Stain Removal

Adhesive Stained Ceramic Tiled Kitchen Floor Renovated Ripley

Renovating a Classic Ceramic Tiled Kitchen Stained with Adhesive in Ripley

This 1940’s Black and White Ceramic tiled floor at a property in the Surrey village of Ripley was covered in adhesive and the owner needed our help in cleaning them up. Originally, they had been covered in hideous blue tiles which the customer decided to remove to see what was underneath.

Adhesive Stained Ceramic Tiled Kitchen Floor Before Cleaning Ripley

They started pulling them up only to uncover a classic chessboard pattern ceramic tiled floor underneath. The blue tiles came up quite easily however the tile adhesive that was left underneath had heavily stained them and proved much too difficult to remove. Overwhelmed with the size of the task now faced and unsure how to renovate the ceramic tiles a decision was made to ask for professional help. They contacted Tile Doctor to get a quote.

I popped over to the house to have a look at the job and estimated it would only take around a day to complete the work, which would be a bit of a manual task to remove the remnants of the adhesive. They were happy to accept my quote and pleased that I was confident the floor could be restored.

Removing Adhesive from a Ceramic Tiled Kitchen Floor

Donning safety glasses and ear defenders my approach was to carefully remove the bulk of the adhesive with a power chisel. It took several hours to remove most of it and the rest I scraped off with sharp blades leaving some residue and dirt.

Adhesive Stained Ceramic Tiled Kitchen Floor During Cleaning Ripley

To deal with the remaining adhesive I covered the tiles with a strong dilution of Tile Doctor Remove and Go and left it to soak in. I then brought in a weighted buffer fitted with a coarse diamond pad and ran it over the tiles. This removed all the remaining adhesive and lifted out the dirt.

The resultant slurry was then rinsed off and extracted with a wet vacuum. The floor was then thoroughly rinsed with warm water then dried. Before finishing I cleaned up around the edges with a handheld diamond block.

Generally ceramic tiles don’t need sealing as they are sealed within the factory process. So, once all the adhesive was gone, the job was finished.

Adhesive Stained Ceramic Tiled Kitchen Floor After Cleaning Ripley

The floor was transformed by the work, and my customer was very happy with the finish. They were pleased to see the nasty blue tiles gone and very happy to see the classic original floor restored.

Little maintenance is required for a floor like this, normal regular mopping will suffice. They can use Tile Doctor Neutral Tile Cleaner for this, it has a minty fresh fragrance and is mild enough to be used daily, keeping the floor in great condition.

Adhesive Stained Ceramic Tiled Kitchen Floor After Cleaning Ripley

 

Professional Restoration of a Ceramic Tiled Kitchen Floor in Surrey

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Red Wine Stains Removed From Limestone Fireplace Before and After Cleaning Woking

Red Wine Stains Removed from Limestone Fireplace in Woking

Here at Tile Doctor we have developed numerous products and techniques for dealing with all types of situations related to the cleaning of stone, tile and grout. Whilst the most popular work we do relates to the cleaning and sealing of floors sometimes we get asked to resolve more unusual issues such as this Wine Stained Limestone Fireplace at a house in the London commuter town of Woking.

Unfortunately for the customer their teenage son had knocked a glass of red wine from the dining table onto the carpet and over his parent’s adjacent limestone fireplace which despite early attention left noticeable dark spots in the stone. The customer was keen to have the stains removed and had even resigned himself to the possibility of replacing the whole fixture. Naturally this would’ve cost hundreds of pounds; fortunately, however he discovered Tile Doctor on the internet and realised the staining could be remedied reasonably easily with the correct knowledge and products.

Limestone Fireplace Before Wine Stain Removal Woking

Cleaning a Wine Stained Limestone Fireplace

I mentioned earlier Tile Doctor have developed numerous products and techniques and this includes Tile Doctor Reduxa which is designed to lift the stains out of stone, so I decided to try that first.

My method of application was to spray the stain with Reduxa and leave it to soak into the stone for about twenty seconds. Then I worked the solution into the surface of the stain lightly using a smooth 400 grit diamond block. The next step involves using a heat gun to dry out the area. This process is repeated five or six times until the stain completely disappears. The process works by dissolving the stain into the Reduxa which is then evaporated by the heat.

Limestone Fireplace After Wine Stain Removal Woking
I’m pleased to report that the stain was completely removed by the process and no other treatment was required to resolve the problem further. The customer still has to decide however what to do with the carpet…

Professional Removal of Wine Stains from Limestone in Surrey

Red Wine Stains Removed from Limestone Fireplace in Woking Read More »

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