Newcastle upon Tyne Tile Cleaning Archives

Brown Stained Limestone Fireplace Cleaning Jesmond

Removing Stains from a Recently Installed Limestone Fireplace in Jesmond

A homeowner from Jesmond in Newcastle had a newly installed Limestone Fireplace which had become badly stained by the installers during installation. They had attempted to clean the dust off but made rather a mess of it leaving brown staining all over the contemporary limestone hearth, there was also glue staining where the stone sections had been glued together and the glue had been allowed to run off marking the stone and then wiped off.

Brown Stained Limestone Fireplace Before Cleaning Jesmond

I asked for some photos of the staining to be emailed over and explained that I was confident the staining could be removed and the fireplace returned to its original condition. As expected, the photos indicated the problem, and I was able to provide a quote without making a site visit. The client was happy with my proposal and quotation, and we booked in a date for the work to be carried out.

Cleaning a Limestone Fireplace

I first protected the surrounding areas, wallpaper, carpet and skirting boards, gave the hearth a light vacuum and set up to carry out the work.

My first cleaning task was to spray the stained areas with a Tile Doctor product called Reduxa. This was left to soak in before using a heat gun set at 400 degrees to gently heat up the treated area. This causes the stain to evaporate out with the Reduxa and may need to be repeated several times until the stain had gone completely. There were several areas that need treating like this so the process was repeated on all the stains.

Brown Stained Limestone Fireplace Before Reduxa Cleaning Jesmond

Brown Stained Limestone Fireplace During Reduxa Cleaning Jesmond

Next there were several areas of glue staining which needed deep cleaning which was removed using handheld diamond blocks of different grits and a little water.

Sealing a Limestone Tiled Fireplace

Once I was happy the limestone was clean, dry and free of all staining it was sealed with a coat of Tile Doctor Ultra-Seal which is an invisible impregnator that will protect the limestone from spills. Impregnators soak into the stone occupying the pores so that dirt etc cannot reside there, this ensures it stays on the surface where it can be easily cleaned away.

Brown Stained Limestone Fireplace After Cleaning Jesmond

I then tidied leaving the area clean and tidy and the fireplace looking the way it should have done following installation. I then showed the client and he was over the moon that the stains were gone.

On the topic of aftercare cleaning, I recommended using of Neutral Tile Cleaner decanted into a spray bottle with water. This can then be sprayed on and wiped off, being of neutral ph it won’t impact the sealer which should last for many years.

Professional Renovation of a Limestone Fireplace in Newcastle

Removing Stains from a Recently Installed Limestone Fireplace in Jesmond Read More »

Marble Tiled Hallway Floor Polishing Newcastle Upon Tyne

Dull Marble Tiled Hallway Given New Lease of Life in Newcastle Upon Tyne

1 Comment / Grout Cleaning, Marble Tile Cleaning, Newcastle upon Tyne Tile Cleaning / Spencer Morgan

This client from Newcastle contacted Tile Doctor about the condition of the Marble tiled floor in their hallway. Installed twenty years prior wear had taken its toll and it had lost its polished appearance and now looked dull and unflattering.

Marble Tiled Hallway Floor Before Cleaning Newcastle

I paid an initial visit to survey the floor and discuss what could be done to remedy the consultation. It was clear to me the stone simply needed a deep clean, polish and fresh seal to get the floor looking back to its original appearance. After measuring up I worked out what materials would be required to restore the finish and created a detailed quote. The quote was accepted, and a date was agreed to commence the work.

Marble Tiled Hallway Floor Before Cleaning Newcastle

Deep Cleaning a Marble Tiled Hallway

My first task was to protect the woodwork by applying a bead of clear waterproof mastic between the wood and the floor. This prevents water being soaked into the wood through capillary action which can cause water staining and worst-case blow MDF skirting and doors.

Once done work started on polishing the Marble tiles using a 400-grit burnishing pad fitted to a rotary floor machine. This is a coarse diamond pad that is applied with water and removes sealers, old polish and dirt. The water quickly turns into a slurry and once the whole floor had been burnished in this way the soiling was removed with more water and a wet vacuum.

This pad was the first in a set of four burnishing pads that hone the stone and bring up the polish. The next pad is a finer 800-grit which is the first step in re-polishing the Marble and slowly bring the stone back to life. The process was then repeated with a 1500-grit pad, then rinsing and extracting as before.

After this work, I started on the grout lines which were scrubbed by hand using Tile Doctor Pro-Clean which is an alkaline cleaner that will not upset the Marble. The floor was then given a final rinse with clean water and extracted again with the wet vacuum which was used to get the floor as dry as possible before leaving to dry off fully overnight.

Sealing a Marble Tiled Hallway

I called back the next day and started work by checking the stone and grout was dry and ready for a final polish using a 3000-grit diamond pad. This extra fine pad brings up the polish on the floor even further and is applied using a tiny amount of water from a spray bottle which aids in the final polish. Once the whole floor was polished including all the corners and edges it was time to start applying the sealer.

