Porcelain Tile Cleaning

Welcome to my Work History archive where you will find detailed examples of the cleaning and renovation of Porcelain tiles carried out in West Surrey

Cleaning and Polishing Porcelain tiles

Harder than ceramic tiles modern production methods have allowed a growth in the availability and design of Porcelain tiles which are known for their durability and water resistance making them a popular option for floors. Like Ceramic, Porcelain tiles are generally very easy to clean and need little maintenance however some are micro porous and do require sealing, you will need to ask you supplier which type you have installed as it can be very difficult to tell.

If your Porcelain tiles are of the micro porous variety then they will need to be sealed to avoid a build-up of dirt in the pores of the tile. For this we recommend Tile Doctor Ultra-Seal which works by impregnating the pores to ensure dirt can’t become ingrained there without changing the appearance of the tile itself.

Apart from sealing the biggest issues with this type of tile are usually grout related. Either the adjacent grout discolours over time or the tiler has been unable to remove excess grout from the surface of the tile, an issue known as Grout Haze or Grout Smears. Modern grouts can be particularly susceptible to the grout haze issue due to shorter working times and polymers in the grout which make it difficult to remove once dry. If this sounds familiar do contact us so we can advise you on how best to remove it.

Below you will find detailed examples of work we have carried out in the past, it should give you some idea of what’s involved and what can be achieved with the right techniques and products.


Porcelain Tile Grout Colour Before After Colouring Cobham

Correcting Tilers Grout Colour Mistake in a Cobham Bathroom

This client is a famous artist who has just had a new house built inCobham. The house is stunning, and the design details have had a lot of thought put into them. As with big projects such as these there are lots of things to think about and to ensure the builders deliver your vision and artists do have an eye for detail.

A point of contention was one of the bathrooms where the tiler had used a light grey grout in the shower and a dark grey colour in the rest of the bathroom. Although an interesting contrast It looked rather odd and my client was not keen on it nor was it made clear as to why it had been grouted in that colour.

Porcelain Tiled Bathroom Before Grout Colouring Cobham

The brief was to have dark grey in the whole bathroom! As is her right after spending a lot of money, she wanted uniformity, but the tiler wasn’t having any of it. She was rather fed up with the whole situation so contacted us at Tile Doctor to ask if we could rectify the problem. In fact, this is a relatively easy job to solve so I discussed the solution and how long it would take and provided a quote for doing the work. She was happy to agree to my quote and I arranged to return the following week.

She was keen to get all the works completed and tie up all the final snags. Cobham is a very desirable area of Surrey and she will be in good company with many celebrity neighbours nearby. The high street is also full of lovely shops and restaurants, unfortunately no time for me to stop.

Grout Recolouring a Porcelain Tiled Bathroom Walls

To resolve the issue, I applied a Tile Doctor Grout Colourant in Charcoal Grey to all the wall grout in the bathroom to ensure uniformity. Tile Doctor Grout Colourant dries very quickly so once applied any excess must be removed quickly, I recommend wet wipes for this. This product is equally effective for interior or exterior applications including all types of bathrooms and kitchens and is available in ten different colours making it very versatile. It is easy to apply but ensuring the excess is removed is the key to a good finish.

Five hours of effort, one bottle of Tile Doctor Charcoal Grey Grout Colourant and three packets of wet wipes later and the job was finished. Whilst it is a simple job, it is quite time consuming and a little patience is required. However, I have to agree with the owner, the bathroom looks much more sophisticated with a darker grout colour, it’s amazing how a subtle change can make such a difference. It is worth noting when you have any tiling done, there is a variety of colours of grout available so always ask the tiler, don’t just assume there is one choice.

Porcelain Tiled Bathroom After Grout Colouring Cobham

The client was now satisfied, and the bathroom looked how she had envisaged it. I must admit, the light and dark grey combination really didn’t work! I took the opportunity to suggest she should use Tile Doctor Oxy-Pro spray for regular bathroom tile and grout cleaning as she has several tiled bathrooms in the new house, and this will ensure they remain in pristine condition.

