Travertine Tile Cleaning

Welcome to my Work History archive where you will find detailed examples of the cleaning and renovation of Travertine tiles carried out in South Essex

Cleaning and Polishing Travertine tiles

Travertine is a natural material that has unique features and colouring that no other stone can offer. The distinctive look of Travertine creates some of the most distinguished floor tiles and has proved very popular with commercial and residential use. It can be used for floor tile, kitchen flooring, bathroom walls and floors, and it is often used externally. There are many varieties such as Tumbled and Polished and like all natural stone it needs to be sealed to prevent dirt becoming trapped in the pores. Unlike other stones however Travertine does suffer from pitting however these holes can be filled.

One of the main issues with polished Travertine is the polish starts to wear down with use and eventually becomes dull. Another issue we see is acid etching where strong unsuitable cleaning products used on the stone etch the surface and ruin its appearance. To resolve both these problems the stone needs to be re-polished with diamond encrusted burnishing pads of different grits to hone the stone and bring back that deep shine. If this sounds familiar you should talk to us about our annual maintenance program where we visit you once a year to clean, polish and seal your floor thus keeping it in top condition.

Below you will find detailed examples of work we have carried out in the past, it should give you some idea of what’s involved and what can be achieved with the right techniques and products.


Travertine Tiled Floor Deep Cleaned and Resealed in Dunmow

Recently I worked on a house in the historic market town of Dunmow, Essex. My client had a Travertine tiled floor in dire need of some professional maintenance. Specifically, my client requested a deep clean, with special attention paid to the grouting, along with a fresh seal.

Unlike a polished stone floor – which would require a process known as ‘burnishing’ – this Travertine floor required a fairly straightforward liquid cleaning process, using some professional products to fully restore the appearance of the tiles and grouting. Here’s how I did it.

Travertine floor Before Cleaning Dunmow

Cleaning a Travertine tiled floor

I began the cleaning process by mixing a strong cleaning solution consisting of one part Tile Doctor Pro Clean to three parts water. I applied this solution across the floor and left it to dwell for ten minutes, giving it time to seep into the stone. The solution was then more directly scrubbed into the tile using a scrubbing pad fitted to a rotary buffing machine.

Following this, I focused my attention on the grouting, cleaning it by hand using more Pro Clean, but this time worked in using stiff brushes along the grout lines.

The entire area was then rinsed with water which was then extracted using a wet vacuum, before I left it to dry overnight.

Sealing a Travertine tiled floor

Upon my return to the house the next day I checked the floor to ensure it was dry and then began to seal the tiles using two coats of Tile Doctor Colour Grow. Colour Grow is an impregnating sealer which sinks into the pores of the stone intensifying the natural colours whilst also providing durable stain protection.

Once the sealer had dried, I used a very fine burnishing pad to buff up the appearance of the floor and add an aesthetically pleasing shine.

Travertine floor After Cleaning Dunmow

 
 

Professional Travertine Floor Maintenance in Essex

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Travertine Tiled Floor Cleaned in Dunmow Offices

These photographs are from the cleaning of a Travertine tiled floor installed in an old house in Dunmow that had been used as offices by employees of a Ford dealership. The house was empty when we started the cleaning process and you could see that the dirt had become ingrained into the tile and any sealer that had been present had now been worn away.

Travertine Tiles in Dunmow Office Before Cleaning

Cleaning Travertine Tile and Grout

We tackled the grouting first by applying Tile Doctor Pro-Clean (diluted 1 part cleaner to 3 parts water) which was left to dwell on the grout for about fifteen minutes before being scrubbed in using small stiff hand brushes. As you imagine this was time consuming but the grout came up really well so the end result was well worth the effort. The tiles were then cleaned using more Pro-Clean (diluted 1 part cleaner to 2 parts water) but this time we were able to use a scrubbing machine fitted with black pads. We scrubbed the tiles several times in order to bring them up to a good standard. The floor was also washed down at this point to remove the soiled cleaning solution, all liquids being removed using a wet vacuum.

Travertine Tiles in Dunmow Office During Cleaning

Burnishing Travertine Tile

The Pro-Clean worked well to clean the Travertine but if you want to restore the original appearance it needs to be burnished using a set of diamond encrusted burnishing pads. The pads come in a set and you start with the coarse pad and a little water and move on through to the very fine pads until the surface is pristine.

To protect the floor and bring up the appearance even further Tile Doctor Shine Powder was polished into the floor using a buffing pad, the powder add a deep finish to the appearance of the travertine and hardens on the surface to provide durable surface protection.

Travertine Tiles in Dunmow Office After Cleaning

I think you will agree we have managed quite a transformation; certainly the customer was very happy with the work.
 
 

Travertine office floor maintained in Dunmow, Essex

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