Limestone Tile Cleaning and Polishing

Welcome to my Work History archive where you will find detailed examples of the cleaning and renovation of Limestone tiles carried out in Greater Manchester

Cleaning and Renovating Limestone tiles

Limestone is a sedimentary stone, as such it’s generally very porous and acid sensitive and can be damaged through the use of even mildly acidic soaps, shampoos and body washes. Because of this we do not recommend it for use in wet rooms, shower cubicles or near swimming pools.

Like any stone Limestone needs to be sealed to prevent dirt becoming ingrained in its pores and many varieties including Blue Lias, Blue Moleanos, Jerusalem and White Moleanos to name a few can be polished to a high shine using a series of burnishing pads.

We have found that Black Limestone has become very popular in gardens where it contrasts well against green planting and looks fantastic when wet. One issue we find however is it easily upset by the use of acidic patio cleaners that leave the stone looking dull and lifeless. If this has affected you then not to worry we do have a way of restoring the beauty of the stone back to its original 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.


Black Limestone Floor Before After Renovation Worsley Salfords

Dull Black Limestone Floor Renovated in Worsley

The photographs below are of a large Black Limestone floor at a property in Worsley which as you can see was not looking its best. Black Limestone does have a bit of a bad reputation but we find that’s mainly when used externally, The UK weather tends to leach the Oil content out of the stone causing it to look grey and generally washed out. The good news is it’s a different story when used internally although it is acid sensitive so you need to avoid the use of acidic cleaning products like bleach based as it will damage the Stone.

Black Limestone Floor Before Renovation Worsley Black Limestone Floor Before Renovation Worsley

Restoring the Appearance of a Black Limestone Floor

To clean this Black Limestone floor a strong dilution of Tile Doctor Remove and Go was applied and worked it in with a 200-Grit Milling pad. These pads have a coating of industrial diamonds which work well on stone. The pad is attached to a Buffing machine and the rough texture of the pad allows it to reach into the riven parts of the stone making for a deep clean. Once done the soiling was rinsed off with water and extracted with a wet vacuum.

Black Limestone Floor During Renovation Worsley Black Limestone Floor During Renovation Worsley

Some pointing was missing on his floor so we topped this up and there was a bit of paint as well and we got this off using some Tile Doctor Oxy gel which worked a treat. It took about thirty minutes to break down the paint particles and then water was added and scrubbed and rinsed as before, then extracted with the wet vacuum.

Sealing Limestone Patio Tiles to Restore Colour

Black Limestone is one of those stones that can look very sorry for itself until its treated and then sealed, at which point it just comes to life and looks fantastic. I wouldn’t recommend this stone for wet areas including bathrooms, shower rooms etc and certainly not outside but inside say in a Kitchen, Conservatory, Hallway etc its works really well and it looks Great when it’s done properly.

Black Limestone Floor During Sealing Worsley

The sealer used on this occasion is called Tile Doctor X-Tra sealer, it’s a one coat oil-based resin sealer that is fully breathable. The oil content works especially well on Black stone as it replaces the oil content that been lost. The result was completely transformational and the new sealer really did put the colour and life back into the stone floor.

Black Limestone Floor After Renovation Worsley Black Limestone Floor After Renovation Worsley

As usual before leaving we took time to go through maintenance with the customers as its very important not to use any detergents, acids, or bleach cleaning products on this type of stone. They will upset the sealer and then the stone and before long it will all need doing again; as such we recommend the use of a Tile Doctor Neutral Cleaner which won’t upset the sealer or the oil content and will clean without issue.

 

Professional Restoration of a Black Limestone Floor in Salford’s

Dull Black Limestone Floor Renovated in Worsley Read More »

Limestone Tiled Shower Tile Before After Restoration Manchester

Renovating a Mouldy White Limestone Shower Cubicle in Manchester

I was asked to look at renovating a shower cubicle at a property in in Manchester city centre that had been clad in White Limestone tiles. I understood the bathroom had been installed 12 years prior, but now the tiles were looking grubby, mouldy and dirty.

