Glossop Archives - Derbyshire Tile Doctor

White Grout Recoloured Natural Grey Glosso

Porcelain Tiled Floor Grout Colouring Glossop

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 »

Ceramic Tiled Shower Cubicle Cleaned and Recoloured in Glossop

Keeping shower cubicles clean can be extremely tough, especially as they constantly come into contact with shampoos and soaps containing acids that can damage the tiles. This was the case with this Ceramic shower cubicle at a property in Glossop, a small town in the High Peak area of Derbyshire, famous for its buildings constructed of locally produced Sandstone.

The property owner had attempted to clean the cubicle tiles on a regular basis using supermarket standard cleaners, but had never achieved the results they had hoped for. While the owner might have been able to complete a basic clean, they weren’t able to provide the tiles with any long lasting protection and thus, after a few months, they reverted to a dire state. Looking for some professional help, the owner called me down to see what could be done to improve the condition of the cubicle long term.

Shower Cubicle Before Restoration in Glossop

Cleaning a Dirty Ceramic Tiled Shower Cubicle

My main focus on cleaning the cubicle tiles was the grout, which was suffering from visible soap scum and soil build-up. I cleaned the grout firstly using Tile Doctor Grout Colourant Pre-Treat Cleaner, which successfully removes dirt, soil, soap scum and hard water deposits from grout joints.

The product was sprayed on to the grout and left to dwell and seep into the pores for approximately five minutes to break down the soap scum, before being scrubbed in using a grout brush. Following this, I rinsed the entire area with clean water and carefully removed the mouldy silicone around the shower cubicle.

Colouring and Siliconing a Ceramic Tiled Shower Cubicle

With the cleaning complete, my next task was to prepare the grout for colouring. To do this I completed a few damp tests on the grout and in the areas where I detected excess moisture I applied my heat gun to evaporate it. With the area dry, I recoloured the grout by applying two coats of the Tile Doctor Grout Colourant. This is an epoxy based paint that rejuvenated the appearance of the grout and sealed it, making it easier to clean in the future, and therefore resolving the customer’s cleaning difficulties.

Shower Cubicle After Restoration in Glossop

After colouring the grout, I cleared the area and then siliconed all around the shower cubicle using high quality anti-mould silicone designed to last for several years to come. Once the restoration was finished, I advised the customer to start rinsing the
shower cubicle walls with clean water after every shower to get remove of all the acids produced by shampoos and soaps. This will keep the shower cubicle fresh by preventing the buildup of soap scum.

Shower Cubicle After Restoration in Glossop 14882 — Shower Cubicle After Restoration in Glossop

The customer was surprised how good the outcome of the restoration was, especially considering that she previously had so much trouble getting the shower cubicle clean. Some pleased was she with the work that she said she and her partner will recommend me to all of their friends.

Glossop