I used Tile Doctor Ultra Seal for this which is an impregnating sealer that adds protection to the stone without altering its natural appearance. The combination of polish and fresh sealer left the floor looking new and put the wow factor back into the hallway.

Marble Tiled Hallway Floor After Polishing Newcastle

Once complete, the hallway floor was transformed with a deep shine, and my client was over the moon with the result. I also discussed future cleaning and recommended Tile Doctor Stone Soap. This is a mild but effective cleaner which helps maintain the patina on the marble.

Professional Restoration of a Marble Tiled Hallway in Tyneside

Dull Marble Tiled Hallway Given New Lease of Life in Newcastle Upon Tyne Read More »

Textured Porcelain Kitchen Tiles Before After Grout Removal Jesmond

Removing Grout Smears from Textured Porcelain Tiles in Jesmond

1 Comment / Grout Cleaning, Newcastle upon Tyne Tile Cleaning, Porcelain Tile Cleaning, Work History / Spencer Morgan

This request came from a client who lives in the Newcastle district of Jesmond who was unhappy with the appearance of their Textured Porcelain floor tiles. The problem was that the Porcelain Tiles were grouted in whilst the underfloor heating was switched on. This resulted in the grout drying out quicker than expected and the tiler struggled to get the excess grout off the tiles. To rectify the problem, the tiler tried to get the dried grout off with acid, but it didn’t work, and the floor was left looking dark and dull. Unable to rectify the problem the client was left with a disappointing pale floor and had searched around the internet for a solution.

Grout Stained Textured Porcelain Tiled Floor Before Cleaning Jesmond

Normally grout smears like these (aka Grout Haze) can be removed with an acidic product and Tile Doctor sell Grout Clean-up specially for this purpose. However, some grouts contain acid resistant polymers which need to broken down first. Fortunately, we have a solution for everything tile related and the system we use does not affect the main grout lines only the excess grout. I called in to do a site visit and having surveyed the problem I was confident it could resolved, I gave them a price for the work and agreed a date to return to do the job.

Cleaning a Textured Porcelain Tiled Kitchen Floor

My first task was to spray the tiles with Tile Doctor Remove and Go, this was left to soak into the tile for around ten minutes before being scrubbed in. Remove and Go is a coatings remover that is safe to use on tile and grout; normally we use it to remove old sealers but in this case I applied it to break down the polymers. To work the product into the tile I use a buffing machine fitted with a black scrubbing pad, the mechanical advantage this gives makes the job a lot quicker. Then the slurry generated is rinsed off with water and removed with a wet vacuum. The floor was then left to dry for 30 minutes.

We were then able to remove the excess grout which was done by applying Tile Doctor Grout Clean-Up which I mentioned earlier. The process was the same, i.e. using the buffing machine and a wet vacuum to scrub the floor and extract the soil. The floor was rinsed with water to remove any trace of the products used and dried as much as possible using the wet vacuum. The underfloor heating really helped at this point to dry out the floor.

Sealing a Textured Porcelain Tiled Kitchen Floor

Once the floor was fully dry including the grout lines a single thin coat of Tile Doctor Colour Grow sealer was applied. The tiles were textured porcelain, so the dirt gets trapped into the textured surface if it is not sealed. We usually find one coat of Tile Doctor Colour Grow is more than enough for this, anything that hadn’t soaked in after three to five minutes was then polished off with clean dry cloths.

Grout Stained Textured Porcelain Tiled Floor After Cleaning Jesmond

The client was very happy with the floor and pleased that the excess grout had been cleaned up and the floor looked as it should. Before leaving I recommended the use a pH Neutral tile cleaner for general cleaning such as Tile Doctor Neutral Tile Cleaner. There is no point sealing the tiles only to have it stripped off later with the use of a bleach based cleaner.

Professional Restoration of a Textured Porcelain Tiled Kitchen in Tyneside

Removing Grout Smears from Textured Porcelain Tiles in Jesmond Read More »

=================================

Ceramic Tile Cleaning, Encaustic Cement Tile Cleaning, Fireplace Cleaning, Flagstone Tile Cleaning, Gateshead Tile Cleaning, Grout Cleaning, Hebburn Tile Cleaning, Jarrow Tile Cleaning, Limestone Tile Cleaning and Polishing, Longbenton Tile Cleaning, Marble Tile Cleaning, Newcastle upon Tyne Tile Cleaning, Porcelain Tile Cleaning, Quarry Tile Cleaning, Ryton Tile Cleaning, Sandstone Tile Cleaning, Slate Tile Cleaning, South Shields Tile Cleaning, Sunderland Tile Cleaning, Terracotta Tile Cleaning, Terrazzo Floor Cleaning, Travertine Tile Cleaning, Tynemouth Tile Cleaning, Victorian Tile Cleaning, Vinyl Tile Cleaning, Wallsend Tile Cleaning, Washington Tile Cleaning, Whickham Tile Cleaning, Whitley Bay Tile Cleaning, Work by Category, Work by Location, Work History / Spencer Morgan

Tyneside Tile Doctor

================================= Read More »