Tag Archives: limestone floor cleaning

Black Limestone Floor Ruined by Coffee Machine Descaler, Stratford upon Avon

Posted on by

I really felt for this customer who was mortified after accidentally spilling limescale descaling solution on their beautiful Black Limestone floor in Stratford upon Avon. The problem started when attempting to descale a coffee making machine in the kitchen, unfortunately the bottle fell out of his hands and onto the Black Limestone floor, the subsequent attempt to mop it up spread the problem across the floor.

Acid Damaged Limestone Kitchen Floor Tile Before Restoration Stratford Upon Avon Acid Damaged Limestone Kitchen Floor Tile Before Restoration Stratford Upon Avon

Descaling solutions contain strong acids that dissolve the minerals in limescale so they can be easily removed. Limestone being of a similar structure is equally effected however in this case the product was removed quickly and didn’t have time to etch the stone. Unfortunately, the descaler did have time to upset the factory polish leaving a right mess and ruining the appearance of the stone.

I went over to survey the floor and reassured my customer the floor could be restored. There are several products and methods that can be applied to resurface and polish stone floors, so I knew the problem was repairable, it was just a question of finding the best solution for the customer.

Stripping Sealer from Black Limestone Flooring

I reasoned that the underlying stone was not etched by the acid, it was the wax-based factory finish that had been upset so the best course of action would be to strip back the entire floor to the bare stone and then reapply a new sealer that would provide a similar appearance.

To do this I started with the application of Tile Doctor Remove and Go across the whole floor. This product is a coatings remover that is specially designed for use on Tile and Stone, it was sprayed onto the floor and after ten minutes scrubbed in using a rotary machine fitted with a scrubbing pad. The resultant slurry was then rinsed off with water and extracted using a wet vacuum. This process was repeated until I was confident that the factory polish had been removed.

Next step was to strip the stone of the black dry added by the factory by giving it an acid wash using Tile Doctor Acid Gel. This was necessary to rebalance the appearance of the stone across the entire floor and would result in a consistent appearance one resealed. The Acid Gel was scrubbed into the Limestone, then rinsed off and extracted using the same procedure as before.

After a final rinse the floor was left to dry off overnight.

Sealing Black Limestone Floor Tiles

The next day I first checked the floor was dry using a damp meter, there were no excess moisture issues so I able to go ahead and seal the stone using a product that would bring back the colour and add protection against dirt and staining.

The best product for this was Tile Doctor Colour Grow which is an impregnating sealer that seeps into the pores of the stone protecting it from within and enhancing natural colour at the same time. The only disadvantage of this product is it leaves a matt finish whereas my customer wanted the shiny, easy to clean appearance of the original tile. To resolve I recommended we leave the floor to settle for a while and if no issues develop, I would add a couple of coats of Tile Doctor Seal and Go which is compatible with Colour Grow and would give the desired finish.

Acid Damaged Limestone Kitchen Floor Tile After Restoration Stratford Upon Avon Acid Damaged Limestone Kitchen Floor Tile After Restoration Stratford Upon Avon

Due to various commitments on both our parts it was six weeks until I was able to return and top up the sealer with Seal and Go. It was worth waiting for and much to the relief of the owner his Black Limestone floor has been transformed to new again.

Acid Damaged Limestone Kitchen Floor Tile After Restoration Stratford Upon Avon

 

Source: Limestone Tile Cleaning and Restoration Service in Stratford upon Avon, Warwickshire

Polishing a Large Limestone Floor in Beckenham Kent

Posted on by

This modern town house in Beckenham had a Limestone tiled floor laid in the family room, kitchen, utility room and hallway. It had been some time since it was last polished and was now starting to look flat and even grubby in places.

Limestone Tiled Floor Before Cleaning Beckenham
Polished stone floors need regular attention if you want to keep them looking good and this is why we offer a maintenance program where we pop back to the property once a year to top up the sealer and re-polish. In this case a thorough clean, polish and re-seal was required and due to the large area to be cleaned and the need to move furniture around it would have to be done in three stages.

Limestone Tiled Floor Before Cleaning Beckenham

Stripping and Polishing Limestone Tiles

The best way to restore high quality stone like this is to hone the floor using varying grits of abrasive floor pads. Tile Doctor have developed a technique for this known as burnishing which is a version of stone polishing that involves the application of Diamond encrusted pads. Each pad in the system has its own level of grit and is applied in sequence from Coarse to Very Fine in order to clean and re-hone the finish on the stone.

I swept the floor to remove any loose dirt and grit and then began the burnishing process using a
Coarse 400 grit pad lubricated with water, then after rinsing and wet vacuuming the floor with water I moved on to the Medium 800 grit pad, Fine 1500 grit pads. The next step was to get the grout as clean as possible by scrubbing in a medium dilution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean with a narrow stiff brush. Pro-Clean is a strong alkaline product that is safe to use on Tile and Stone and is a good grout cleaner. With the Limestone tiles and grout now clean I gave the floor another quick rinse and finished honing the section with a very fine 3000 grit pad that gives the stone a final polish. You don’t need too much lubrication with this last pad, just a spray of water.

