Slate Tile Cleaning Archives - Staffordshire Tile Doctor

White Staining Removed from Slate Wet Room in Stafford

This client from Stafford needed some help with the Slate tiles in their bathroom wet room which as you can see from the photos had suffered with lot of white staining. The staining was either Limescale or efflorescent salts which are salts deposits on the tile which appear as the stone became wet and then dries out.

Slate Wet Room Tiles Before Cleaning Stafford

The staining had built up over time and was all over the wet floor and wall areas. I quoted for cleaning the tiles, removing all the staining in the process, and then sealing to prevent this happening in the future. Happy with my plan and quote I got the go ahead and we agreed a date for the work to start.

Slate Wet Room Tiles Before Cleaning Stafford

Cleaning a Slate Tiled Bathroom Wet Room

The first job was to clean the wall and floor tile and grout with a strong dilution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean. This was decanted into a spray bottle and sprayed onto the Slate tile and Grout where it was left to soak in for five to ten minutes before being scrubbed in using a stiff brush and small black scrubbing pads.

The soiling was then vacuumed away with a wet and dry vacuum. For stubborn staining Tile Doctor also sell a product called Oxy-Gel which is a gel-based version of Pro-Clean that really sticks well to wall tiles allowing for longer dwell times.

The next step was to tackle the White staining so I repeated the cleaning process with Tile Doctor Acid Gel. Like Oxy-Gel this is a gel-based product that sticks well to wall tiles. This product however is acid based and so can dissolve the salt staining allowing it to be removed with the wet vacuum as before.

Last step was to inspect the bathroom for any further staining and repeat the relevant process until I was satisfied. I then rinsed all the tiles with cold water to remove any trace of product and then left the bathroom to dry out overnight.

Sealing a Slate Tiled Bathroom Wet Room

The next day I applied Tile Doctor X-Tra Seal to the Slate which is an oil-based sealing product that is rated for internal and external use. This sealer restores oil into the stone improving its general appearance and improving the colour in the stone.

X-Tra Seal is a breathable impregnating sealer that works by soaking into the pores of the stone preventing dirt from residing there and thereby leaving it on the surface where it can be rinsed away. It creates a strong water repellency over the tile so will ensure water simply drains off and doesn’t collect. If you apply the second coat as we did, it gives the tiles a nice sheen, allowing the colour of the tiles to shine through.

Slate Wet Room Tiles After Cleaning Stafford

The lighting in the wet room wasn’t great so I don’t think the photos on this page have done the job any justice however it was certainly a massive improvement, my customer certainly thought so and left the flowing glowing feedback:

Great communication start to finish. Attention to detail and pride in workmanship. Really happy with the result. Our slate wet room tiles look like new!

Slate Wet Room Tiles After Cleaning Stafford

For after care cleaning I recommended the regular use of Tile Doctor Aqua-Pro, which is pH neutral and is designed for the daily cleaning of sealed bathroom tiles. This will keep the wet room looking as good as it is now.

Professional Renovation of a Slate Tiled Wet Room in Staffordshire

White Staining Removed from Slate Wet Room in Stafford Read More »

Slate Tiled Kitchen Floor Cleaned Sealed in Sutton Coldfield

Renovating a Beautiful Slate Tiled Kitchen Floor in Sutton Coldfield

1 Comment / Slate Tile Cleaning, Tamworth Tile Cleaning, Work History / Trevor Preece

I recently completed the renovation of a Multi-Coloured Slate tiled kitchen floor in Sutton Coldfield. I was actually at the property before Christmas to survey the floor and quote for the work however the owners had planned to have a new kitchen installed in the new year, so we decided it was best for me to wait until after the installation to complete the work.

The slate was in good condition but like any stone floor you do need to maintain the sealer to prevent dirt becoming ingrained in the stone. Sealer do wear off overtime especially in the high foot traffic areas such as Kitchens and within a few years the tiles become dull and difficult to clean effectively.

Multi-Coloured Slate Tiled Kitchen Floor Before Cleaning and Sealing Sutton Coldfield

The kitchen was installed on schedule and I got the call to arrange a visit to deep clean and reseal the floor which would take to two days, one to clean and one to seal.

