Author name: Daniel Connelly

Wet Room Porcelain Tile and Grout Renovation Chertsey

Vitreous Porcelain Tile and Grout Cleaning in a Chertsey Wet Room

1 Comment / Chertsey Tile Cleaning, Grout Cleaning, Porcelain Tile Cleaning /

This client from Chertsey asked me to call regarding a Porcelain tiled wet room which was installed about 7 years ago. The main issues were water staining and grout discolouration which affected the tiled floor and the lower wall tiling.

Wet Room Porcelain Tile and Grout Before Cleaning Chertsey

Happy to assist I offered to complete a bathroom tile and grout refurb which involved cleaning the Porcelain tile and grout and replacing the silicone sealant. I also gave the option of applying a grout colourant in light grey to the grout if it turned out to be too heavily stained to clean effectively. The colourant would also seal in the grout making it much easier to keep clean.

Wet Room Porcelain Tile and Grout Before Cleaning Chertsey

Happy with my quote a date was booked for the work which would be completed in a day.

Cleaning a Porcelain Tiled Wet Room

Work started as usual with washing the tile and grout with Tile Doctor Pro-Clean, leaving it to soak in for ten minutes and then scrubbing it by hand with a stiff brush. The floor was rinsed with water and then inspected; more work was then done to the grout lines which improved but unfortunately the staining was too deep to achieve a consistent appearance.

Grout Colouring was the best option to restore the grout, so I went ahead starting with the application of a Tile Doctor Grout Pre-Treater which is slightly acidic to etch the grout and achieve a better bond with the colourant. After working this into the grout it was rinsed off and then left to dry. During this time the silicone was carefully stripped out with a sharp knife.

The light grey Tile Doctor Colourant was applied with a small brush and any excess wiped off the adjacent tile before it could dry. There are 11 colours available. Two coats were needed to achieve a consistent look that gave the impression the area had been re-grouted. Both the pretreatment and the colourant are available either separately or in the Tile Doctor Colourant Kit.

Sealing a Porcelain Tiled Wet Room

The porcelain tiles were the low porosity vitreous type and so there was no need to seal them so all that remained was to replace the silicone with an anti mould sealant in a matching light grey.

Wet Room Porcelain Tile and Grout After Cleaning Chertsey

Once complete the water stains were gone, the tiles looked cleaner and the grout looked new. For aftercare I like to recommend Tile Doctor Aqua-Pro which is supplied with a convenient trigger spray.

Wet Room Porcelain Tile and Grout After Cleaning Chertsey

 

Professional Renovation of a Porcelain Tiled Wet Room in West Surrey

Vitreous Porcelain Tile and Grout Cleaning in a Chertsey Wet Room Read More »

Limescale Stained Silver Wave Marble Tiled Bathroom Floor Renovation Addlestone

Limescale Stained Marble Tiled Bathroom Floor Renovated in Addlestone

1 Comment / Addlestone Tile Cleaning, Grout Cleaning, Marble Tile Cleaning /

The pictures below are of a Silver Wave Marble Tiled bathroom floor in a property that was let to the same tenant for the last five years. Unfortunately, Addlestone is a hard water area and the staining on the stone had got so bad it had eaten into the surface slightly. There were also chemical stains all over the tiles due to the use of strong limescale removers which are not recommended for use on Marble due to their acidic nature.

Limescale Stained Silver Wave Marble Tiled Bathroom Floor Before Cleaning Addlestone

The landlord was concerned the property wouldn’t be able to find a new tenant with the floor in that condition and so wanted it renovated and ideally made to look like new so it could be rented out again. Naturally the request was to do this work as quickly as possible. I worked out a quote to deal with the issues which was accepted and the landlord left me the key so I could get on with the work.

Cleaning a Marble Tiled Bathroom

I started the renovation by cleaning the grout with a strong dilution of alkaline Tile Doctor Pro-Clean and a wire brush. The limescale was all over the grout so was difficult to remove but with a bit of elbow grease came away eventually with the use of a coarse burnishing pad. This started with the application of a 100-grit diamond pad which is very aggressive. I’ve found in the past it’s the most effective way of removing chemical stains on stone or at least getting them to a point that they can be easily masked by the sealer.

The slurry from this was rinsed off and extracted and I then worked my way through finer burnishing pads including 400, 800 and 1500-grit ensuring I took my time with the 400 to really work the top of the stone. Due to the small size of the bathroom, a hand-held machine fitted with 6-inch versions of the pads was used. The pads are applied with water and after each pad the resultant slurry was removed with a wet vacuum. This technique removed all the staining but left the marble looking very grey and sad, however the limescale was gone and I wasn’t finished yet.

Sealing Silve Wave Marble Bathroom Floor Tiles

After a final rinse and extraction, the tiles were dried off and then once fully dry a coat of Tile Doctor X-Tra Seal was applied onto the stone which immediately bought the colour back. This is an oil-based sealer rated for external use that soaks into the stone occupying the pores and thereby preventing dirt from becoming ingrained.

This coat was allowed to dry for a while before the excess sealer was removed with a clean microfiber cloth. Once this had settled, the floor was given a quick polish with a very fine 3500-grit pad and this really finished off the Marble leaving a deep shine.

Limescale Stained Silver Wave Marble Tiled Bathroom Floor After Renovation Addlestone

The work went well and completely transformed the look of the bathroom, certainly the landlord was pleased and has already been in touch about some other work that needs completing.

For the aftercare of Marble tiles, I recommend the use of Tile Doctor Stone Soap which is a mild yet effective cleaner that helps maintain polish.

 

Professional Restoration of a Marble Tiled Bathroom in West Surrey

Limescale Stained Marble Tiled Bathroom Floor Renovated in Addlestone Read More »

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