Derby Tile Cleaning

Derby Tile Cleaning

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

Victorian Floor Before and After Renovation in Littleover

Victorian Tiled Floor Renovation in Littleover

From The 1860s Victorian tiled floors started to appear in public buildings and by the 1890s they had become an essential feature in the most ordinary Victorian terraced houses. Although these floors fell out of fashion during the 1960s and ’70s, when many of them were covered over, they are now being rediscovered by their present owners and this is exactly what happened to my customer in the village of Littleover.

Victorian floor before renovation in Littleover
The customer had attempted to clean the floor by themselves but they couldn’t archive the result wanted, fortunately they discovered the Derbyshire Tile Doctor and after their call I went over and did a test for cleaning to make sure I can archive the needed results. They were happy with what they saw, so they booked me in to complete the work.

Victorian floor before renovation in Littleover

Cleaning a Victorian Floor Tiles

For cleaning the hallway I used a strong dilution of Tile Doctors Pro Clean which is strong multi-purpose high-alkaline cleaner. I left the Pro Clean to dwell for 10 minutes and then worked it in the tiles by using a strong black scrubbing pad fitted to my rotary machine. After scrubbing I rinsed the floor several times with clean water to remove any trace of cleaning product from the floor.

After successfully cleaning the hall I moved on to the porch which still had some old topical sealer on less walked areas. On these areas I had to use Tile Doctors own very effective stripper Remove and Go. Remove and Go has a long dwell time to remove any given sealer or wax so I left it to soak in for fifteen minutes followed by scrubbing it in with black pad fitted to rotary machine. The next step was to wash off the residue with water which was then removed using a wet vacuum.

Victorian floor before renovation in Littleover Victorian porch floor before renovation in Littleover

Following this the tiles were given a rinse with Tile Doctor Grout Clean-up which is an acid based product that can remove grout smears and mineral deposits. Last step before sealing was to give the floor a thorough wash down with clean water to remove any cleaning product left on the tiles and then I left the floor to dry overnight.

Sealing a Victorian Tiled Floor

Next day when I returned I used my damp tester to make sure that the floor is completely dry. Luckily for me floor was all dry and I started sealing. For sealing I used Tile Doctors Colour Grow Sealer which is colour enhancing breathable sealer. I applied 2 coats of the sealer and after every coat I polished off the excess with clean cotton cloths.

Victorian floor during sealing in Littleover
The result was really good and my customer was very happy with the work and said that now the floor looks transformed.

Victorian floor after renovation in Littleover
 

Professional Victorian Tiled Floor Restoration in Derbyshire

Victorian Tiled Floor Renovation in Littleover Read More »

Victorian Floor Dated 1929 After Cleaning and Sealing

Fantastic 1920’s Victorian Tiled Floor Unearthed and Restored in Derby

Victorian tiled floors are timeless – despite first coming into popular use in UK houses during the 19th century, they’ve remained stylish in the eyes of many homeowners and interior designers. This fantastic black and white patterned example at a property in Derby dates back to 1929. However, the owners only recently discovered the floor, it having being hidden under carpet for many years.

Discovering a tiled floor beneath carpet like this is, in my experience, a relatively common occurrence, yet it can be difficult to restore the tiles back to their original condition without professional assistance. In this instance – as is the case with most examples – the tiles were marked with numerous glue stains from where the carpet had been originally installed. Initially, the customer had tried to clean the tiles themselves but, despite successfully removing most of the glue stains, they couldn’t achieve the full restoration they were hoping for.

Victorian Floor Dated 1929 Before Cleaning and Sealing
This is where I stepped in – to provide the floor with the deep clean and fresh seal it desperately needed.

Victorian Floor Dated 1929 Before Cleaning and Sealing

Cleaning a Victorian Tiled Floor

While the customer had succeeded in providing the tiles with a basic clean, I needed to take it one step further. To do this, I firstly mixed a strongly diluted solution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean and water, before applying this to floor and scrubbing it directly into the tiles using a black scrubbing pad fitted to my buffing machine.

Pro-Clean is multi-purpose high-alkaline cleaner, stripper and degreaser. This did the job to remove ingrained dirt in large areas of the floor, but in some places a stronger product was required. To tackle these stubborn areas, I used Tile Doctor NanoTech HBU, which was applied to the floor in combination with my steam cleaner. NanoTech HBU is a heavy soil build-up remover designed to reaches areas within the stone that other cleaners are unable to. It utilises nano-sized particles to penetrate below tough stains, dissolve them, and lift them out.

After a thorough clean with this product the floor looked ready to be sealed. Nonetheless, before moving on to the sealing process, I carefully rinsed the entire floor three times with fresh water to rid the floor of any excess chemicals left over from the cleaning. I then removed the water with my wet vax machine.

Sealing a Victorian Tiled Floor

I left the floor to dry for five days as there was a slight dampness issue in one corner. When I returned to the property, I made sure the floor was completely dry by conducting several damp tests. The corner with the damp issue was just a bit damp still, so I opted to use my heat gun to solve the problem, and not long after the floor was ready for sealing. Removing all excess moisture before sealing is essential as it can cloud the sealer and damage its ability to protect the tiles.

For sealing, I used four coats of Tile Doctor Seal & Go Extra sealer. This is a special acrylic-based formula which allows moisture vapour transmission making it fully breathable and ideal for situations where no damp proof membrane has been installed and where mineral salt deposits (efflorescence) are more likely to occur which is not uncommon with these old floors. As well as enhancing the appearance of the floor the sealer will provide a layer of protection to the surface of the tiles and prevent dirt and stains from becoming ingrained in the pores.

Victorian Floor Dated 1929 After Cleaning and Sealing
The results of the restoration were fantastic – in fact, if you had seen the restored the floor for the first time, you might have thought it was only recently installed! As you can see from the Before and After photos, the floor was completely transformed, from a dull, dirty and worn condition to looking almost brand new.

The customer was very happy with the work and no doubt will be much looking forward to showing off her new floor!

Professional Victorian Tiled Floor Restoration in Derbyshire

Fantastic 1920’s Victorian Tiled Floor Unearthed and Restored in Derby Read More »

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Derbyshire Tile Doctor

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