstone Kitchen Floor After Cleaning Ipswich

The floor is now clean and has a nice, easy to maintain sheen. The new sealer will prevent dirt becoming lodged in the pores of the tiles allowing the floor to keep its looks for many years to come. For cleaning I recommended they use Tile Doctor Neutral Cleaner which is a gentle but effective product recommended for use on sealed stone.

Professional Restoration of a Sandstone Tiled Kitchen and Sunroom in Suffolk

Sandstone Floor Renovated in Ipswich Kitchen and Sunroom Read More »

Dirty Limestone Kitchen Floor Deep Cleaned, Polished and Sealed in Ipswich

This limestone tiled floor was installed in the kitchen of a house on the outskirts of Ipswich in Suffolk. The protective sealer had broken down over the years with use, and the limestone was now unprotected and had lost its lustre, it was now absorbing dirt giving it a permanently dirty and dull appearance. Natural stone is porous and without the protection of a sealer its appearance will degrade as more dirt becomes ingrained in its pores.

Limestone Kitchen Floor Before Cleaning Ipswich

I visited site to have a look at the job, I carried out a test on a small sample area, which came up well; the client was happy to proceed with my quote so we arranged a date to complete the work later in the month.

Cleaning a Limestone Tiled Kitchen Floor

To remove the ingrained dirt and improve the limestone I spent a day applying different grades of diamond encrusted floor pads, worked into the tiles with only water to help lubricate the scrubbing action. These pads are called burnishing pads and to up the pores of the stone so the dirt can be released you need to start with a coarse 400-grit pad.

Once the pad has been run over each tile at least three times the floor is rinsed with water and the soil is extracted with a wet vacuum. Before starting with the next pad in the series a strong dilution of Tile Doctor Pro Clean was run into the grout lines and scrubbed in by hand with a stiff brush before another round of rinsing and extracting.

The burnishing process was then repeated with a finer 800-grit pad and then a 1500-grit pad. The pads remove any remaining sealer and dirt and start building up the polish on the tile. At the end of the first day the floor was given a final rinse and dried with a wet vacuum. The floor was then left to dry off completely overnight.

Sealing a Limestone Tiled Kitchen Floor

Returning on the 2nd day I began by applying a very fine 3000 grit pad to close the pores up and add a nice subtle shine to the limestone. The floor was checked with the damp meter just to check it was dry enough to seal. The client wanted a slightly matt finish but wanted to ensure the natural colours of the floor came through with just a slight sheen. We selected to use Tile Doctor Colour Grow. It was then sealed with 3 coats, applying each coat after the previous one had soaked in and dried. It took 3 litres of sealer to fill up the stone with sealer which will now prevent dirt from becoming ingrained there.

Limestone Kitchen Floor After Cleaning Ipswich

The floor now has a nice, easy to maintain shine and the Colour Grow sealer provided a very durable finish. I recommended to the client to use Tile Doctor Neutral Tile Cleaner, this is pH neutral cleaner so nice and gentle on the floor, it will ensure the integrity of the newly applied sealer is not compromised.