Black Pad Archives - South Essex Tile Doctor

Travertine Kitchen Floor Renovation Billericay

Travertine Kitchen Diner Floor Tile and Grout Renovated in Billericay

Earlier this year I was asked to visit a property in Billericay near Basildon to quote for renovating an extensive Travertine tiled floor. The Travertine floor has been laid 15 years prior in the large Kitchen, Utility and adjacent dining room and has not been maintained correctly leaving it vulnerable to ingrained dirt.

Travertine Kitchen Diner Floor Before Renovation Billericay

Natural stone floors look fantastic when first laid but will only remain so if the sealer is maintained. Natural stone and especially Travertine is porous and the sealer will prevent dirt from becoming ingrained in the stone keeping it on the surface where it’s easy to clean away. In this case the sealer had long since worn off and the Travertine was absorbing dirt leaving it looking permanently dirty despite cleaning.

After discussing the problems with the owner, I recommended deep cleaning the Travertine and Grout with an abrasive pad and alkaline cleaner and then sealing to protect the stone going forward. I worked out a plan for its renovation and provided them with a quote which was accepted and a date scheduled.

Deep Cleaning Travertine Tile and Grout

To deep clean the stone and grout it was sprayed with a 1:4 dilution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean which was then let to soak into the floor for a good ten to fifteen minutes. This gives the Pro-Clean time to breakdown and digest the soils and any remaining old sealer. Next the floor was scrubbed with rotary machine fitted with a Black Pad to release the dirt from the floor into the solution where it could be extracted with a wet vacuum.

Pads can struggle to reach into the recesses of the grout line so this was also hand scrubbed using a pollybrush and more Pro-Clean to get it as clean as possible. This process sounds straightforward but it was a large floor with several sections to complete so it took all the first day to complete.

Before finishing for the day, the floor was inspected and any stubborn marks spot cleaned until I was happy with the whole floor. The floor was then rinsed with water to remove any remnants and then dried with the wet vacuum.

Sealing a Travertine Tiled Floor in Billericay

I returned the next day and started by checking the floor was dry using a damp meter. The readings were fine so the first coat of what would be two coats of Tile Doctor Ultra-Seal was applied. This sealer doesn’t contain any colour enhancer so it leaves the stone with invisible hardwearing protection and a very natural look. The sealer ensures dirt can’t penetrate the pores of the stone thereby keeping it on the surface where it can be easily cleaned away.

Travertine Kitchen Diner Floor After Renovation Billericay

The transformation was quite dramatic and the customer was very pleased and shocked at how it had changed. Regarding regular cleaning, I recommended using Tile Doctor Neutral Tile Cleaner which is a pH neutral cleaner. It won’t strip the sealer like the previous products they had been using and should ensure the floor is kept in this condition for many years to come.

Professional Renovation of a Travertine Tile and Grout in South Essex

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Filthy Terracotta Tiled Kitchen Floor Renovated in Danbury

The Terracotta tiles in the kitchen of this property in Danbury near Chelmsford were installed by the owners only five years prior. At the time they didn’t like the light colour of the terracotta, so they were sealed with a black pigment added to the sealer in an attempt to darken the floor. Five years later and the sealer had clearly failed, and the tiles and grout were now seriously filthy and impossible to clean.

I wanted to be certain I could remove the dirt and old sealer so whilst at the property surveying the floor I did a cleaning test with Tile Doctor Remove and Go scrubbed into a couple of tiles by hand. The product worked really well and easily cleaned the tiles and grout with excellent results (see picture).

Terracotta Tiled Kitchen Floor Before Cleaning Danbury Chelmsford

The difference was quite striking and equally impressive so after I worked out a quote, they were more than happy to get me booked in to complete the floor.

Deep Cleaning a Terracotta Tiled Kitchen Floor

I returned on the agreed date and immediately set about applying the same process to get the Terracotta tile and grout clean. I used a strong dilution of Tile Doctor Remove and Go working it into the tiles using a black scrubbing pad fitted to a rotary machine which also cleaned the grout lines.

The Terracotta was rinsed, and the soiling extracted with a wet vacuum. Once done the tiles and grout were inspected and any stubborn areas re-treated using the same process until I was satisfied the Terracotta, and grout was as clean as possible.

The underfloor heating was switched on and used to dry the floor overnight so it would be dry and ready for sealing the next day. This was a helpful addition and avoided the need for me to get the fan dryers out overnight.

Sealing a Terracotta Tiled Kitchen

Terracotta is made from clay and as a result is a very porous material, because of this it took eight coats sealer before it was fully sealed. I applied Tile Doctor Colour Grow sealer for this, it contains a colour enhancing formula which really brought out the orange and red colours in the tile.

This sealer is an impregnator that works by soaking into the tile, occupying the pores and ensuring dirt remains on the surface where it is easily cleaned away. It will provide long term protection moving forward and it improves the appearance of the floor without the tiles becoming too shiny.

Terracotta Tiled Kitchen Floor After Cleaning Sealing Danbury Chelmsford

I think you will agree from the photographs that the floor was completely transformed, and I’m pleased to say the owner was really happy and shocked to see it so different from before.

For aftercare cleaning I recommended Tile Doctor Neutral Tile Cleaner, this is a pH neutral product which will ensure the newly applied sealer retains its integrity. Many household cleaning products are simply too strong and will strip away the sealer with use.

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