Ceramic Tile Cleaning

Welcome to my Work History archive where you will find detailed examples of Ceramic Tile and Grout Cleaning/Renovation work carried out in Central London

Cleaning Ceramic Tiles

Ceramic tiles are usually fully glazed and so do not have any pores that dirt can become ingrained into, because of this they are easy to clean with Tile Doctor Neutral Cleaner and are generally low maintenance. Textured ceramic tiles however are one exception, they have a rough surface in order to make them less slippery and are often used around wet areas such as swimming pools. Dirt is easily trapped in the textured surface and to get these clean requires a more intensive clean ideally using a rotating scrubbing pad.

Due to their low maintenance we rarely get called to deep clean Ceramic tiles however grout is a different case. The top layer of grout is actually porous and due to it being recessed we find when they are mopped it leads to a build-up of dirt on the grout causing it to discolour. This can be resolved using Tile Doctor Pro-Clean and then once clean and fully dry, seal the grout with one coat of Tile Doctor Ultra-Seal using a pipette.

Ceramic tiles are used a lot in bathrooms and shower cubicles where again we find it’s usually the grout or silicone sealant that discolours before the tiles do. In these cases we often find the appearance can be greatly improved with the use of a Grout Colourant and replacement of the silicone.

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


Ceramic Tile Cleaning before and after

Ceramic Tiled Floor Cleaned in London W9

These ceramic tiles situated in a large flat in Bravington Road W9 which is near Kensal Town in the City of Westminster, London. The tiles had been in place when the client moved into the flat some years ago and were badly in need of deep cleaning, attempts to remove the dirt using a steam cleaner had been successful but very slow. In the end the owner, realising that cleaning more than 75 square metres of tile herself in this way was going to take too long, decided to call in professional help from Tile Doctor.

Ceramic Tile Cleaning Before

Cleaning Ceramic Tiles

Using Tile Doctor Pro-Clean which is a heavy duty alkaline cleaning product and a medium brush on a Numatic buffing machine I lifted most of the ground-in dirt from the tiles before rinsing and scrubbing the floor again with a black buffing pad and scrubbing the grout clean by hand using a stiff grout brush.

Ceramic Tile Cleaning During
I then thoroughly washed the floor with a mop and fresh water which was then removed with an aqua vacuum, this process was repeated until I was satisfied the floor was clean. When the floor was dry it revealed an nearly as-new ceramic tiled floor with a pleasing sandstone imitation design.

The photos show the floor before cleaning with a mark around where a piece of furniture had been removed and then the uniformly clean floor after the cleaning process was complete. The customer was delighted with the restored condition of her floor and amazed that it could have been made so clean.

Ceramic Tile Cleaning After
 

Ceramic Tiles Deep Cleaned in London W9

Ceramic Tiled Floor Cleaned in London W9 Read More »

Ceramic Shower Cubicle Grout Haze before and after

Removing Grout Haze in a Shower Cubicle, London NW1

These ceramic mosaic tiles were fitted in square sheets in a shower cubicle at house in London NW1. You can clearly see from the first photograph that the tiler did not remove the grout from the tile before it set leaving grout haze on most of the tile and a nice white band of grout between the mosaic sheets.

Removing Grout Haze

To clean up the ceramic tiles and remove the grout we sprayed on Tile Doctor Grout Clean-up which is a specialist acid based product that penetrates below the surface of the grout to remove allowing it to be removed. It’s reasonably easy to apply, you need to wet the tile first and then apply a dilution of the Grout Clean-up, leave it dwell on the tile for a few minutes allowing it to get to work and then scrub it in. With it being an acid it’s important not to leave it on the tile very long and wash it off within five minutes and rinse down the tile with water.

Ceramic Shower Cubicle Grout Haze Before Ceramic Shower Cubicle Grout Haze After

Cleaning Ceramic Mosaic Tiles

Once the tiles were free of grout the next step was to clean the tiles for which we used Tile Doctor Pro-Clean which is a versatile alkaline tile cleaning product that can be diluted in different strengths depending on if your looking to clean the tile or strip sealers. In this case we could also of used Tile Doctor Oxy-Pro shower Tile and Grout Cleaner which is a ready to use tile and grout cleaner that comes with a spray nozzle attachment, the spray allows the cleaning agent to mix with air making it lighter and easier to stick to vertical surfaces. This is important as you need to let the cleaning agent dwell on the surface of the tile and grout for a few minutes before scrubbing it by hand with a stiff brush and then washing it off with clean water.

The ceramic mosaics did not need sealing so the renovation was now complete, grout removed and tiles cleaned, and naturally the customer was very pleased with the results and the cubicle was transformed.

Shower Cubicle Restored in London NW1

Removing Grout Haze in a Shower Cubicle, London NW1 Read More »

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Central London Tile Doctor

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