Wirral Tile Cleaning

Wirral Tile Cleaning

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

Ceramic Wood Plank Effect Shower Tile Cleaning Kirby Wirral

Limescale Removed from Ceramic Wood Effect Tiles in West Kirby Wet Room

We received an enquiry from a new homeowner in West Kirby keen to discover if anything could be done to renovate a wet room that had been tiled completely in Ceramic wood effect tiles. It had not been used since the previous owners moved out four months earlier and was stained with limescale and the usual build-up of grime and dyes you find from the regular use of soaps and shampoos etc.

I went over to survey the wet room tiles and see for myself the extent of the staining. I’ve never come across a wet room tiled exclusively in wood effect tiles before, it was certainly different and the limescale certainly detracted from its look.

Ceramic Wood Plank Effect Shower Tile Before Cleaning Kirby Wirral

I worked out a solution to resolve the problems agreed a price to do the work and a date was scheduled for the work to take place.

Cleaning a Ceramic Tiled Wet Room

Limescale can be removed using an acidic product such as Tile Doctor Grout Clean-up or Acid Gel, however you must be careful as some natural stone tiles such as Limestone can be etched with the use of acidic cleaning products. Fortunately, these tiles were Ceramic and so this wouldn’t be a problem. For this job I decided to go with Tile Doctor Acid Gel as being in a gel form it is much easier to control and it would stick better to the vertical surfaces.

On arrival I split the shower into sections focusing on the wall tiles first. The method was straight forward, apply the Tile Doctor Acid Gel, allow it to soak in for twenty minutes and then manually scrub into the tile and grout with a stiff brush. Rinse off and then re-treat any stubborn areas that needed further work. With the wall tiles done I moved onto the floor using the same process as the walls but using a wet vacuum to remove the residue on the floor.

Once complete and dried the wet room looked transformed, I got the impression I was in an old wooden ship and began to appreciate why the previous owner had gone for the effect.

My client was very happy with the difference and much relieved I had been able to vanquish all the limescale.

Ceramic Wood Plank Effect Shower Tile After Cleaning Kirby Wirral

I recommended the use of Tile Doctor Aqua Pro for regular day to day cleaning; this has a neutral formula and will eliminate any build-up of shampoos and soaps as well as any hard water deposits which build up over time. It has a nice fresh lemon smell and comes with a trigger spray for easy application. Due to the tiles being ceramic there is no need to apply a seal as the surface is sealed at the factory.

 

Professional Restoration of a Ceramic Tiled Wet Room in West Cheshire

Limescale Removed from Ceramic Wood Effect Tiles in West Kirby Wet Room Read More »

Travertine Kitchen Floor Renovated in Thurstaston Wirral

Polishing Travertine Kitchen Floor Tiles in Thurstaston

Although the Travertine tiles in this beautiful kitchen floor in Thurstaston were in fair condition the Grout had turned black with dirt. This normally happens when the stone is sealed but the grout has been left unprotected, then when cleaning the floor dirt is washed off the stone into the grout line where it gets trapped in the rough surface of the grout. Overtime the dirt builds up and the grout lines turning it black and completely changing the appearance of the floor.

Travertine Kitchen Floor Before Renovation Thurstaston Wirral

After visiting the property, I could see the polished appearance of the Travertine had faded and the sealer was wearing thin, so I recommend not only cleaning the grout but also burnishing the stone to deep clean it and restore its polished appearance.

Burnishing and Cleaning a Travertine Kitchen Floor

To get the best from a stone floor, we apply a set of Diamond encrusted burnishing pads of different grades starting with a coarse 400 grit pad run over the tiles using a strong dilution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean. Once the pad had been run over each tile at least three times attention was turned to the grout lines which was scrubbed with more Pro-Clean and a stiff brush. Afterwards the floor is rinsed down with water and then the dirty residue is extracted with a wet vacuum.

