Porcelain Tile Cleaning Archives - Berkshire Tile Doctor

Porcelain Tiles Before After Limescale Removal Burghfield Bridge

Limescale Stained Slate Effect Shower Tiles Renovated in Burghfield Bridge

A customer recently moved into a property in Burghfield Bridge with a luxurious slate tiled shower that was badly stained with Limescale. Limescale is a big problem in hard water areas and results in the build-up of tiny mineral deposits on wetted surfaces causing staining. A water softener was being installed prevent this happening in future, but he wanted to know if anything could be done to renovate the shower tiles.

Limescale Stained Slate Effect Porcelain Shower Tiles Before Cleaning Burghfield Bridge

Removing Limescale is not a problem but the solution will depend on multiple factors, so I went over to the property to survey the tiles and work out an accurate price for the renovation. I ran several cleaning tests and as it turns out the tiles were not Slate but Micro-Porous Porcelain made to look like Slate. It’s difficult to tell from these photographs but I could see the tiles had repeating patterns which you only get when a tile has been manufactured from the same mould. Slate being a natural product results in each tile being unique.

Limescale Stained Slate Effect Porcelain Shower Tiles During Cleaning Burghfield Bridge

After demonstrating a successful cleaning process, I was able to provide my customer with an accurate quote which was accepted and as it was convenient for both me and the customer I continued with the work.

Removing Limescale from Micro-Porous Porcelain Shower Tiles

The first obstacle to overcome was the heavy build-up of limescale that was ruining the appearance of the shower. I had worked out during testing that the best way to treat the problem was to apply Tile Doctor Acid Gel which being a gel works very well on vertical shower tiles where other products would simply run off. I wouldn’t use this on natural stone so as acidic products can etch stone however it was fine to use on Porcelain and was left to dwell for around thirty minutes.

The other advantage of gel-based products is that they don’t dry out, which is perfect when a longer dwell time is necessary. Once the gel had enough time to break down the mineral deposits, I agitated it with a black pad fitted to a rotary floor buffing machine and gave the grout lines a good scrub with a stiff grout brush before rinsing with plenty of water and vacuuming up the contaminated solution.

Although the whole area wasn’t effected with limescale I proceeded with the same process throughout to ensure the whole room would be uniform in appearance. For the vertical wall tiles I used a hand buffer fitted with a six-inch scrubbing pad. Acid Gel also worked well removing the Limescale on the glass shower screen, again it was left on for some time before being rinsed off. Any puddles or water streaks remaining were mopped up with towels and each tile was dried thoroughly with a heat gun.

Limescale Stained Slate Effect Porcelain Shower Tiles After Cleaning Burghfield Bridge

Sealing Micro-Porous Porcelain Tiles

I left the tiles to dry off naturally for a couple of house and then returned to apply a sealer. I took moisture readings first to ensure the tiles were dry and ready to be sealed. Some porcelain tiles won’t take a sealer and may end up rejecting it so I conducted a small test in an inconspicuous area under the bath first to make sure it would take. Micro-Porous Porcelain will normally take a sealer and my test proved positive.

Happy with the result of my test I started applying Tile Doctor Colour Grow which has a colour enhancing formula that worked well on the dark tile and deepened the black colour. The sealer will make the shower tiles much easier to clean going forward and any water should run straight off the tile and into the drain.

The customer was over the moon with the transformation and left feedback below.

“Our tiles were extremely limescale damaged in our bathroom and Dennis done an amazing job making them look as good as new. Dennis even managed to finish the job earlier than expected which reduced our bill from the original quote. Excellent job and would highly recommend “

With some new knowledge on how to maintain his newly sealed tiles he was now keen to go ahead with the water softener installation in order to reduce the chances of limescale building up again.

Limescale Stained Porcelain Shower Tiles Renovated in Berkshire

Limescale Stained Slate Effect Shower Tiles Renovated in Burghfield Bridge Read More »

Grout Colouring Porcelain Tiles in Binfield

Renovating Porcelain Tile and Grout in a Binfield Kitchen

1 Comment / Bracknell Tile Cleaning, Grout Cleaning, Porcelain Tile Cleaning, Work History / Dennis Buckland

A customer of mine was so impressed the transformation I had made to her marble shower tiles that she asked me to come back and work some magic on the Porcelain tiled floor in her Kitchen. The property was in Binfield which is situated close to Reading, between Bracknell and Wokingham. I had other jobs booked in at the time, so after working out a quote which included lightening the colour of the grout, I scheduled a date for a return visit.

Porcelain Tiled Kitchen Floor Before Renovation Binfield

The Porcelain tile itself wasn’t too old, roughly 5 years but had been sealed with a product that had failed to bond with the tile leaving it stained and dark. There are three types of Porcelain tile commonly available and only Micro-Porous Porcelain will take a sealer. So, suspect either these tiles were of the non-porous type or that the previous sealer wasn’t an impregnator which is typically thinner so it can soak into the pores.

Cleaning a Porcelain Tiled Kitchen Floor

Before starting I removed the kick boards from underneath the kitchen units. Then to strip off the old sealer and deep clean the tile and grout I applied a strong dilution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean. This was allowed this to soak into the floor for approximately ten minutes before scrubbing the tile and grout lines with a stiff grout brush and a black abrasive scrubbing pad fitted to a rotary machine. The resulting slurry was rinsed off the floor using more water and a wet extraction machine. Once the whole area was cleaned, I left the floor to dry off.

Porcelain Tiled Kitchen Floor During Renovation Binfield

Although the grout was now clean it was still dark in appearance which made the room look smaller. I was ready for this however as part of the quote I had included colouring the grout with a white colourant which would dramatically affect the appearance of the floor and seal the grout to protecting it from future staining.

