Dorking Tile Cleaning

Dorking Tile Cleaning

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

Ceramic Metro Bathroom Tiles Rejuvinated Dorking

Rejuvenating White Metro Stye Bathroom Tiles in Dorking

These clients from Dorking were selling their house soon but were concerned about the appearance of the tile and grout in their shower room and bath. The tiles were White Ceramic laid in the popular Metro style, whilst the tiles looked fine, they were being let down by the grout which had discoloured and was turning a shade of pink and brown. Also, the white mastic sealant was blackening and mouldy in places. Naturally, my clients were keen to ensure that potential buyers were not put off by the bathroom and wanted to get the maximum price for the house sale.

Ceramic Tiled Bathroom Before Cleaining Dorking Ceramic Tiled Bathroom Before Cleaining Dorking

This was a nice straight forward job, the tiles can be easily cleaned, and the mastic removed and reapplied, but it would make a massive difference to the overall look of the room. I gave them a price and they were happy for me to go ahead.

Deep Cleaning a Ceramic Tile and Grout

Firstly, I sprayed the grout with Tile Doctor Duo Clean. This breaks down the accumulated dirt and grime and is left to dwell for 10-15 minutes. Then I brushed the grout with a strong wire brush and showered away the dirt. Permanent discolouration is common so there were places the grout failed to return to its original white colour. To resolve this, I discussed colouring the grout with my customer as removing and re-grouting is a time consuming and expensive option. Additionally, the colourant provides an easy to clean barrier over the grout that will protect it from discolouration going forward.

While waiting for the grout to dry following the cleaning I set about removing the mastic around the shower and walls with a sharp knife.

After an hour of slow cutting the grout was ready for colouring. With a small, stiff paintbrush I painted a White Tile Doctor Grout Colourant into the grout lines, wiping away any excess from the tiles. The colourant dries very quickly so I could apply a second coat where needed soon after.

Once done my final task was to apply the white silicon mastic to all verticals and the bath surround to ensure the bath was watertight. This takes a while to cure so I advised the clients not to use the shower for 24 hours. I should mention the glaze on Ceramic tiles provides adequate protection from dirt, ensuring they are easy to clean and therefore do not require further sealing.

By the end of the day the bathroom looked like a new installation, their trendy Metro style tiles were rejuvenated, and my clients loved the wall of white.

Ceramic Tiled Bathroom After Cleaining Dorking Ceramic Tiled Bathroom After Cleaining Dorking

As my client was selling the property there was little point in discussing aftercare, however for your benefit I would recommend cleaning with Tile Doctor Aqua-Pro. This product will neutralise any acid build up caused by shampoos and shower products in the first place and it is these acids that cause discoloration over time.

Now I don’t want to worry anyone about the word acids, the human skin is slightly acidic so the products we use on our skin are designed for this, but if your eyes sting slightly when they come into contact with the shampoo then that is the acid. Naturally, it washes out with water, but you can imagine what it will do to your grout, tiles, and silicone over a long period of time.

 

Professional Cleaning of a Ceramic Bathroom Tiles in Surrey

Rejuvenating White Metro Stye Bathroom Tiles in Dorking Read More »

Textured Porcelain Swimming Pool Tiles Before After Cleaning Dorking

Cleaning of a Textured Porcelain Swimming Pool in Dorking

Textured porcelain is a great choice for tiling swimming pool surrounds due to its anti-slip properties. The drawback however is that the textured surface which provides the grip also traps dirt and is very hard to keep clean without specialised equipment.

Textured Porcelain Swimming Pool Tile Before Cleaning Dorking

This swimming pool in the basement of a large property in Dorking was suffering from exactly that problem causing the pool area to look dirty and unhygienic. Another issue that needed dealing with was the removal of rust staining from where old chair with metal legs had once stood.

Textured Porcelain Swimming Pool Tile Before Rust Removal Dorking Textured Porcelain Swimming Pool Tile Before Cleaning Dorking

The client had called in another cleaning firm, but they were unable to deal with all the issues, so we got the call to find a solution. We visited the site to see how involved the work would be and to give the client a quote. They were happy to accept, and a suitable time was agreed to come back and complete the work which would take one day.

Deep Cleaning Textured Porcelain Tiles

Naturally you must be very careful around swimming pools as the last thing you want is the cleaning solution or dirt to end up in the swimming pool itself. To get around this I first sprayed the tiles with a strong dilution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean and then left it for ten minutes so it could soak in and break down the dirt. For the tiles near the pool, the solution was scrubbed in by hand using a deck brush and elsewhere with a rotary floor machine fitted with a scrubbing pad.

Textured Porcelain Swimming Pool Tile During Cleaning Dorking

This process releases the trapped dirt from the textured Porcelain tile, resulting in a fine slurry. The tiles are then rinsed with water under high pressure using a high-powered spinner tool that is powered from a compressor on my vehicle. This is an impressive tool that has utilised long hoses to apply the water and extract the slurry back to a grey tank on the vehicle. It’s a very effective tool that contains and extracts the slurry without making a mess leaving the tiles clean and almost dry.

Textured Porcelain Swimming Pool Tile During Cleaning Dorking

Removing Rust Stains from Textured Porcelain Tiles

To deal with the rust stains they were spotted treated with Tile Doctor Rust Away which is designed for the job. It is a ready to use, non-acid rust remover that will dissolve problematic rust stains, and worked a treat in this instance.

Textured Porcelain Swimming Pool Tile After Rust Removal Dorking

Porcelain tiles won’t take a sealer so once all the pool tiles were cleaned and restored to their former glory we were done for the day. The client was very satisfied with the work we carried out, the pool area looked a lot more inviting and the area was now restored to the feature area it should have been. The also said they would recommend us to some of their friends which is always welcome.

Textured Porcelain Swimming Pool Tile After Cleaning Dorking Textured Porcelain Swimming Pool Tile After Cleaning Dorking

 

Professional Restoration of a Textured Porcelain Tiled Swimming Pool Tiled in West Surrey

Cleaning of a Textured Porcelain Swimming Pool in Dorking Read More »

Marble Tiled Hallway Farnborough

Marble Tiled Hallway Cleaned and Polished in Farnborough

It’s not our local area but following a recommendation to this client by another customer we were asked to have clean and seal these Marble tiles in the hallway of a house in Farnborough.

Marble Tile Cleaning and Polishing

There was no sealer present on the Marble tiled floor so gave the floor a clean with a dilution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean which is safe to use on stone floors, Pro-Clean is also very effective on grout so we took the opportunity to get into the grout lines as well. Once we were happy with the tile and grout we removed the soiled cleaning solution using a wet vacuum and washed the floor down with clean water.

The next step was to use a set of diamond encrusted burnishing Pads fitted to a rotary buffing machine to polish the floor. The pads come in a set and are very effective at restoring the shine back on Marble, Limestone and Travertine etc.

Marble Tiled Hallway Farnborough

Sealing Marble Tiles

Once the floor was polished we applied two coats of Tile Doctor Ultra-Seal which provides a high level of surface protection whilst maintaining the natural look of the Marble tiles. Once the sealer had dried we buffed the floor again using a white polishing pad.

Marble Tiled Hallway Farnborough2
I’m, afraid I forgot to take any photographs before we started cleaning so you can see the difference we made to the floor, needless to say however the customer was very happy with the results

Marble Floor Tiles and Grout Refreshed in Farnborough

Marble Tiled Hallway Cleaned and Polished in Farnborough Read More »

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East Surrey Tile Doctor

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