Stripping Wax of Hallway Tiles in Northamptonshire

This customer called me as she was concerned about the scratches on her hallway tiles, they were not only unsightly but were also starting to trap dirt. The Victorian property in Rushden which lies between Bedford and Kettering on the east side of Northamptonshire.

We always offer a site visit to take a look at the job before doing any work, that way we can discuss what the cleaning options are, and it also demonstrates to the customer that we know what we’re talking about.

The hallway floor was a lovely and intricate example of Victorian tile installation and I could see that overall it was in good condition for its age. On closer inspection the customer was relieved to find out that it was the old wax sealant breaking down and not actually scratches on the tiles. I carried out a test on a small area to ascertain how difficult it would be to remove this wax. I realised I would be able to use Tile Doctors new product for the removal of the wax sealant, Tile Doctor Wax Away which is a fast and effective formula that is designed just for this type of job, it offers safe removal of wax and polish from tile and natural stone. We agreed the quote and the work was booked in for the following month.

Cleaning/Repairing a Victorian Tiled Hallway Floor

On our return we started to remove the wax coating using the Tile Doctor Wax Away product. It was applied neat and left to dwell for ten to fifteen minutes before working it into the floor with a small amount of water and a black stripping pad attached to a rotary machine. The resulting slurry was then removed using a wet vacuum. The floor was then inspected, and I decided to repeat this process with a hand brush in a couple of small areas and around the edges to ensure the old wax sealant was fully removed in these stubborn areas. The floor was then rinsed with water to remove any remaining slurry and trace of cleaning product and the wet vacuum was used to dry the floor again.


My next course of action was to run over the floor with a 400-grit burnishing pad to remove imbedded dirt and stains from the tiles, this was followed by a second rinse with water. After removing the water with wet vacuum, the floor was then left to dry out fully for a few days aided by a large fan that I left on site. It’s important that the tiles are fully dry before applying a sealer and this is even more important on older floors where no damp proof membrane has been installed.

Sealing a Victorian Tiled Hallway Floor

I returned three days later and started by giving the floor a light vacuum and clean. I also took damp meter readings to check the floor was fully dry. Once I was satisfied I started to apply 2 coats of Tile Doctor Colour Grow Sealant, this is a breathable sealant which will allow the tiles to breath and allow moisture vapour from the sub floor to rise through the tiles which is important in these old houses where no damp proof membrane exists. Colour Grow is an impregnating sealer that works by occupying the pores in the tile thus preventing dirt from becoming ingrained there, the sealant enhances the natural colours in the tile and dries to a lovely natural matt finish.


Once finished the floor looked great and the customer was hugely relieved that the tiles could be restored easily and cost effectively, she had thought the damage may have been irreversible. Moving forward it will now be easier for her to maintain and keep clean. The floor is now back to its’ true self and properly in keeping with the rest of the period features in the house.




Source: Tile Cleaning and Sealing Service in Northamptonshire

Red And Black Victorian Quarry Tiles hidden Under Lino Restored

A customer called me out to take a look at restoring the Red and Black Victorian Quarry tiles floor they had discovered under linoleum In the kitchen of their house in the town of Rushden. I carried out a patch test to see which products would have the best results and although most of the old Read more...

Kitchen Quarry Tile Cleaning and Sealing in Rushden

This job was to strip and re-seal these Quarry tiles installed in a commercial kitchen which was undergoing refurbishment at a canteen in Rushden, Northamptonshire. The tile finish had dulled and there was a lot of staining to the grout. Cleaning Quarry Tiles As there was little in the way of kitchen units to protect I go straight down to stripping down the floor using a strong dilution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean which is a multi-purpose cleaner/stripper that's safe to use on stone, tile and Read more...

Grout Cleaning Difficulty in a Rushden Kitchen

This customer from Rushden called me in because she was having difficulty keeping the grout in her kitchen clean although the ceramic tiles themselves were fairly easy to maintain. On speaking to the customer it became evident that the one coat of sealant that was originally applied to the grout five years ago had all but worn off and the cleaning products she was using were too strong reducing the life of the sealer and now dirty water getting into the now porous grout which was causing Read more...