The 400-grit pad was followed by the application of a medium 800-grit pad using only water this time to add lubrication. Again the floor is rinsed with water after use and the soiling extracted with the wet vacuum. The next two pads are a Fine 1500 grit and Extra Fine 3,000 grit which really build up a high-quality polish on the stone. Before applying the 3000-grit I spent some time filling in the larger pits (holes) in the Travertine with an epoxy filler. Travertine is notorious for having this problem and being an acid sensitive stone it very important not to use even a mildly acidic cleaning product as this can make the problem worse.

Sealing a Travertine Tiled Floor

The floor was left to dry off fully overnight and I returned the next day to seal the Travertine first checking with a damp meter that the stone was dry. The customer wanted a natural look finish to the Travertine, so to seal the tiles I applied two coasts of Tile Doctor Ultra Seal which is an impregnating sealer doesn’t change the look of the stone in anyway. Ultra-Seal is an impregnating sealer that works under the surface by occupying the pores in the stone thus preventing dirt from becoming ingrained there.

Travertine Kitchen Floor After Renovation Thurstaston Wirral

Once the sealer had dried the floor was treated to a gentle buff with a white pad to bring up the shine even further. Once complete the stone looked a lot healthier and the grout looked so much cleaner.

 

Professional Travertine Floor Polishing in Cheshire

Polishing Travertine Kitchen Floor Tiles in Thurstaston Read More »

Travertine Tabletop Before and After Polishing Heswall

Polishing a Travertine Table Top in Heswall

One of my customers for who I recently polished their Marble floor was over the moon with the results and wondered and if I could achieve the same effect with a Travertine table which had many scratches to the top. The table was at his house in Heswall which is located on the Wirral, on the Eastern side of the Dee Estuary with lovely views across the river towards North Wales.

Travertine Tabletop Before Polishing Heswall Wirral

The table was a lovely piece of stone furniture, but I could see it was badly marked, scratched and had lost much of its surface sheen. Whilst this was a slightly unusual request, the polishing process works equally well on any type of stone so apart from the physical issue of working on a raised surface, I couldn’t see a problem with working on the table and anticipated that it would come up quite well. We agreed a cost and I arranged a time to come back and complete the job.

Travertine Tabletop Before Polishing Heswall Wirral

Cleaning and Polishing a Travertine Table

When polishing floor tiles, I would normally use large Tile Doctor 17-inch diamond encrusted burnishing pads fitted to a rotary floor buffer, naturally that simply wouldn’t work on a table however, I do have a small hand-held buffing machine that’s perfect for getting into small spaces and polishing stone wall tiles which would be perfect for this situation.

To restore the polished finish on the table I was able to use the hand buffer together with a set of four 6-inch diamond encrusted burnishing pads of different grits from coarse to very fine. The process involves working through the pads in sequence. I started the polishing with the coarse 400-grit pad and a little water, this coarse pad removes the scratches and ingrained dirt. The table was rinsed down and then the 800-grit medium pad was applied which is the first step in the polishing process. Again, this pad is applied with water to lubricate and the table was rinsed down afterwards. The process was repeated with the 1500-grit fine pad and then the 3000-grit very fine pad to bring up a really nice shine to the Travertine table, I should mention the last pad is applied dry with only a tiny amount of water sprayed onto the surface.

Sealing a Travertine Table

The last step was to seal the stone to protect it going forward for which I used two coats of Tile Doctor Colour Grow. The sealer is rubbed into the top then the excess polished off after ten minutes. Once the sealer was dry the table surface was then buffed with a white pad to bring up the finish even further.

Travertine Tabletop After Polishing Heswall Wirral

The client was really pleased with the result, the table looked like new; he was so glad he had asked me to look at it following the work on his floors. Before leaving I talked to him about the best way to look after his table in the future and recommended for regular cleaning that he use Tile Doctor Stone Patina Spray which has been especially formulated for the regular cleaning of stone worktops.

Travertine Tabletop After Polishing Heswall Wirral

 

Professional Restoration of Travertine Table East Cheshire

Polishing a Travertine Table Top in Heswall Read More »

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West Cheshire Tile Doctor

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