Sealing Limestone Tiles

Once the floor section was dry it was sealed with Tile Doctor Colour Grow which is a colour enhancing impregnated sealer that protects from within and really brings out the brown colours in the Limestone. Once the sealer was dry I polished the floor using Tile Doctor Shine Powder which is a stone polishing compound that is worked into the floor wet, left to dry and then buffed off with a white buffing pad to leave a durable high shine on the stone.

Limestone Tiled Floor After Cleaning Beckenham
As I mentioned at the start this was a large area that had to be completed in three sections, so it took a few days in order to complete the whole floor. It was worth waiting for however and the customer was very pleased with the finish. For general day to day cleaning of polished stone we recommend using Tile Doctor Stone Soap which not only cleans but also adds patina to the finish, I left with a complimentary bottle, so she could try it.

Limestone Tiled Floor After Cleaning Beckenham

Source: Limestone Tile Cleaning and Polishing Service in Beckenham, Kent

Restoring the Appearance of a Limestone Tiled Floor

Posted on by

We were asked by the new owners of this property in Marlow to clean and seal the Limestone tiled kitchen floor which was in a heavily soiled condition and it was apparent that the tiles and the grout lines hadn’t been professionally cleaned for some time.

Limestone Tiled Kitchen Floor Before Cleaning in Marlow Limestone Tiled Kitchen Floor Before Cleaning in Marlow

Cleaning a Limestone Tiled Floor

To lift the ingrained soiling and restore the grout we started by applying a dilution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean which was hand scrubbed into the grout lines with a stiff grout brush, this was followed up with Tile Doctor Grout Clean-Up which returned the grout lines to the original colour. The resultant soiled solutions were then removed from the floor with the aid of fresh water and an industrial wet vacuum.

Polishing Limestone Tiles

Our next task was to re-hone the stones using the Tile Doctor Diamond encrusted burnishing pad system which cleans and polishes natural stone returning it to its original condition. The pads come in a set of four and you start with the coarse pad together with a little water. This this cuts through and removes surface grime, dirt and any remaining sealer. The floor is then rinsed and you move on through the remaining pads until the polish has been restored to the tiles. This process took up much of the first day so the floor was given a final rinse and left to dry overnight.

Sealing Limestone Tiles

On the second day we returned to find the tiles had dried and as expected and we started to seal the tile which we did with two coats of Tile Doctor Colour Grow which is a colour intensifying sealer that soaks into the pores of the stone bringing out the natural colours whilst providing that all important lasting protection.

Limestone Tiled Kitchen Floor After Cleaning and Sealing in Marlow Limestone Tiled Kitchen Floor After Cleaning and Sealing in Marlow

The customer was amazed with the clean appearance of her tiled floors and said it had transformed her house ready to live in.
 
 
Source: Tile, Stone and Grout Problems resolved in Buckinghamshire

Cleaning and Polishing Classic Limestone Flagstones

Posted on by

These rather dirty but beautiful classic Minster Limestone flagstones had been installed in the Kitchen of a house in the village of Austwick. They were now overdue for a deep clean and polish and so we were asked to do to the work.

York Minster Limestone Before Cleaning Harrogate York Minster Limestone Stairs Before Cleaning Harrogate

Stripping and Polishing Limestone Floor Tiles

To restore the surface of polished stone we use a set of diamond encrusted pads however before starting we gave the floor tiles a general clean with a dilution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean mainly to clean-up the grout and secondly to remove any loose surface grit. This was rinsed away and removed with a wet vacuum before starting the burnishing process using a rotary scrubbing machine fitted with a coarse diamond encrusted burnishing pad and a little water. The coarse pad strips off dirt and old sealers from the tile and the resulting slurry is then removed using a wet vacuum.

The burnishing pads come in a set of four so once we were done with the coarse pad we moved on to the Medium and then Fine pads again with a little water until the floor was polished. To bring up the polish on the Limestone tiles the last “Very Fine” pad was fitted to the rotary machine and run over the floor to buff it to a nice shine.

York Minster Limestone During Cleaning Harrogate York Minster Limestone During Cleaning Harrogate

Sealing Limestone Floor Tiles

Once the floor was dry we set about sealing it using two coats of Tile Doctor Ultra Seal which is a penetrating sealer that soaks into the pores of the stone filling them so dirt can’t penetrate below the surface. As well as offering excellent protection Ultra Seal doesn’t enhance the stone the stone in anyway giving it a natural look. Once sealing was complete and dry the Limestone tiles were given a final buff with a soft white pad.

York Minster Limestone After Cleaning Harrogate York Minster Limestone After Cleaning Harrogate

I think you will agree that the Limestone tiles now look much better and now that’s it’s been sealed cleaning the floor should be so much easier.
 
 
Source: Residential and Commercial Stone and Grout Cleaning in North West Yorkshire