Cleaning Dirty Slate Kitchen Tiles

To begin the restoration, I soaked the slate in a strong dilution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean and left it to soak in for about ten minutes re-applying extra solution where it dried. Pro-Clean is a powerful tile cleaner that will strip old sealers when applied in concentrated form. I agitated the product using a black pad fitted to a rotary buffing machine. I paid particular attention to the grout which the customer had trouble keeping clean. The rotary pad struggles to reach into the recesses of the grout lines so I also made sure to scrub the solution into the grout with a grout brush.

Once I was satisfied that the Slate and the Grout was clean and clear of old sealers, I gave the whole floor a thorough rinse with water using a wet vacuum to extract the soil and get the floor as dry as possible. The floor was then left to dry off fully overnight.

Sealing Slate Kitchen Tiles

Returning to the property the next day, I ran some quick damp tests to check for any excess moisture that might have prevented me from sealing the floor. We will always do this as excess moisture can affect the sealer curing.
The customer was very happy with the clean and the floor was dry, so we discussed sealer options to find out their preference for Matt or Satin finish. With the decision made to go with a Satin finish I began the application of the Tile Doctor Seal and Go which enhances the look of the stone with an aesthetically pleasing low-sheen finish, as well as providing on-going protection against ingrained dirt and staining.

Multi-Coloured Slate Tiled Kitchen Floor After Cleaning and Sealing Sutton Coldfield

A total of four coats of Seal and Go were needed to seal the Slate tiles and as you can see from the photos the sealer really put the life back into the floor.

Rejuvenating a Multicoloured Slate Tiled Kitchen Floor in Staffordshire

Renovating a Beautiful Slate Tiled Kitchen Floor in Sutton Coldfield Read More »

Dirty and Worn Slate Tiled Kitchen Floor Restored in Burton-on-Trent

1 Comment / Burton on Trent Tile Cleaning, Slate Tile Cleaning, Work History / Trevor Preece

This slate floor was installed in the kitchen of a house in the town of Burton-on-Trent in Staffordshire. As the name suggests, Burton-on-Trent sits alongside the River Trent, which runs through most of the northern Midlands. The old sealer on my client’s Slate tiled kitchen floor had completely worn off and, as a result, dirt had become ingrained in the pores of the stone which was now in need of restoration.

Slate is typically a very durable tile, having been used both residentially and commercially for hundreds of years but, in particularly high traffic areas like kitchens it’s important to maintain the sealer or dirt will get into the pores of the stone making the floor difficult to clean effectively and leading to the tile looking worse for wear. I was commissioned to get the floor back to good health and I prescribed a deep clean and re-seal.

Slate Tiled Floor Before Cleaning Burton-on-Trent

Cleaning a dirty Slate tiled floor

To start the cleaning process, I first diluted Tile Doctor Pro-Clean and water and left it to soak into the floor for a while so it could get to work lifting out the dirt from the pores of the stone. Pro-Clean is a versatile, high alkaline cleaner safe to use on natural stone which can be diluted in different strengths depending on the level of soil build-up. In this case, I opted for a reasonably strong solution due to the significant amount of ingrained dirt (as shown by the photographs).

After about ten minutes I started working in small sections to agitate the tiles with a scrubbing pad attached to a rotary machine. The pad and machine take a lot of the hard work out of the cleaning process although I usually do the grout by hand using a stiff scrubbing brush. Once I had finished the initial clean, I rinsed the entire floor with water, before repeating the process multiple times until I was satisfied that I had got the Slate tiles as clean as possible.

Sealing a Slate Tiled Floor

After completing the clean, I left the house for a few days to allow the floor enough time to dry before being sealed. As any Tile Doctor will tell you, all moisture must be removed from a tiled floor before sealing it, as it has the potential to compromise the effectiveness of the sealer.

Once I was satisfied that the floor was completely dry, I sealed the tiles using four coats of Tile Doctor Seal & Go, which provides a stain resistant surface seal and a nice, low sheen finish. Seal & Go is a water based product (so no smell) and is suitable for use on a wide variety of unsealed, porous surfaces as Slate, Victorian tile, Sandstone, and textured Quarry tiles.