Applying White Grout Colourant

Returning from lunch the grout had dried and I was able to start the grout colouring process. I did this using a tube of White Tile Doctor Grout Colourant applied using a small brush, carefully wiping away any excess that had smeared onto the tile using a damp shammy. Once the product had dried, I gave the floor a buff with a white pad to remove any remaining residue.

The customer was delighted with the results and left positive feedback
“Yet again Dennis has made my tiles look new. In fact, they look even better than when they were first laid in the kitchen. Very impressed with the work and professionalism and would highly recommend his services.”

Porcelain Tiled Kitchen Floor After Renovation Binfield

Porcelain tiles are fairly robust and with the grout colourant providing a barrier over the grout the floor is set to stay looking good for some time to come. However there are a lot of cleaners out there on the market, some of which are very strong so for aftercare I recommended they use of Tile Doctor Neutral Cleaner. It a concentrated product so a small amount goes a long way.

Professional Renovation of Porcelain Tiled Kitchen in Berkshire

Renovating Porcelain Tile and Grout in a Binfield Kitchen Read More »

Dirty Tile and Grout Resolved in Maidenhead After

Grout Colouring Porcelain Tiled Kitchen Floor in Maidenhead

1 Comment / Grout Cleaning, Maidenhead Tile Cleaning, Porcelain Tile Cleaning, Work History / Dennis Buckland

A customer near Maidenhead asked us to take a look at their dirty porcelain floor tile and grout which had degenerated following ten years of traffic from children and pets. Domestic cleaning products were proving ineffective and professional help was now required to get the floor looking healthy again.

Dirty Tile and Grout Resolved in Maidenhead Before Cleaning

Deep Cleaning Porcelain Tiles

To get the dirt out of the tiles they were cleaned with a very mild hot water dilution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean which was spread over the tiles and left to soak into the tiles for twenty minutes, during this time the solution was scrubbed into the grout lines using a stiff brush.

The next step was to connect up our van mounted high pressure hot water clean and capture system (see photo below) and rinse the tiles and grout. This system produces very little water or spray because of its unique recovery system to a waste tank in our van. It also neutralises cleaning solutions and the high pressure penetrates into the pores of the tile removing all the soiling and pollutants.

Dirty Tile and Grout Resolved in Maidenhead During Cleaning

Applying Grout Colourant

The powerful pressure cleaning worked well on the tiles but unfortunately the grout lines had absorbed too much soiling and staining over the years which had become ingrained to a depth which could not be removed without replacing the grout. Fortunately there was another option which was to apply a Grout Colourant. Tile Doctor has a range of epoxy based colourant’s available in different colours which are relatively easy to apply and form a barrier over the existing grout to provide a uniform look and durable protection against future staining and discolouration

Dirty Tile and Grout Resolved in Maidenhead During Grout Colouring

The floor was ready for surface traffic in a few hours and I think you will agree the final result has restored this dirty and tired floor to a fresh, revitalised as new finish

My customer was very happy with the results and left the following testimonial:

Hi Tim, Many thanks for the amazing results you achieved with my Kitchen/Conservatory floor, I was blown away by the finish – it looks like new! Thank you for care instructions, we will make every effort to follow carefully.
Best wishes and thank you again. Ms. J Walker

Grout Colouring in Maidenhead, Berkshire

Grout Colouring Porcelain Tiled Kitchen Floor in Maidenhead Read More »

Porcelain Marble Effect Floor After Cleaning in Maidenhead

Porcelain Marble Effect Floor Cleaned in Maidenhead

1 Comment / Grout Cleaning, Maidenhead Tile Cleaning, Porcelain Tile Cleaning, Work History / Dennis Buckland

We were asked to take a look at these Marble effect Porcelain floor tiles installed in the Kitchen of a house in Maidenhead. Porcelain are a very robust tile which unlike natural stone does not normally need a sealer; they can still become surface stained however especially in a kitchen but the grout is more likely to become stained than the tile which was certainly the case with this floor.

Porcelain Marble Effect Floor Cleaned in Maidenhead Before

Cleaning black Porcelain floor tiles

To get the Tile and Grout clean we applied a mild dilution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean which was left to dwell and soak into the tile and grout for twenty to thirty minutes to help break down the oils, grease, skin fats, food fats and other soils which are found in the kitchen and stain the floor. The solution was then worked into the tile using a heavy rotary machine fitted with a white pad and also manually into the grout using a stiff grout scrubbing brush.

Porcelain Marble Effect Floor Cleaned in Maidenhead During

The next step was to remove the soiled cleaning solution and give the floor a good rinse and for this we have invested in a high pressure, hot water, vacuum system that has been installed in our van. This tile and grout cleaning machine simultaneously extracts dirty solutions from the floor whilst blasting engrained soiling away from the grout and tiles.

After deep cleaning and extraction the floor was allowed to dry for a period of 1 hour and an air mover was introduce to help encourage drying.

Grout Colouring

The Porcelain tiles were now looking fantastic and the grout improved however the trouble with grout is that it is porous, and so gets dirty quickly and is difficult to clean. So to get the Grout back to the colour it once was we applied a Grout Colourant to the grout lines which not only restored the uniform appearance of the grout but also adds an impervious layer to the grout protecting it from staining and making it easy to clean going forward.

Like a sealer the grout colourant can be damaged through the use of aggressive cleaning products and heavy scrubbing so for aftercare I recommended the use of a mild cleaning solution such as Tile Doctor Neutral Tile Cleaner applied with a microfiber cloth to simply wipe the grout lines clean again.

Restoring the look of a Porcelain tiled floor

Porcelain Marble Effect Floor Cleaned in Maidenhead Read More »

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Berkshire Tile Doctor

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