Porcelain Tile Cleaning

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

Cleaning and Polishing Porcelain tiles

Harder than ceramic tiles modern production methods have allowed a growth in the availability and design of Porcelain tiles which are known for their durability and water resistance making them a popular option for floors. Like Ceramic, Porcelain tiles are generally very easy to clean and need little maintenance however some are micro porous and do require sealing, you will need to ask you supplier which type you have installed as it can be very difficult to tell.

If your Porcelain tiles are of the micro porous variety then they will need to be sealed to avoid a build-up of dirt in the pores of the tile. For this we recommend Tile Doctor Ultra-Seal which works by impregnating the pores to ensure dirt can’t become ingrained there without changing the appearance of the tile itself.

Apart from sealing the biggest issues with this type of tile are usually grout related. Either the adjacent grout discolours over time or the tiler has been unable to remove excess grout from the surface of the tile, an issue known as Grout Haze or Grout Smears. Modern grouts can be particularly susceptible to the grout haze issue due to shorter working times and polymers in the grout which make it difficult to remove once dry. If this sounds familiar do contact us so we can advise you on how best to remove it.

Below you will find detailed examples of work we have carried out in the past, it should give you some idea of what’s involved and what can be achieved with the right techniques and products.

Bathroom Floor Grout Restored Matlock

Bathroom Floor Grout Coloured with Ivory Grout Colourant in Matlock

1 Comment / Grout Cleaning, Matlock Tile Cleaning, Porcelain Tile Cleaning /

I received a call from a lady who lives in the beautiful spa town of Matlock in Derbyshire Peak District with a Porcelain tiled shower room floor. She had been recommended to myself from a good friend whose kitchen floor grout I had recoloured the week before.

She had a similar problem to her friend whose bathroom floor was being let down by the grout which had completely discoloured and no longer matched the wall tiles. This tends to happen as the dirt from the tile is washed into the grout lines during cleaning with a mop.

Bathroom Floor Before Grout Colouring in Matlock

Having visited the property to survey the floor I advised her that although I could clean the grout it would most likely go dark again and that there may be deep seated stains that I simply can’t remove.

As a result, I recommended renovating the grout using a Tile Doctor Grout Colourant which is available in 11 different colours. I always carry a few colours with me so I applied a couple of different ones to the grout so she could see which one would work best with the tiles. Ivory seemed to work well so I worked out a quote to renovate the grout using an Ivory Grout colourant which she was more than happy with and so I booked her in.

Renovating Discoloured Grout in a Tiled Bathroom Floor

I turned up on the agreed date and I started work by spraying all the grout lines with a Tile Doctor Grout Pre-Treater. This product cleans and etches the surface of the grout to provide a better bond with the grout colourant which comes next.

The Pre-Treater was then scrubbed into the grout lines with a hand brush to agitate the solution and lift the dirt and other contaminants. After five to ten minutes, I wiped the spray away and the now grubby solution and rinsed with water and then wiped again to remove any pre-treater left behind.

Once dry I began to apply the Tile Doctor Grout Colourant to all the joints using a small brush in a painting motion, wiping away any excess left behind on the tiles as I went. The job is quite a slow one due to the small grout lines but quite satisfying as the difference is immediate.

The Grout Colourant not only rejuvenates the grout but also seals it in thereby protecting from future staining and making the grout so much easier to clean. After 2 coats and a final wipe of the tiles the renovation was complete.

Bathroom Floor After Ivory Grout Colouring in Matlock

The client was delighted and the floor looked amazing.

It was not necessary this time to replace the silicone sealant around the shower, but it’s worth knowing this is a service we offer. Often this becomes mouldy over time and brings down the overall look of the bathroom.

 

Professional Restoration of a Tiled Bathroom Floor in Derbyshire

Bathroom Floor Grout Coloured with Ivory Grout Colourant in Matlock Read More »

White Grout Recoloured Natural Grey Glosso

Porcelain Tiled Floor Grout Colouring Glossop

1 Comment / Glossop Tile Cleaning, Grout Cleaning, Porcelain Tile Cleaning, Work History /

The tiled floor shown in the photographs below are from a client who lives in Glossop which is a market town in the Derbyshire Peak District between Manchester and Sheffield. I was contacted me to see if it would be possible to recolour the grout, it turns out they had been a little disappointed with the white grout colour they had chosen and preferred the more defined look a darker grout would have given.

I went to survey the floor and could see the tiles were Porcelain which are a good choice for busy common areas as they are very tough, easily cleaned and usually don’t need to be sealed. Grout however is cementous and the top layer is porous which can allows it to be easily stained, a problem which is more evident on white grout which is therefore not the best choice for a kitchen.

Porcelain Tiled Floor Grout Before Colouring Glossop

The tiled floor area was approximately 25 square meters, but big tiles and thin grout lines would make this a reasonably quick job to complete. We agreed a cost and I arranged a date, the job would be done across two days to allow the grout time to dry after deep cleaning on day one.

Cleaning Porcelain Tiled Floor Grout

To get the best results and achieve a superior bond between with the colourant it was important to get the grout as clean as it could be. To this end I gave the grout a good scrub with a strong dilution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean which is a stripper and degreaser that is safe to use on tile and grout and great for removing dirt from heavily soiled stone or grout.

Floor scrubbing machines can struggle to reach into the grout recess, so I find the best way to clean grout is by hand using a soft steel brush. This action cleaned up the grout well and the now soiled Pro-Clean was rinsed off the floor with clean water and then extracted with a wet vacuum. I then inspected the floor to make sure I was happy and re-treated a few areas that needed more work.

I wanted the grout to be bone dry before applying the grout colourant so after cleaning the grout I left and agreed to come back the next day to complete the job.

Grout Colouring a Porcelain Tiled Floor

When I arrived in the morning I could see the grout was fully dry and ready to be recoloured. Because I needed to recolour from white to natural grey I only needed one thick coat of Natural Grey grout colourant which was carefully applied with a small brush and any excess wiped off the tile as I went along. In fact, even after retouching I found that with such narrow grout lines and large format tiles I only used half a bottle of natural grey colourant to complete the job.

Porcelain Tiled Floor Grout After Colouring Glossop

The job was all complete and the floor looking completely different. The client was over the moon with the finish and we had achieved exactly what they were looking for. The grout colourant also forms a barrier over the grout sealing it in and so they will find this floor is very easy to keep cleaning going forward.

 

Recolouring White Grout to Natural Grey in Derbyshire

Porcelain Tiled Floor Grout Colouring Glossop Read More »

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