sealing slate tiles

Slate tiled floor Huston after cleaning and sealing

Slate tiled kitchen floor cleaned and re-sealed in Houston

This particular Slate tiled floor was installed in the kitchen of a house in Huston, that’s Houston near Glasgow not the city in Texas. This is another example of a natural stone floor was overdue a deep clean and re-seal, any remaining sealer on the slate has worn off and the tiles have become dull and stained.

Slate tiled floor Huston before cleaning

Cleaning Slate Floor Tile and Grout

First we stripped any remaining sealer from the slate tiles by applying a strong solution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean which was left to soak in before being worked into the stone using a black pad on a rotary bonnet machine; the resultant soiled cleaning solution was then extracted using a wet vacuum. This process was repeated three times to make sure all the sealer and dirt was completely removed and extracted.

After this we focused on cleaning the grout using more Pro-Clean this time worked in using a stiff grout brush by hand. Once done the floor was given a thorough rinse using clean water again using the wet vacuum to remove the water and get the floor as dry as possible.

Changing the Colour of Grout

We then left for the evening to allow the floor to dry off overnight and returned the second day and coloured the grout to dark grey using a grout colouring kit to achieve an even grout appearance. This is rather painstaking work but the effect is well worth the effort, then once that had dried we gave the floor a quick clean using Tile Doctor Neutral Cleaner.

Sealing Slate Floor Tiles

After allowing to dry overnight again, we came back the third day to seal the slate tiles for which we used six coats of Tile Doctor Seal and Go which is a water based sealer (no smell) which added a nice sheen to the tile and gave the desired finish.

Slate tiled floor Huston after cleaning and sealing
 

Cleaning and Sealing a Slate tiled floors in Huston, Renfrewshire

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Slate Doorway Before and After

Slate Tiled Staircase Cleaned and Sealed in Glasgow

These photographs were taken some time ago however I thought they might be interesting as Glasgow has an interesting mix of architecture and occasionally we are asked to clean some unusual buildings including this one which had a stone winding staircase faced with slate tile which was overdue for a clean and seal.

Slate tiled stairs in Glasgow before Slate tiled stairs in Glasgow before

Cleaning a Slate Tiled Staircase

Stairs are a high traffic area and if there was any sealer left on the slate treads it was minimal so I decided to apply a strong dilution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean. This was left on to soak into the slate tiles for about 20 minutes before being scrubbed in by hand (no room for a rotary machine).

Slate tiled stairs in Glasgow before
This was worked into the slate and grout until I was happy the tile and grout was clean. The soiled cleaning solution was removed using a wet vacuum and the floor neutralised with more water to ensure no chemicals remained on the floor prior to sealing.

Sealing a Slate Tiled Staircase

It was a small area so it only took a few hours for the tiles to dry so later that afternoon I was able to seal the slate for which we used five coats of Tile Doctor Seal and Go which adds a nice subtle sheen finish and will protect the tiles from staining going forward.

Slate tiled stairs in Glasgow after Slate tiled stairs in Glasgow after

 

Cleaning and Sealing Slate tiled stairs in Glasgow

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