Limestone Tiled Shower Cubicle Before Mould Removal Manchester City Centre Limestone Tiled Shower Cubicle Before Mould Removal Manchester City Centre

The client had lived at the property for the last two years and in an attempt to resolve the problems had used a few different household products such as flash and bleach, they had tried everything, and nothing had helped. I suspected that these strong acidic cleaners had actually made the problem worse by stripping off what was left of the sealer that was protecting the Limestone, allowing dirt to become ingrained in the stone.

I visited the property and ran a few cleaning tests in the shower cubicle with Tile Doctor products. This allows me to see which product will have the best results and gives the customer confidence that we can resolve their issues. The results were immediate, they could see the difference and they were happy to accept my quote and agree a date for my return to complete the work.

Removing Mould from a White Limestone Tiled Shower Cubicle

I arrived several weeks later and made a start. The tiles were scrubbed by hand with a strong dilution of Tile Doctor Remove and Go with excellent results. This product is designed to remove coatings and sealers, and in this case, it did a great job of drawing out the ingrained stains and dirt build-up. This removed what was left of the sealer and took off most of the dirt and mould. The Limestone tiles and grout were then rinsed with water to remove the soil.

Next I needed to restore the smooth surface of the limestone which had been etched by the use of strong acidic cleaning products. To do this I used a set of six-inch diamond burnishing pads attached to a hand buffer to hone and restore the stone.

I then dried the shower tiles and grout with a heat gun checking the moisture levels with damp meter until I was satisfied it was completely dry.

Sealing a Limestone Tiled Shower Cubicle

The last step was to re-seal the Limestone and Grout using a couple of coats of Tile Doctor Colour Grow. This is natural coloured intensifying sealer which provides durable protection to the surface allowing it to breathe and enhancing the colours.

The Customer was amazed with the difference and left the following feedback!

“Kamila was friendly, professional and kept me informed about what to expect before she took on the job and during the tile cleaning. The tiles look absolutely amazing after her work – I feel as though I have a brand new bathroom! Kamila also gave me helpful tips on looking after limestone tiles. I can’t recommend her highly enough.”

Limestone Tiled Shower Cubicle After Mould Removal Manchester City Centre Limestone Tiled Shower Cubicle After Mould Removal Manchester City Centre

For future cleaning I recommended the use of Tile Doctor Aqua-Pro which is a pH neutral shower tile cleaner designed for use on sealed surfaces. Most cleaning products you find in supermarkets are overly strong and will erode the sealer prematurely, so when choosing a cleaning product always read the label and make sure it’s safe to use on Sealed Stone tiles.

 

Professional Renovation of White Limestone Shower Tiles in Manchester

Renovating a Mouldy White Limestone Shower Cubicle in Manchester Read More »

limestone floor before and after polishing in peel green

Dull Limestone Tiles Brought Back to Life with Burnishing in Peel Green

This beautiful Limestone kitchen tiled floor at a property in Peel Green was only a year old and, while it wasn’t in too bad of a state, the customer told me the floor had not been sealed properly due to issues with retaining moisture. The lack of an adequate sealer had allowed the Limestone to become duller over time after exposure to dirt and muck. It also had some more obvious marks and stains in some place and needed some grouting to be done around the corners and edges of the room.

Limestone tiled floor before burnishing Peel Green Limestone tiled floor before burnishing Peel Green

I travelled to the property in Peel Green, which is within the Greater City of Salford in Greater Manchester, to see what could be done to restore the condition of the tiles.

Burnishing Dull Limestone Kitchen Tiles

Upon closer inspection of the tiles, I recommended to the customer that we proceed with the process known as burnishing, which we use primarily on Limestone, Marble, and Travertine. Burnishing, which involves the application of diamond encrusted burnishing pads, breaks down old sealers, gets rid of marks, stains and ingrained dirt, and gradually builds and evens out the polish on the tiles.

