Neutral Tile Cleaner Archives - Greater Manchester Tile Doctor

Victorian Fireplace Hearth Tiles Renovated in Altrincham

Renovation of Victorian Hearth in Altrincham

Our client was renovating the front room of her Victorian home including the old Fireplace in Altrincham South of Sale in Manchester. After lifting the carpet directly in front of the fireplace with a view to stripping back the wooden floorboards she found an original tiled hearth which she liked and decided she wanted to have restored.

Victorian Fireplace Hearth Tiles Before Cleaning Altrincham

The property had several other original features, so my client was very keen to try and retain as many as she could. After trying several specialist fireplace restorers without any success, she contacted us.

The tiles were in quite a state, but the main issue was the adhesive that the carpet has been secured with. With reasonable expectations of what could be achieved she hoped we could improve this little bit of history and we offered to see what we could do to improve them.

Victorian Fireplace Hearth Tiles Before Cleaning Altrincham

Armed with a range of Tile Doctor products we sampled various options before settling on a combination of Pro-Clean and Nanotech HBU cleaner. HBU stands for Heavy Build Up and is especially effective on textured surfaces. I gave her a quote for the work which she was happy to accept, and we booked in a time to carry out the work.

Victorian Fireplace Hearth Tiles During Renovation Altrincham

Cleaning a Victorian Tiled Hearth Floor

The combined products were applied to the hearth tiles and left to for fifteen minutes so they could get to work breaking down the old adhesive and dirt. Then the solution was gently agitated with a small brush to work it in further and loosen the adhesive, mortar, dirt and grime allowing it to be carefully scraped off. I used a wet vacuum to extract the resultant soiling followed by rinsing and more vacuuming.

Victorian Fireplace Hearth Tiles During Renovation Altrincham

With the tiles clean the next step was to fill any gaps that had now appeared before drying. As the area was small there was only a short time needed to dry the tiles, enough time for a cuppa.

Sealing Victorian Hearth Tiles in Greater Manchester

To improve the look of the tiles even further I gave them a very gentle dry burnish using a six inch 3000-grit diamond polishing pad fitted to a small buffer running at slow speed. This was used to remove light scratches and bring back a gentle sheen to the tile.

Victorian Fireplace Hearth Tiles During Renovation Altrincham

Finally, I gave then tiles a coat of Tile Doctor Colour Grow sealer to improve colour and add protection.

Victorian Fireplace Hearth Tiles After Renovation Altrincham

The hearth tiles were transformed by the work and my client commented it was so much better than they had dared hope could be achieved and plans to dress the area with candles or a fire basket. It is amazing what a small feature can do to the overall look of the room, and it really brought the colours out of the patterned tiles which surround the fireplace.

For their next project they are planning to strip the wood floorboards back, hoping for similar success, however I can’t help them with that.

Later my client posted the following 5 Star review on the internet:

“Kevin cleaned the hearth tiles on my Victorian fireplace which had been hidden by carpet and underlay for many years and they now look beautiful. All done quickly and efficiently and at a reasonable cost.”

Victorian Fireplace Hearth Tiles After Renovation Altrincham

For aftercare cleaning of any sealed tile, I recommend the use of Tile Doctor Neutral Tile Cleaner. It’s a gentle but effective tile and grout cleaner that won’t impact the sealer which can be the problem with some of the more aggressive products you find in supermarkets.

Professional Restoration of a Victorian Hearth Tiles in Greater Manchester

Renovation of Victorian Hearth in Altrincham Read More »

1850’s Flaking Flagstone Flooring Renovated in Saddleworth

A couple from Saddleworth contacted us about their flagstone flooring which was laid throughout the ground floor in their home which was built around 1850. Since buying their home they had decided to take up the carpets and floor coverings to most of the ground floor (approx. 60sqm) to allow the floor to breathe and help with some damp issues in the walls. In addition, it would be in keeping with the house to have its original floor back in use and make a great period feature.

Flagstone Floor Before Renovation Saddleworth

With the stone covered for such a long period the main issue was ingrained dirt and grime as well as the remnants of self-levelling compound and paint. The whole floor also had flaking issues on numerous stones and was very uneven in parts.

After some discussion over the phone around the options of cleaning, stone milling, repointing, and sealing I scheduled a survey. I recommended the floor needed the render removed, stone milled (and possibly repointing) before cleaning and finally sealing. An impregnating sealer which provided a matt, colour-enhancing finish was recommended in view of the damp and animals. In addition, we suggested the use of breathable pointing.

Flagstone Floor Before Renovation Saddleworth

Whilst the work was more involved than initially anticipated, they fully understood the scale of the problems and what was needed and so decided to go ahead.

