grout cleaner Archives - Glasgow Tile Doctor

Filled Travertine Tiled Shower After Cleaning

Mouldy Travertine tiled bathroom cleaned in Glasgow

This mouldy filled Travertine tiled bathroom was located in a house in Glasgow and as you can see from the photograph below was completely covered in mould right round the whole bathroom, there was also some staining from the dyes in soap etc.

Mouldy Filled Travertine Tiled Shower Before Cleaning

Cleaning a mouldy Travertine tiled bathroom

Firstly we cut out all the mouldy silicone with a sharp knife and once this was done we mixed a strong solution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean in a spray bottle and sprayed the cleaning product onto the walls, we used a spray as the air makes the solution lighter and stick onto the tile. Once this was done the Pro-Clean was scrubbed into the stone with stiff brushes and a lot of elbow grease using small nail brushes to allow us to get into all the tiny dimples in the filled travertine. Travertine is a natural product so Pro-Clean being a strong alkaline product is ideal for cleaning natural stone as even mildly acidic cleaners can eat away at the stone.

Sealing Travertine Tiles

Once the tiles were cleaned they were then sealed with two coats of Tile Doctor Colour Grow which is a colour enhancing sealer which is designed to protect the stone whilst lifting the colours out.

Grout Colouring

The grout was still discoloured following the cleaning process so to get it looking fresh again and after the stone was sealed we applied white grout colourant which brought the grout back to perfect white. This was done after sealing to stop the colourant absorbing into the tiles when they were un-protected making it easier to wipe off. The grout colourant we use looks natural and also forms a barrier over the grout making it easy to clean.

Once everything else was complete we finished the job off by renewing the white silicone up the corners of the walls and around the bath; the end result was a huge transformation that both us and the customer were more than happy with.

Mouldy Travertine tiles rejuvenated in Glasgow

Mouldy Travertine tiled bathroom cleaned in Glasgow Read More »

Marble Tiled Pantry Cleaned and Polished at Kinross House

1 Comment / Cumbernauld Tile Cleaning, Marble Tile Cleaning, Work History / Steven Thomson

This Marble tiled floor is located in the pantry of the historical Kinross House which is a late 17th-century country house overlooking Loch Leven that was built by the architect Sir William Bruce as his own home in 1686. You can see from the photograph the floor was in quite a state and given the history it was an honour to be asked to work on the floor.

Photo Courtesy of Kinross House, Kinross, Kinross-shire, Scotland

Marble Tile Cleaning and Polishing

We brushed out the floor to remove all the loose debris and then proceeded to restore the floor using a set of diamond encrusted burnishing pads which fit a rotary buffing machine. The burnishing process is designed to grind out dirt in the stone and smooth /polish the floor, you start with a course pad and work your way through the four pad set until you get to the finer polishing pad. This may sounds simple but it does take time to complete.

Sealing Marble Tiles

Once the floor was polished we applied a couple of coats of Tile Doctor Pro-Seal which is a non-sheen premium sealer recommended for natural stone that provided the natural matte look the client was after and will protect the Marble and keep the floor looking good.

Marble Floor Tiles Restored in Perth

Marble Tiled Pantry Cleaned and Polished at Kinross House Read More »

Victorian Tiled floor in Glasgow after cleaning

Victorian Hallway Tiles Cleaned and Sealed in Glasgow

1 Comment / Glasgow Tile Cleaning, Victorian Tile Cleaning, Work History / Steven Thomson

These Victorian tiles at a residence in Glasgow went through a dramatic change after we restored the colours and appearance. You can see from the photograph below the tiles were dull, stained and there was also paint splashes in various places.

Victorian-Tiled-floor-in-Glasgow-Before-cleaning

Cleaning a Victorian Floor

Firstly the floor was swept out and vacuumed to remove all loose debris; we then covered the entire floor with a strong solution of Tile Doctor Remove and Go combined 50/50 with NanoTech Ultra Clean which was left to dwell on the floor for an hour so it could soak into the tile. This floor did not have a previous sealer applied however the solution helped to break down the ground in dirt in the tiles and also remove the paint splashes.

The dirty solution was then extracted off using a wet vacuum and the floor rinsed with clean water several times to remove any chemical residue. Next we mixed a 50/50 solution of Tile Doctor Pro Clean and NanoTech Ultra Clean which was then scrubbed into the tile using a black scrubbing pad on a rotary machine. This was then removed and floor rinsed again and the floor was cleaned a further three times using a strong solution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean and extracted with a wet vacuum again followed by a mopping of Neutral Tile Cleaner.

Sealing a Victorian Floor Sealing

Once the floor was dry it was then sealed using four coats of Tile Doctor Seal and Go to achieve the finished result. I recommend Seal and Go for Victorian tiled floors as it leaves a low sheen finish whilst providing excellent stain protection.

Victorian Tiled floor cleaned and sealed in Glasgow

Victorian Hallway Tiles Cleaned and Sealed in Glasgow Read More »

Terrazzo tiled vestibule in Glasgow after cleaning

Terrazzo Tiled Vestibule Cleaned and Polished in Glasgow

1 Comment / Glasgow Tile Cleaning, Terrazzo Floor Cleaning, Work History / Steven Thomson

This Terrazzo tiled vestibule in Glasgow was completely dull and lacking colour when we arrived, this area probably see’s the most foot traffic in the house so it must of seen a fair amount of wear and abuse over the years.

