cleaning business Archives - Central London Tile Doctor

Victorian Hallway Tile Restoration in London W2

1 Comment / City of London Tile Cleaning, Victorian Tile Cleaning, Work History / Jackson Davis

This large entrance hall tiled in Victorian black and white floor tiles in London W2 had been quite badly damaged in the past by having a carpet glued and nailed on to it. Many tiles were broken or missing and those missing had been replaced by cement.

Cleaning a Victorian Floor

On the first day of this three day job I removed the cement filling and extracted the nails that remained in the floor. I then stabilised the exposed area with a PVA solution before replacing the missing tiles with replica or salvaged ones to match the floor was swept out and vacuumed to remove all loose debris.

On the second day I cleaned the floor, removing the old carpet glue with Tile Doctor “Remove and Go” which was left to dwell onto the tile for a while to allow it to soak into the tile and break down the adhesive; this was then removed with a wet vacuum. The next step was to clean the tiles using Tile Doctor Pro-Clean which was worked in with a black srubbing pad to scrub the cleaning solution into the tile and finish off the cleaning process, again the soiled solution was removed with a wet vacuum. Normally by now the floor would of have been clean however In this case the levels of soaked-in old glue and ground-in dirt from decades of use were such that the floor also required steaming, scraping and wire brushing with a Spid brass wire brush before a final clean with another round of Pro-Clean and a black buffing pad fitted to a Numatic buffing machine. This had the desired affect and the last step was to wash the floor down with clean water to remove any remaining chemicals etc.

Sealing a Victorian Floor Sealing

After leaving the floor to dry overnight I came back the third day to seal the floor using four coats of Tile Doctor Seal and Go which is ideal for Victorian tiled floors as it leaves a low sheen finish whilst providing excellent stain protection.

As you can see from the ‘before’ and ‘after’ photos the results were impressive and the customer described it as, “looking great”.

Victorian Tiled floor cleaned and sealed in West London

Victorian Hallway Tile Restoration in London W2 Read More »

Cleaning a Tumbled Marble mosaic wet room floor in London SE1

1 Comment / City of London Tile Cleaning, Marble Tile Cleaning, Work History / Jackson Davis

This Tumbled Marble mosaic wet room floor was installed in a house in London, SE1 four years before prior and was now looking a little tired. This was mostly caused by a build-up of Limescale which had then become grimy.

Stripping a Tumbled Marble Floor

To treat the Limescale I used Tile Doctor Grout Clean Up which managed to remove most of the scale and to remove the remainder I steamed the tiles using an Earlex Steamer and carefully scraped any remaining Limescale residue away with a Stanley window scraper. To restore the marble itself I used Tile Doctor burnishing pads to re-polish the tiles using 17″ pads on the main area and 8″ pads on a hand-held Clarke polishing machine in the corners. These diamond encrusted pads come in a number of different colours and are applied one after another with each pad being a finer grade than the last. After thoroughly rinsing the stone again and removing the waste water with a wet vacuum. As the marble was naturally fast drying I used an Earlex heat gun to speed dry the floor and repeated this after lunch to ensure the floor was entirely dry before sealing.

Sealing Tumbled-Marble Tiles

Once the Marble tiles were dry I started to seal them using two coats of Tile Doctor Colour Grow sealer which is a great choice for natural stone as it enhances the natural colours in the tile as well as providing stain protection.

As the photographs show the results were very good and the customer was highly delighted.

Restoring Tumbled Marble Mosaic in a Wet Room

Cleaning a Tumbled Marble mosaic wet room floor in London SE1 Read More »

Limestone Balcony NW8 before and after Cleaning

Cleaning a Limestone Balcony in St John’s Wood

1 Comment / Camden Tile Cleaning, Limestone Tile Cleaning and Polishing, Work History / Jackson Davis

This balcony in St John’s Wood, London, NW8, which had been clad in Limestone floor tiles, had not been professionally cleaned for 15 years and was now covered in mould which the customer was unable to remove.

Stripping the Limestone Tiled Floor

To get the Limestone clean I used a neat solution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean with was left to soak into the stone before being worked in with rotary machine fitted with a black buffing pad. This process removed most of the mould but there were still some stubborn patches so I then used a further application of Pro-Clean this time mixed 50/50 with Nanotech Ultra Clean to add an abrasive element to what is a powerful alkaline cleaning product. This was scrubbed into the tile and then steamed off using a Bosch steamer followed by further scrubbing by hand.

The next step was to use a set of four Tile Doctor burnishing pads to polish the Limestone surface to a low sheen. These diamond encrusted pads come in a number of different colours and are applied one after another with each pad being a finer grade than the last. After thoroughly rinsing the stone again and removing the waste water with a Numatic aqua vacuum I left the tiles to dry off overnight. Luckily the weather remained fine.

Sealing Yorkshire Limestone Tile

The next day I sealed the Limestone tiles using two coats of Tile Doctor Colour Grow sealer which I prefer for Limestone as it enhances the natural colours in the Limestone floor as well as providing stain protection something I’m sure it’s going to need given the location.

Although not quite all the damage from the mould could be entirely removed the tile was 95% improved and the customer was very satisfied with what had been achieved.

Limestone Restoration in St John’s Wood

Cleaning a Limestone Balcony in St John’s Wood Read More »

Ceramic Tiled Floor Cleaned in London W9

1 Comment / Ceramic Tile Cleaning, City of London Tile Cleaning, Work History / Jackson Davis

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.

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.

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 Tiles Deep Cleaned in London W9

Ceramic Tiled Floor Cleaned in London W9 Read More »