I started burnishing the Limestone kitchen tiles straight away when I arrived at the property as it was a big area and would require lots of hard work to achieve the desired results within the space of a day.

Our burnishing system consists of four diamond encrusted pads: Coarse, Medium, a Fine and Very Fine. Each pad was applied to the Limestone in sequence in tandem with a small amount of water to act as lubrication, gradually smoothing and polishing the surface of the tiles. After every pad, I also used my wet vac machine to remove any dirty water left on the floor and, after the Fine pad I rinsed the floor thoroughly to remove any dirt left on floor. I then left it to dry.

Sealing Limestone Kitchen Tiles

When I was satisfied that the floor was completely dry, it was time to seal the Limestone tiles. However, I first went over the floor with Very Fine grit pad to provide a final polish before sealing.

My choice of sealer was the impregnating Tile Doctor Colour Grow, a product which enhances the natural colours in the stone whilst also offering robust protection against dirt and stains. Remembering that the tiles had never been properly sealed, I applied plenty of sealer and left it to dry for 10 minutes. Following this, I carefully removed any excess sealer left on the surface with a dry cotton cloth. After sealing I went over the floor once final time with the Very Fine pad, just to smoothen things down and leave an exceptionally neat finish.

Limestone tiled floor before burnishing Peel Green

When the job was finished, I gave the owner some tips and recommendations on the cleaning of the floor going forward and a complimentary bottle of neutral cleaner to get them started.

Limestone tiled floor after burnishing Peel Green Limestone tiled floor after burnishing Peel Green

The customer was very pleased with the finish, so much so that she opted and take up the Tile Doctor Maintenance Plan to keep the floor looking good for years to come! This involves popping round every 6-12 months to top up the sealer and give the floor a quick polish.
 
 

Professional Maintenance of a Dull Limestone Tiled Floor in Greater Manchester

Dull Limestone Tiles Brought Back to Life with Burnishing in Peel Green Read More »

Hale Country Club After Photo

Limestone Tiled Floor Maintained at Manchester Country Club

This beautiful Limestone tiled floor was installed at a busy country club in Hale, Manchester around eighteen months prior and had seen significant foot traffic with around 500 people traversing it daily. The floor was taking a significant amount of punishment and although regularly cleaned the dirt had started to become ingrained into the stone and the maintenance team were struggling to keep it looking good, I also suspect that the cleaning product used on the floor may have accelerated the degradation of the sealer leading to the premature ingress of dirt.

Hale-Country-Club-Before-Photo Hale-Country-Club-Before-Photo

Cleaning Limestone Floor Tiles

The floor was given a quick wash with Tile Doctor Neutral Cleaner in order to remove any surface grit and then cleaned using a set of Burnishing pads fitted to a rotary machine. The burnishing pads come in four different types and you work your way through them starting off with a course stripper pad with a little just water and then carry on with the white pad and then the yellow pad until the floor is thoroughly cleaned and any previous sealer removed. Next step was to use Tile Doctor Pro-Clean along the grout lines with a stiff brush to get the grout clean as well. To bring up the polish on the Limestone tiles I used a green polishing pad which is the last in the set of the four burnishing pads.

Hale-Country-Club-After-Photo Hale-Country-Club-After-Photo

Sealing Limestone Floor Tiles

Once the floor was dry we set about sealing it using two coats of Tile Doctor Colour Grow which is a colour enhancing sealer designed to provide maximum stain protection on natural stone floors whilst bringing out the deep colour in the stone. The last step was to buff the floor to a nice shine with a rotary machine fitted with a white pad.

The Limestone floor is now back to its best and I took the time to explain the need to use a neutral cleaning product such as Tile Doctor Neutral Cleaner on the stone in future.
 
 

Limestone Floor Cleaned, Polished and Sealed at a Hale Country Club

Limestone Tiled Floor Maintained at Manchester Country Club Read More »

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Greater Manchester Tile Doctor

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