Terrazzo tiled vestibule in Glasgow before cleaning

Cleaning Terrazzo Tiles

Terrazzo is a very hard surface and needs to be burnished in the same way as you would treat Marble or Travertine, before we could do that thought we needed to remove any loose debris etc. that could scratch the surface during the burnishing process to the first job was to sweep out the area with a brush and vacuum up any loose debris etc.

It was a very tight area so use of our large Bonnet machine was ruled out and we opted instead for a small handheld rotary machine fitted with the diamond encrusted burnishing pads. The burnishing pads come in a set of four and you start with a coarse pad with a little water and work your way through the set moving from a the coarse pads through to the less abrasive pads; this process polishes the stone more and more until you get a smooth finish. After each pad was used the area was thoroughly rinsed with clean water to remove any excess polish before moving onto the next, once we had gone through all four pads the floor was left clean ,smooth, and shiny.

Sealing Terrazzo Tile

Once the burnishing process was completed we proceeded to seal the stone with two coats of Tile Doctor Colour Grow which is a colour enhancing sealer designed to protect the stone whilst lifting the natural colours.

Although quite intensive due to the space restriction it was quite a small area so it took just less than a day to complete.

Terrazzo Tiled Vestibule restored in Glasgow

Terrazzo Tiled Vestibule Cleaned and Polished in Glasgow Read More »

Travertine Wetroom Glasgow After Cleaning

Travertine Tiled Wet Room Refresh in Glasgow

1 Comment / Glasgow Tile Cleaning, Travertine Tile Cleaning, Work History / Steven Thomson

This Travertine wet room in Glasgow was in a sorry looking state, the tiles had become very dull and there was evidence of mould especially around the silicone.

Travertine Wetroom Glasgow Before Cleaning

Cleaning a Travertine Wet Room

The first job was to cut out all the mouldy silicone around the bottom of the shower cubicle; which had the added advantage of allowing us to clean the adjacent tiles right to the edges. Once the silicone was removed we decanted a dilution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean into a spray bottle and began to spray it onto the wall tiles. Pro-Clean in an effective alkaline tile cleaner designed for use on stone tiles such as Travertine, spraying the product onto the wall allows it to mix with air making it lighter and easier to stick and soak into a vertical surface. The wall tiles and grout were then scrubbed using a stiff brush until the dirt and mould had been cleaned away.

Polishing Travertine Wall and Floor tiles

Once there tiles were free of dirt and mould we then used a set of six inch diamond encrusted burnishing pads with a hand held rotary machine to polish the travertine. The burnishing pads come in a set of four and you start with a coarse pad with a little water and work your way through the set moving from a the coarse pads through to the less abrasive pads; this process polishes the stone more and more until you get a smooth finish.

Sealing Travertine Tiles

Once the burnishing process was completed we then sealed the stone with two coats of Tile Doctor Colour Grow which is a colour enhancing sealer designed to protect the stone whilst lifting the colours out of the stone. Finally to finish off the job we renewed the silicone seal with Jasmine silicone around the floor and up the corners.

The job took the best part of a day and I think you will agree the results speak for themselves.

Travertine Tiled wet room Cleaned, Polished and Sealed in Glasgow

Travertine Tiled Wet Room Refresh in Glasgow Read More »

Victorian Tiled Floor Restoration in Glasgow

1 Comment / Glasgow Tile Cleaning, Victorian Tile Cleaning, Work History / Steven Thomson

This Victorian tiled floor was located in the west end of Glasgow, the owner had discovered the tiles under the carpet and wanted to have them restored as an original feature. When we arrived the floor was still covered in carpet glue, cement, and hessian backing from the carpet that had been stuck to the tiles.

victorian-tiled -floor-in-Glasgow-before

Cleaning a Victorian Floor

The first job was to scrape off as much hessian backing and glue as we could with large scrapers and brushed all loose debris away. We then covered the entire floor with a strong solution of Tile Doctor Remove and Go combined with NanoTech Ultra Clean to create an effective coatings remover; this was then left on the floor to dwell for an hour in order to break down and soften the adhesive etc. The floor was then wet extracted and rinsed with clean water several times to remove any excess residue. This allowed us to see what glue was left which was then removed using a steamer. After this we cleaned the floor three times using Pro-Clean and a black buffing pad on a rotary bonnet machine to clean the floor; again all the dirty water was wet extracted with a wet vacuum and the floor neutralised with more water to ensure no chemicals remained on the floor prior to sealing.

Sealing a Victorian Floor Sealing

The floor was left to dry overnight and we came back the next day to seal it with four coats of Tile Doctor Seal and Go which is an ideal sealer for Victorian tiled floors as it leaves a low sheen finish whilst providing excellent stain protection. You have to wait for each coat to dry before moving on to the next so it did take a while.

This was a tough job but certainly well worth the effort as the floor has been completely transformed and now looks fantastic.

Victorian Tiled floor restored in West Glasow

Victorian Tiled Floor Restoration in Glasgow Read More »