Johnstone Tile Cleaning

This is another Victorian hallway floor we deep cleaned in Johnstone which is located to West of Paisley. Before quoting I visited the property to survey the Victorian tiles and ensure I had a complete idea of what would be needed to fully renovate floor.

After inspecting the floor, I could see there were no surprises such as loose or cracked tiles that would need replacing and that the main issue was it was just incredibly dirty. All that it needed would be deep cleaning including stripping of any remaining sealer, then cleaning and ultimately sealing.

This is a typical Tile Doctor job for us to carry out and having worked on many Victorian floors before I was very confident of a great result. The client was happy to go ahead with the quotation and we arranged to return a few weeks later.

Cleaning a Victorian Tiled Hallway Floor

The floor was given a pre spray of Tile Doctor Remove and Go diluted 50:50 with water and then left to soak in for10 minutes to give it time to break down the dirt and any previous coatings that may have been present on the floor. Then the floor was scrubbed using a rotary bonnet machine fitted with a silicon carbide brush. This is an effective brush that in combination with the Remove and Go released a lot from the pores of the tile to the surface where it could be extracted with a wet vacuum. The floor was dirtier than anticipated and the process was carried out three times to ensure floor was as clean as possible.

Once the chemicals had done as much as they could the Victorian tiles were resurfaced using Tile Doctor 100 and 200 grit milling pads that remove stubborn ingrained dirt and staining. This process was carried out twice rinsing with water and extracted the soiling with a wet vacuum afterwards.

Last process was to give the tiles a mild Acid wash using Tile Doctor Grout Clean-up. This was scrubbed in using soft brushes fitted to the bonnet machine and then extracted as before. This process further cleans up the tile and will counter any efflorescent salts that can build up in floors of this age which won’t had a modern damp proof membrane in place.

The floor was left to dry out for a few days with a fan left in place to speed up the drying times. The floor looked so much cleaner than when we started, and my client was already pleased with the results.

Sealing a Victorian Tiled Hallway Floor

On my return the I took a few moisture readings with a damp meter to check it was dry enough to accept a sealer. We don’t recommend applying a sealer to a damp floor as from experience the results can be inconsistent so always best to check first.

The meter readings were fine, so I started applying the sealer, which for this floor Tile Doctor Colour Grow was chosen. Three coats were applied to fully protect the floor and bring the colours back after being cut back with the milling pads. This sealer works by soaking into the pores of the tile, occupying the pores, and thereby preventing dirt from becoming ingrained there going forwart. As the name suggest it’s a colour enhancing product that is also fully breathable which is important for floors with no damp proof membrane.

For aftercare cleaning I recommended the use of Tile Doctor Neutral Cleaner which is a mild pH neutral tile cleaner that is gentle enough for daily use and will ensure that the newly applied seal is not compromised and kept looking good, especially in such a high traffic area.

Professional Restoration of a Victorian Tiled Hallway in Glasgow