Polegate Tile Cleaning

Polegate Tile Cleaning

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

Travertine floor during after honing and polishing polegate

Newly Installed Travertine Tiled Floor Polished and Sealed in Polegate

Travertine is known on the international market for being very distinctive in character and very durable, making it a very popular choice for tiled flooring in properties worldwide. However, the stone does require regular professional maintenance and polishing to keep it looking it top shape.

I recently visited a nice property in Polegate, a town not too far away from the seaside resort of Eastbourne, in which a large Travertine tiled floor had been recently installed in the lounge and kitchen, but not finished to the standard that the customer had wanted. The customer had visited our website and, upon seeing some of our other work, asked us to finish to a high standard the job the other company had started.

Travertine floor before honing and polishing Polegate Travertine floor before honing and polishing Polegate

Cleaning a Travertine Tiled Floor

The first part of the job involved giving the floor a thorough clean to remove and debris and dirt that had built up since the initial installation. Before beginning we removed the kickboards under the kitchen units and covered the skirting boards and walls with a plastic sheet to protect them during the cleaning process.

The product we used to clean the tiles and grout is known as Tile Doctor Pro Clean, a high alkaline solution that always provides reliable and consistent results when tackling soiled floors. The solution was applied liberally across the floor and left to dwell for a short period before being worked in with a scrubbing pad fitted to a rotary machine – as well as a specialised grout brush for the grout. We then thoroughly rinsed off the floor using a state of the art truck-mounted pressure washer, resulting a spotless floor.

Next, we addressed the many small porous holes that commonly occur in Travertine due to a natural corrosion process called ‘pitting’. These pitted holes not only spoil the appearance of the tiles, they also act as natural habits for ingrained dirt! It’s important therefore that we filled them with a resin to smoothen the appearance of the floor and protect it against ingrained dirt.

Burnishing and Sealing a Travertine Tiled Floor

Following this, we moved on to a process we know as burnishing, which involves the application of diamond encrusted pads to remove old sealers, smoothen the rough surface of the floor, and hone the stone to provide it with a polished appearance.

Travertine floor during honing and polishing Polegate
We started with a Coarse 400 grit pad to strip away any old sealers and level off the rough surface, before refining this with the Medium 800 grit pad for an initial polish, Fine 1500 grit pad for the second polish, and Very Fine 3000 grit pad for the final polish. Each pad is used with a small amount of water as lubricant.

Finally, we applied Tile Doctor Shine Powder, which is a crystallising powder sealer that ensures a very high shine and a tough, durable finish. This powder is applied directly to the tiles in combination with at least ½ a litre of water and a soft white buffing pad.

Travertine floor after honing and polishing Polegate Travertine floor after honing and polishing Polegate

The customer was ecstatic with the results, being particularly pleased that she got the floor looking the way she originally wanted without significant expense, not to mention stress.

Professional Cleaning and Polishing of a Newly Installed Travertine Tiled Floor in East Sussex

Newly Installed Travertine Tiled Floor Polished and Sealed in Polegate Read More »

Ceramic Tiled Shower Cubicle Before and After Cleaning Herstmonceux

Cleaning a Ceramic Tiled Shower Cubicle in Herstmonceux

We often get asked to do bathroom refresh and end of tenancy tile cleans however it’s a good job I’m not squeamish as this ceramic tiled shower cubicle was in a bad way.

Ceramic Tiled Shower Cubicle Before Cleaning Herstmonceux
The property was in the historic village of Herstmonceux in the Wealden District of East Sussex and apparently it had been leased to students who it seems were averse to cleaning, no surprise there.

Ceramic Tiled Shower Cubicle Before Cleaning Herstmonceux

Cleaning Ceramic Tiled Shower Cubicle

The first step was to remove the plastic product holder to expose the tile and grout, which revealed more staining and black mould.

Ceramic Tiled Shower Cubicle Before Cleaning Herstmonceux Ceramic Tiled Shower Cubicle Before Cleaning Herstmonceux

With that removed I sprayed the Tile and Grout with Tile Doctor Oxy-Gel which works better than liquid products as being gel based it sticks to the wall tile and grout and really gets to work breaking down the dirt. I left this for a few minutes before scrubbing it and then rinsing it off with water. I had a problem with a patch of grout which was beyond cleaning and concerned it was going to upset the whole job I raked out it and applied new grout.

Grout Colouring Shower Wall Tiles

With the tiles now clean and fresh grout dried the next step was to apply a White Grout Colourant to ensure all the grout had a consistent appearance. Although time consuming the grout colourant is easily applied with a small brush and then you wipe off any excess that gets onto the tile.

The next step was to strip out the mastic silicone sealant strip from around the base of the shower cubicle and replace with new. I used high quality silicone sealant that left nice lines and fresh look, don’t use cheap sealant as it will soon discolour and some have been known to shrink.

Last step was to replace the plastic product holder which had been cleaned.

Ceramic Tiled Shower Cubicle After Cleaning Herstmonceux
Quite a difference I think you’ll agree. Future cleaning advice was left with the customer; I just hope he passes it onto the next tenant.

Ceramic Tiled Shower Cubicle After Cleaning Herstmonceux
 

Stained Ceramic Tiled Shower Cubicle Refreshed in East Sussex

Cleaning a Ceramic Tiled Shower Cubicle in Herstmonceux Read More »

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East Sussex Tile Doctor

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