Cleaning/Repairing a Victorian Tiled Hallway Floor

Work started with the application of 50-Grit Extra Coarse Milling pads which were fitted to a weighted rotary floor machine. The pads were run over each of the rough Yorkshire flagstones to remove the top of the flaking stone and reveal new stone underneath. The process was lubricated with water and Tile Doctor Remove and Go, the water helps keep the dust down and the Tile Doctor Remove and Go helps clean up the stone. We used quite a lot of these pads to clean up the whole floor. The resultant slurry was rinsed away with water and extracted with a wet vacuum.

Flagstone Floor During Renovation Saddleworth

Once done, the process was then repeated using 100-grit and then 200-grit milling pads to improve the surface of the stone. I must give credit to Russell Taylor from Lancashire Tile Doctor for his experience and assistance on this job, an extra pair of hands were needed given the scale of the work and to speed up work given the owners were still living in the property.

We next used an acid wash Tile Doctor Grout Clean-Up, this is to counter any efflorescence salts that can be generated with floors like this that have no damp proof course. After application it was rinsed off and extracted with the wet vacuum.

After this the pointing was then redone using a modern flexible product.

Sealing a Flagstone Tiled Floor

The floor was then left to dry out for a few days before returning to seal the floor using Tile Doctor Colour Grow which is an impregnating sealer that contains a colour enhancer to bring out the natural colours in the stone. This product is also breathable which is an important consideration for old floors like this.

Flagstone Floor After Renovation Saddleworth

The project went well, and the floor was completely transformed. My clients were very happy with the work and left the following feedback for us.

“Kevin and Russell did a great job on our flagstone floor. They regularly checked in with us throughout the process and worked around us being in the house most of the time with no problems! Highly recommend.”

For aftercare cleaning I recommend they use Tile Doctor Neutral Tile Cleaner which is a mild yet effective tile cleaner that won’t harm the sealer.

Professional Restoration of a Flagstone Tiled Floor in Greater Manchester

1850’s Flaking Flagstone Flooring Renovated in Saddleworth Read More »

Multi-Coloured Indian Slate Kitchen Floor Cleaning and Sealing Manchester

20m2 Multi-Coloured Indian Slate Kitchen Floor Manchester

1 Comment / Grout Cleaning, Manchester City Tile Cleaning, Slate Tile Cleaning / Kevin Parry

A lovely lady from Manchester contacted us early in the new year about her beautiful Indian Slate floor that had been laid in her Kitchen 18 years ago. It turns out over Christmas, a leak occurred under the kitchen units and although the kitchen itself wasn’t flooded, water had seeped under the tiles and has caused them to look quite ‘cloudy.’ In addition, she explained there was also some flaking of the tile which happened when she had a new integrated dishwasher fitted a few months ago. Keen to have the problem resolved we were asked if we could possibly restore her once lovely floor to its former glory.

Multi-Coloured Indian Slate Kitchen Floor Before Cleaning Manchester

After further discussion I paid a visit to the property to take a closer look. It was clear a mixture of impregnating sealers and topical sealers had been used previously. These had degraded due to wear and tear and the flood had left the floor looking damaged and patchy. The floor was around 20m2 and the slate was multi-coloured.

I recommended carrying out a deep restorative clean of the slate tiles and grout to remove the old sealers and then re-seal to protect the floor going forward. I created a quote for the work which was accepted and a date set for the work to begin.

Cleaning an Indian Slate Tiled Kitchen Floor

I was wary the Slate tiles had been exposed to a lot of water previously, so I decided to do the initial clean with Tile Doctor Oxy-Gel which being in gel form is a low moisture cleaner. This was worked in with a silicon carbide brush fitted to a mechanical slow speed buffing machine and then extracted with a wet vacuum. This worked well but it was clear something stronger would be needed to remove all the sealer.

Multi-Coloured Indian Slate Kitchen Floor During Cleaning Manchester

I next applied Tile Doctor Remove and Go which is a dedicated coatings remover and this was worked in using a coarse 100-grit pad. Except for the edges and grout lines which were hand cleaned, I used the buffer machine to work the product into the tile. All soils were then removed using a wet vacuum.

Next the area was neutralised by giving the floor an acid wash using Tile Doctor Acid Gel which was worked in using a 200-grit pad before rinsing with water, again all removed with a wet vacuum system. It was then left to fully dry overnight assisted by a couple of air blowers.

Sealing an Indian Slate Tiled Kitchen Floor

After sampling a couple of different sealers, it was agreed that Tile Doctor X-Tra Seal worked best to bring out the colour and give a low sheen to the floor. Just one coat was needed and after wiping off the excess sealer a white pad was used to finish with a short burnish.

My client was very happy with the result and left the following feedback.