 

Professional Grout Re Colouring of a Porcelain Tiled Bathroom in West Surrey

Correcting Tilers Grout Colour Mistake in a Cobham Bathroom Read More »

Replacing White Grout With Grey in Cobham

Floor Grout Replaced in Cobham

This floor was tiled with large format beige porcelain tiles with a white grout which as you can appreciate can soon become dirty. Now you might be thinking that this post is about cleaning grout which would make sense as I’m normally asked to clean grout, however on this occasion the customer wanted it removing completely and then re-grouting in a darker colour.

Grout re-colouring grout is easily done using a Tile Doctor Grout Colourant which comes in ten different colours but in this case there was an amount of cracked and missing grout which needed replacing anyway.

Floor Grout Before Replacement Cobham
The house was in the surrey village of Cobham which dates back to Roman times and is now known for being an affluent place to live with many large houses.

Removing Grout

Removing existing grout is a messy job that can create a lot of dust so before starting work I positioned my vacuum cleaner adjacent to the tile so any dust would be extracted away. There are a number of ways to remove grout but I find the best way is to use a special oscillating tool which makes quick work of the job. Fortunately due to the large format porcelain tiles with tight grout lines I was able to completely remove all the grout within a few hours.

Grouting a

After a clean up I was ready to mix the new grey grout and start rerouting the tiles. I always use expanding grout for this as it lasts longer and won’t shrink like cheaper products which can rack as a house moves slightly. Once mixed the new grout was pushed into the grout lines with a rubber float and the excess polished off.

I managed to complete the job in a day and before leaving I have the floor a buff with a soft white pad.

Floor Grout After Replacement Cobham
The Grout tiled hallway floor now looks amazing.

Professional Grout Tiled Hallway Restoration in West Surrey

Floor Grout Replaced in Cobham Read More »

White Porcelain Tiled Floor Before and After Cleaning in Windlesham

Cleaning Dirty White Porcelain Floor Tiles in Windlesham

Photographs below from a lovely house in Windlesham where I was asked to do something about the Porcelain floor tiles which had become extremely dirty and were proving impossible to clean. Infact my customer was pulling her hair out about how to fix this issue of deeply ingrained muck and was on the verge of pulling the whole lot up.

Porcelain Tiled Floor Before Cleaning Windlesham

Porcelain Tile Cleaning

Normally Porcelain tiles are fairly easy to maintain and it’s just a question of keeping the grout clean however I have to confess these tiles were perplexing indeed. In fact to be honest…I tried every product in my van to get them clean, finally settling on Oxy Gel. I left it to soak on the floor for 30 minutes and then worked it in with an aggressive 200 grit pad.

I’m happy to report the transformation was amazing, all the muck was released from the tile and I was able to extract it from the floor using a wet vacuum. My last step was to give the grout a good scrub using more Oxy Gel, rinse off with water and extract as much moisture as possible with the wet vacuum.

Porcelain Tile Sealing

I speed dried the floor with an air mover and once the floor was dry I applied a coating of Tile Doctor Ultra Seal. Now Porcelain tiles don’t usually take a sealer however these tiles were unusual in that they were trapping dirt and it’s possible they were in fact micro-porcelain so a coat of sealer was added for good measure.

Porcelain Tiled Floor After Cleaning Windlesham
My customer was really pleased with the difference and left the following comment on the Tile Doctor feedback system:

“Here’s what she said-

“Rupert was a total professional from start to finish. I was worried as to how good he would be able to make the floor – the floor consists of almost white porcelain tiles, that my tiler had failed to seal. This meant they had absorbed dirt over the last two years – even after me scrubbing the floor, they always looked dirty. The room was big – a 24 feet long kitchen/dining room. But Rupert assured me he could get it clean again – and he was as good as his word. When I saw the room for the first time, I said “I have my new kitchen back – the floor looks as good as it did the day the tiler had put the tiles down”. He left everything clean and tidy after the job – I wish I had discovered your website 18 months ago ! Thank you, Rupert, brilliant work.””

Cleaning a tiled supermarket floor in East Sussex

Cleaning Dirty White Porcelain Floor Tiles in Windlesham Read More »

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West Surrey Tile Doctor

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