If you have a Limestone Tiled floor like the one below at a property in the village of Levens then the following article should be of interest. Natural stone floors like Limestone are porous in nature and need to be sealed to prevent dirt from becoming ingrained. In this case the tiles were last sealed eleven years ago and with the sealer now worn away they were becoming increasingly difficult to keep clean and looked dull and heavily worn.
The husband had tried to clean the floor with an aggressive product he found in the supermarket however this ended up marking the Limestone. This is not surprising as we find many floor cleaning products you find in supermarkets are acidic and will damage calcium-based materials like Limestone, so best avoided. If you read the label often you will find they are only recommended for use on Ceramic tile or Vinyl.
In a panic and concerned the floor had been permanently damaged he contacted Tile Doctor for a solution. We work on stone floors all the time so were able to provide re-assurance the problem could be resolved and not only that the floor could look amazing with the right treatment. Happy to let us to sort it out we were asked to step in.
Cleaning and Burnishing Limestone Tiled Flooring
At Tile Doctor we have developed a tried and tested system for restoring the appearance of natural stone. It involves the application of a set of burnishing pads that are made from industrial diamonds and graded from a coarse 400-grit to a very fine 3500-grit.
The pads fit a rotary floor machine and along with water for lubrication are run over each tile several tiles rinsing away the fine slurry that is generated after each pad and extracting with a wet vacuum. The process starts with the coarse 400-grit pad which removes etching, coatings and other contaminates. This pad does a good job of removing damage and cleaning up the stone but leaves it looking dull with a matt finish.
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To bring back the finish, finer grit diamond Burnishing pads are then applied in sequence from 800 to 1500-grit rinsing and extracting after each pad. These finer pads are the first steps in rebuilding the polish on the Limestone slowly restoring its appearance. The pads can struggle to get into the corners and edges of the floor to these are done with smaller pads of the same grade fitted to a handheld machine.
After this work, I started on the grout lines which were scrubbed by hand using Tile Doctor Pro-Clean which is an alkaline cleaner and will not upset the Limestone. I find it best to do this work by hand as the pads can struggle to reach into the recesses of the grout line. After a final rinse with clean water which was then extracted with the wet vacuum the floor was left to dry off overnight assisted with a couple of floor blowers.
I called back the next day and started work by checking the stone and grout was nice and dry and ready for a final polish using the very fine 3500-grit diamond pad. This pad brings up the polish on the floor even further and is applied using a tiny amount of water from a spray bottle which aids in the final polish.
Sealing a Polished Black Limestone Dining Room
Once the whole floor was polished including all the corners and edges it was time to start applying the sealer. I opted to use Tile Doctor X-Tra Seal for this which is an oil-based breathable sealer that soaks into the pores of the stone protecting it from within and ensuring any dirt remains on the surface where it can be easily cleaned away. The floor was then buffed with a white pad to remove and excess sealer and bring up the shine even further.
The sealer will provide long term protection to the Limestone and once finished the natural colour, and character had been restored to the floor. My client was over the moon with the finish and said it looked like a new floor.
Before leaving I made sure to spend time discussing future cleaning and recommended, they use Tile Doctor Stone Soap going forward. This is a mild but effective cleaner which will help maintain the patina on the stone.
Source: Professional Limestone Floor Polishing Service in Levens Village Cumbria
Serving South Cumbria, Chris Jones is your local Tile, Stone and Grout maintenance expert. Additionally she is an agent of Tile Doctor, the largest professional Tile, Stone and Grout restorative cleaning network in the UK. Tile Doctor has developed products and techniques to handle a multitude of issues surrounding tile, stone and grout, interior, exterior, domestic or commercial.