“From start to finish, contact and communication with Tile Doctor has been straightforward and easy. Kevin explained in detail what renovating my Indian slate floor would require and consulted me on each step of the process. The work has been carried out in an extremely efficient and thorough manner. Kevin obviously knows his stuff! His communication and timekeeping skills are excellent and yes, I am obviously delighted with the renovation of my now beautiful kitchen floor.”

Multi-Coloured Indian Slate Kitchen Floor After Cleaning Sealing Manchester

For aftercare cleaning I recommended the use of Tile Doctor Neutral Tile Cleaner which is a mild but effective product that won’t affect the new sealer.

Professional Restoration of an Indian Slate Tiled Kitchen in Greater Manchester

20m2 Multi-Coloured Indian Slate Kitchen Floor Manchester Read More »

Victorian Minton Tiled Floor Restoration Wigan

Old Minton Tiled Victorian Hallway Floor Repaired and Renovated in Wigan

1 Comment / Atherton Tile Cleaning, Leigh Tile Cleaning, Victorian Tile Cleaning / Kevin Parry

Earlier this year I was contacted by a homeowner from Wigan who could not believe it when they took up the old hallway carpet to reveal a lovely, but neglected, Victorian Minton tiled floor. Although the carpet had offered some protection It was covered with paint splashes and marks and there were some loose, cracked, and missing tiles.

Victorian Tiled Floor Before Renovation Wigan

Whilst the clients had removed as much paint of as possible, lots of splashes remained. They wanted it cleaned, made sound, and missing tiles replaced before sealing also, if possible, have the cemented door threshold replaced with matching tiles. Basically, they wanted to retain the character of the floor and only replace where necessary.

Deep Cleaning Old Victorian Floor Tiles

To begin, I took moisture readings over all areas due to be worked on; an old floor like this will have been laid before Damp Proof Membranes (DPM) were made standard so its useful to get a baseline moisture reading. Next the floor was cleaned using Tile Doctor Oxy-Gel which was scrubbed into the tiles using 50 and 100-grit pads fitted to a rotary floor buffer running at slow speed. Gel cleaners are ideal for use on floors without a DPM as they use less water which keeps the moisture levels lower. The resultant soiling was then extracted using a wet vacuum and the floor inspected. Stubborn marks and inaccessible areas were spot treated by hand with more Oxy-Gel and Tile Doctor Nanotech HBU Remover.

The next step was to give the tiles an acid wash using another gel product by Tile Doctor called Acid Gel. A 200-grit pad was used to work this into the floor and then it was removed using the wet vacuum as before. This product serves two purposes, first it will counter any efflorescent salts in the tile and second it neutralises the pH level of the floor following the use of the alkaline cleaning products used earlier.

Repairing a Victorian Tiled Floor

The floor was Left to dry overnight, and I returned the next day to make the tile repairs discussed earlier. Victorian floors are still popular to this day so finding replacement tiles that match the originals isn’t a problem although they do need to be cut to fit the original size and pattern.

Victorian Tiled Floor During Renovation Wigan

Using the replacements and unbroken original tiles I was able to re-sit the loose tiles and replace the missing and damaged tiles whilst maintaining the character of the original floor.

Sealing Old Victorian Hallway Tiles

The floor needed to be dry before applying the sealer and so before getting to work I checked the floor with the damp meter and compared it with my previous readings. The use of gel cleaners had worked a treat, and the readings were all within range.

The sealer applied was Tile Doctor X-Tra Seal which is an impregnating oil-based sealer designed to occupy the pores in the tile so dirt can’t become ingrained there. This keeps the dirt on the surface where it can be easily removed. X-Tra seal is fully breathable and rated for indoor and outdoor used so will cope easily with any dampness rising through the floor.

Victorian Tiled Floor After Renovation Wigan

The job took three days in total and on returning home on the last day and seeing the results the customer immediately commented “I love it, great job thank-you”. They also left the following review the Tile Doctor feedback system.

“Kevin was very responsive and talked us through exactly what the job entailed. We’re extremely pleased with the end result, just how I wanted my 130 year old minton tiles to look.”

For aftercare cleaning of sealed Victorian tiles, I recommended using Tile Doctor Neutral Tile Cleaner which is a mild but effective tile cleaner that’s safe to use on sealed tiles. Its important to use a cleaning product like this as stronger product can erode the sealer.

Victorian Tiled Floor After Care Wigan

Victorian Floor Restoration in Greater Manchester

Old Minton Tiled Victorian Hallway Floor Repaired and Renovated in Wigan Read More »

Black Limestone Floor Before After Renovation Worsley Salfords

Dull Black Limestone Floor Renovated in Worsley

1 Comment / Limestone Tile Cleaning and Polishing, Salford Tile Cleaning / Kevin Parry

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

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

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

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 »