Eccles Tile Cleaning

Eccles Tile Cleaning

Welcome to my Work History archive where you will find examples of the cleaning and renovation of tiles carried out in Eccles.

Mouldy Ceramic Tile Grout Before and After Cleaning Eccles

Mouldy Ceramic Tiled Bathroom Restored in Eccles

An elderly couple from the Greater Manchester town of Eccles were in touch recently regarding their Ceramic Tiled Bathroom, they had a big problem with mould build-up due to a broken extractor fan and wanted it removing. Mould grows in humid conditions and with the extractor fan out of action it soon started to spread. If you have been reading my blog, you will have seen some of the bathroom transformations we have completed over the years, so I was confident we could resolve the problem for them and paid them a visit to take a look.

Mouldy Bathroom Before Restoration in Eccles
You can see from the photographs that the tiles were in good physical condition, but the grout and silicone mastic sealant was stained with shampoo dyes and mould spots, the worst part however was the ceiling which was covered in mould growth. I ran a test clean on the bathroom wall grout and ceiling which went very well so we quickly agreed on a date to clean the whole bathroom.

Mouldy Bathroom Before Restoration in Eccles

Cleaning a Ceramic Shower Cubicle

They say you should always start at the top and work down so my first task was to treat the mouldy bathroom ceiling with Tile Doctor Duo Clean which although marketed for use on grout it worked just as well on paint to remove the mould. When done with ceiling I moved on to the wall tiles spraying on Duo Clean, letting it soak in for ten minutes, working it in to the grout with a stiff brush and then rinsing off with water.

With four walls of tile and grout and a ceiling to clean the overall cleaning process took two days to complete and at the end of the second day I turned my attention to the silicone sealant. Taking care not to scratch the bathtub I carefully stripped out the silicone in-between the tile and bath with a sharp knife. Duo Clean works on silicone as well but you do need to catch it early so often the easiest thing to do is to replace it rather than clean it. I replaced the silicone with a good quality mould and bacteria resistant silicone.

When I returned on the next day I carried on with the Top/Down approach by turning my attention back to the ceiling which I painted with a white moisture resistant emulsion paint.

Mouldy Bathroom After Restoration in Eccles Mouldy Bathroom After Restoration in Eccles

With the ceiling freshly painted I then took another look at the grout which although clean was not a perfect white anymore and looked dull and uninviting. We do find this can happen with grout, especially if it isn’t the subject of a regular cleaning regime. There is a remedy though and what we find works well in these cases is to recolour the grout with an epoxy-based Grout Colourant which not only rejuvenates the grout it also protects it for years to come.

Grout Colouring Bathroom Wall Tiles

There are ten colours to choose from in the Tile Doctor range of Grout Colourant however in this case I felt the best outcome would be to use a White colourant to match the tiles and restore the original look of the bathroom.

The colourant is easily applied directly to the grout and in this case, I applied two coats with the aid of a small brush making sure to remove any excess that comes into contact with the tile. After applying the colourant, the bathroom transformation was complete, and it looked like a new installation.

Mouldy Bathroom After Restoration in Eccles
It was a lot of work however I was really happy with the outcome and so were the clients who even left me a nice tip. The last thing to sort out is the extractor fan, however they will need a different tradesman for that job.

Bathroom Tile Renovation in Greater Manchester

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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 »

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Greater Manchester Tile Doctor

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