Slate Tiled Floor After Cleaning Burton-on-Trent

As you can see, the overall results were fantastic and my client was really happy with the difference I’d been able to achieve.

Restoring Slate Tiled Floor in Burton-on-Trent

Dirty and Worn Slate Tiled Kitchen Floor Restored in Burton-on-Trent Read More »

Slate tiled kitchen floor refreshed in Burton on Trent

1 Comment / Burton on Trent Tile Cleaning, Slate Tile Cleaning, Work History / Trevor Preece

Pictures below of a slate tiled kitchen floor that I recently maintained at a house in Burton on Trent. The problem was the usual one that the sealer had worn down and the floor had lost its polished look leaving it dull and the owner of the house wanted it looking new again.

Cleaning black slate floor tiles

The floor was cleaned using a dilution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean which was left to soak into the slate for ten minutes before being worked into the tile using a rotary machine fitted with a scrubbing pad. The process was repeated where there were stubborn stains and then the whole floor was washed down to remove the soiled cleaning solution and any trace of product. The floor was then dried as much as possible using a wet vacuum and left to fully dry overnight.

Slate Tiles in Burton on Trent Before Cleaning

Sealing Slate floor tiles

I left the floor overnight to dry then came back next day and used a damp test meter to verify the floor was dry and ready for sealing. Once happy I proceed to apply four coats of Tile Doctor Seal & Go which as you can see from the photograph below has really brought the slate back to life.

Slate Tiles in Burton on Trent After Cleaning

The customer was delighted with the transformation of the floor.

Slate tiled Kitchen floor Cleaned and Sealed in Staffordshire

Slate tiled kitchen floor refreshed in Burton on Trent Read More »

Slate tile maintained in Bridgenorth

1 Comment / Cannock Tile Cleaning, Slate Tile Cleaning, Work History / Trevor Preece

This slate tiled floor was installed in the Kitchen of a house in the town of Bridgnorth which is in the Severn Valley Staffordshire. The owner of the house wanted to have the floor deep cleaned and re-sealed and so gave us a call.

Cleaning black slate floor tiles

We set about cleaning the kitchen floor with a mixture of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean mixed 50/50 with Tile Doctor Nano-tech Ultraclean which was worked into the pores of the slate tile using a slow speed rotary machine fitted with a Polyscrub scrubbing pad which can reach down into grouting as well as scrubbing the floor. I then used a wet vacuum to remove the resultant soiled solution before rinsing the floor down twice with cold water, this also neutralises the floor prior to sealing.

Sealing Slate floor tiles

I left the floor overnight to dry then came back next day and used a damp test meter to verify the floor was dry and ready for sealing. Once happy I proceed to apply three coats of Tile Doctor Seal & Go which as you can see from the photograph below has really brought out the natural colours in the slate. I used a water test after the third coat was dry to see if the water would form bubble on the surface thus indicating it was dry, which it did thereby indicating the floor was fully sealed.

Overall the job took two days and I’m happy report the customer was delighted with the outcome.

Slate tiled Kitchen floor Cleaned and Sealed in Staffordshire

Slate tile maintained in Bridgenorth Read More »

Slate tiled floor cleaned and sealed in Burton on Trent

1 Comment / Burton on Trent Tile Cleaning, Slate Tile Cleaning, Work History / Trevor Preece

This slate tiled floor was installed in a Kitchen in Burton on Trent, Staffordshire. The owner of the house felt it was time to get it cleaned and re-sealed so gave us a call.

Cleaning black slate floor tiles

We set about cleaning the kitchen floor with a mixture of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean mixed 50/50 with Tile Doctor Nano-tech Ultraclean which was worked into the pores of the slate tile using a slow speed rotary machine fitted with a Polyscrub scrubbing brush which can reach down into grouting as well as scrubbing the floor. I then used a wet vacuum to remove the resultant soiled solution before rinsing the floor down twice with cold water, this also neutralises the floor prior to sealing.