Quarry Tile Cleaning

I was asked to look at Quarry tiled floor in the Kitchen of an old, thatched cottage in rural Dover. The owner was keen to have it deep cleaned and sealed and so I agreed to call in, survey the tiled floor and provide a quote for the work.

Kitchens and Hallways are the busiest floors in a house and this floor had clearly been in constant use due to the considerable levels of ingrained dirt, especially in the wide grout lines. I completed my survey and discussed all options open to the customer and I agreed to put together a quote.

The client was happy with my quote, and I was given the go ahead so we scheduled a date for the work to start which would take two days, one day to clean and one to seal.

Deep Cleaning and Restoring a Quarry and Quarry Tiled Floor

I turned up promptly on day 1 and started by protecting any areas susceptible to water damage. Once done, I applied a strong dilution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean to the grout lines and set about scrubbing them by hand. I find this is the best way to clean grout as pads can struggle to reach into the recesses of the grout and it certainly paid off as it came up really well. To finish I rinsed the floor with water and extracted the soiling from the grout cleaning process with a wet vacuum.

Next it was time to turn my attention to the quarry tiles this time using a medium dilution of Pro-Clean. The solution was applied to the floor and left to soak in for ten minutes before being worked in with a coarse burnishing pad fitted to a rotary buffing machine fitted with a Black scrubbing pad and plenty of water. This process pulls the dirt out of the tile and the water soon turns into a dark slurry.

The slurry was removed with the wet vacuum as I progressed across the floor and the process repeated on stubborn areas. Finally, the floor was dried as much as possible using the wet vacuum and a mop to get rid of the last vestiges. The floor was then left to dry out for two days over the weekend.

Sealing a Quarry Tiled Barn Conversion Floor

Returning on Monday I started by taking several readings with a damp meter. It’s not a good idea to apply a sealer to a damp floor as the results can be inconsistent so I always like to check. The readings were within tolerance so I was able to apply the first of what would be three coats of Tile Doctor’s Seal and Go Extra which I felt was the best choice for sealing this floor.

I chose Seal and Go Extra because it’s a fully breathable sealer that adds a nice subtle sheen to the tiles which matches the customers’ expectations. It was important to choose a breathable sealer as these old floors don’t have the benefit of a damp proof membrane and any moisture under the floor will be able to rise through the tile and evaporate at the surface un-hindered.

Once completed, the floor looked amazing, not only was the Quarry Tile and Grout looking so much cleaner the sealer had enhanced the orange colour in the Quarry tiles. Needless to say, my customer was very happy with the result.

For aftercare I recommended Tile Doctor Neutral Tile Cleaner which is designed for the safe and effective cleaning of sealed floors without impacting the sealer.

 

Professional Cleaning of a Quarry Tiled Floor in South Kent