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.
