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Ceramic Tiled Shower Curbicle Before After Renovation Woking

End of Tenancy Shower Cubicle Renovation in Woking

Example below of the end of tenancy clean of a Ceramic tiled shower cubicle in Woking student accommodation. The Ceramic tile, grout and shower base were filthy. The mastic had perished, shrunk, and turned black. Unattractive and unhygienic the landlord had little chance of re-letting the property with the bathroom in that state, so we were asked to step in. As you can see from the pictures it was pretty bad although I have seen worse.

Ceramic Tiled Shower Cubicle Before Cleaning

If you have a rental property with a stone floor its worth giving Tile Doctor a call as we find landlords rarely give tenants instructions on how to maintain them and they often end up in a state by the end of the lease.

Ceramic Tiled Shower Cubicle Before Cleaning Ceramic Tiled Shower Cubicle Before Cleaning

Cleaning a Ceramic Tiled Shower Cubicle

Ceramic tiles are exceptionally durable and as long as the glaze is intact, they can usually be cleaned quite easily. Grout however is slightly porous and traps dirt which can be a struggle to clean effectively. The grout in this shower was discoloured and permanently stained so the best way to renovate it was to apply a grout colourant.

Before applying the grout colourant, I cleaned the grout with the Tile Doctor Grout Clean-Up and a wire brush. Being an acidic product, it can remove old grout smears, limescale, body soaps and fats, also being it will key the surface of the grout allowing for a superior bond with the grout colourant later.

Next, I cleaned the tiles using Tile Doctor Oxy-Gel which being gel based sticks well to vertical surfaces and allows for better dwell time so it can really eat into the dirt. The gel is applied to the tile, left for ten minutes, and then scrubbed it in with a 6-inch handheld polisher fitted with a black pad.

We then started on the shower base. I used Tile Doctor Remove and Go for this, again leaving it to soak into the surface dirt for ten minutes before scrubbing it in by hand with a brush. I managed to get into all the grooves in the plastic tray and removed all the dirt.

Once the cubicle was dry, I removed the mastic sealant from the two verticals and three horizontals around the base and behind the glass door. This is a fiddly job that can take a while with an assortment of knives and scrappers, taking care not to damage the tiles or the shower tray.

Now the shower was clean I coloured the grout back to its original white colour. This is tedious work carefully applying the colourant with a narrow paint brush. The product dries very quickly so any excess product the gets onto the tile must be wiped off immediately. Another advantage of using a grout colourant is it forms a barrier over the grout, sealing it prevent dirt from becoming attached to its cementitious surface. The smooth surface of the colourant also makes it much easier to clean.

Whilst the Tile Doctor Grout Colourant dried, I applied a new white mastic. Applying mastic takes some time to master and is best left to the experienced. It is not easily mastered but practice does makes perfect.

Ceramic Tiled Shower Cubicle after Renovation Ceramic Tiled Shower Cubicle after Renovation

Once done the cubicle looked transformed. I managed to complete the shower by early afternoon advising my client that mastic needs 24 hours to dry before it can be used again. He was very happy, the shower cubicle looked as good as new and relieved it was in a rental condition again.

Ceramic Tiled Shower Cubicle after Renovation

 

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Ceramic Tiled Shower Cubicle Before and After Refresh in Oxshott

Ceramic Tiled Shower Cubicle Refreshed for new Tenants in Oxshott

When renting property out a property it makes a lot of sense to give it a quick facelift to ensure it’s more attractive to future tenants, not only will it rent faster but it should also command a better price. Many landlords don’t realise this but giving bathrooms, a facelift is the one thing you can do quite cheaply and quickly that can rapidly improve the appearance and desirability of a house, after all no-one wants to rent a place with grotty tiles!

A returning customer of mine recently contacted me about restoring the condition of a Ceramic tiled shower cubicle in a flat she owned in the Surrey village of Oxshott. She was about to rent the property out to a couple of international students, and so wanted it looking its best in all aspects.

Tiled Shower Before Renovation in Oxshot
You may be wondering why international students would want to live in Oxshott but it’s not too far at all from the University of Surrey. The town of Oxshott is quite large and has a low population density. There are many private roads in the village – and it has been named the “most expensive village in England” and so a very desirable location.

Cleaning a Ceramic Tiled Shower Cubicle

We tend to follow a tried and tested method that we have developed at Tile Doctor for restoring shower cubicles. To begin, I cleaned the grout lines using our acidic cleaning product, Tile Doctor Clean-Up. The product was scrubbed into shower wall tile and grout using a handheld rotary machine fitted with a six-inch black scrubbing pad.

Being a concentrated phosphoric acid cleaner, Grout Clean-Up effectively removes mineral deposits (salts etc) and grout smears from the tile surface to leaving it looking much fresher, it also prepares the grout for a superior bond with the grout colourant that was to be added later.

Following this, I scrubbed the tiles down with Tile Doctor Pro-Clean to provide a general clean and to remove any other muck and dirt. This was followed by a rinse with water to remove any trace of cleaning product from the tile and grout. The next step was to remove all the existing silicone mastic with a sharp knife; the mastic sealant stained with mould and much in need of replacement. Once all the rubbish was swept out, I dried any remaining dampness from the grout and tiles with a heat gun.

Grout Colouring a Ceramic Tiled Shower Cubicle

This left the grout ready to be recoloured. I did this over the course of a few hours, using a White colourant from the Tile Doctor Grout Colourant range. White is just one of ten colours available in the range and was chosen in this case to give the grout a really fresh look and to blend in with the White Ceramic tiles.

The application of Grout Colourant not only colours the grout joints – it also seals and rejuvenates them. It also dries quickly, so I could apply a second coat quite soon after the first, removing any excess as I went.

Once the restoration was finished, I resealed the shower base with fresh silicone mastic again in White to match the tile and grout. As a courtesy, I also cleaned the shower glass too, leaving an excellent result overall – and one very happy customer!

Tiled Shower After Renovation in Oxshot
 

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