Cleaning and Repointing a Patio in Rushden

You may be surprised but we just clean interior stone and tile we also specialise in exterior stone cleaning as well as you will see with the post below where we cleaned and re-pointed a neglected patio at a house in Rushden. The first photo shows the condition of the patio which hadn't been professionally cleaned for over forty years, weeds and moss had eaten through all the original mortar and made any remaining cement very lose and would need to be replaced after pressure washing. The Read more...

Restoring a Victorian Quarry Tiled Kitchen Floor in Rushden

A customer called me out to take a look at restoring the Red and Black Victorian Quarry tiles floor they had discovered under linoleum In the kitchen of their house in the town of Rushden. I carried out a patch test to see which products would have the best results and although most of the old sealants had worn of over time there was still glue from the lino and patches of sealer that would have to be dealt with. A quote was given and accepted and the work was booked in to the customer's Read more...

Sandstone Patio Restoration in Rushden

Lichen, moss and other plant-based staining is a common sight on patios exposed to the UK climate. For many property owners, it's a very difficult task to keep patios looking great in the face of the natural effects of the environment. However always happy to help Tile Doctor is available to provide the professional cleaning and sealing needed on a regular basis. This Sandstone tiled patio in Rushden was certainly a prime candidate for restoration. Not only was it completely covered in Read more...

Complete Sandstone Patio Restoration

Lichen, moss and other plant-based staining is a common sight on patios exposed to the UK climate. For many property owners, it's a very difficult task to keep patios looking great in the face of the natural effects of the environment. However always happy to help Tile Doctor is available to provide the professional cleaning and sealing needed on a regular basis. This Sandstone tiled patio in Rushden was certainly a prime candidate for restoration. Not only was it completely covered in Read more...

Cleaning and Repointing a Patio in Rushden

You may be surprised but we just clean interior stone and tile we also specialise in exterior stone cleaning as well as you will see with the post below where we cleaned and re-pointed a neglected patio at a house in Rushden. The first photo shows the condition of the patio which hadn't been professionally cleaned for over forty years, weeds and moss had eaten through all the original mortar and made any remaining cement very lose and would need to be replaced after pressure washing. The Read more...

Stained and Damaged Sandstone Patio Restoration in Rushden

Lichen, moss and other plant-based staining is a common sight on patios exposed to the UK climate. For many property owners, it's a very difficult task to keep patios looking great in the face of the natural effects of the environment. However always happy to help Tile Doctor is available to provide the professional cleaning and sealing needed on a regular basis. This Sandstone tiled patio in Rushden was certainly a prime candidate for restoration. Not only was it completely covered in Read more...

Cleaning Kitchen Quarry Tiles

This job was to strip and re-seal these Quarry tiles installed in a commercial kitchen which was undergoing refurbishment at a canteen in Rushden, Northamptonshire. The tile finish had dulled and there was a lot of staining to the grout. Cleaning Quarry Tiles As there was little in the way of Read more...

Kitchen Quarry Tile Cleaning and Sealing in Rushden

This job was to strip and re-seal these Quarry tiles installed in a commercial kitchen which was undergoing refurbishment at a canteen in Rushden, Northamptonshire. The tile finish had dulled and there was a lot of staining to the grout. Cleaning Quarry Tiles As there was little in the way of kitchen units to protect I go straight down to stripping down the floor using a strong dilution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean which is a multi-purpose cleaner/stripper that's safe to use on stone, tile and Read more...

Cleaning and Repointing a Patio in Rushden

You may be surprised but we just clean interior stone and tile we also specialise in exterior stone cleaning as well as you will see with the post below where we cleaned and re-pointed a neglected patio at a house in Rushden. The first photo shows the condition of the patio which hadn't been professionally cleaned for over forty years, weeds and moss had eaten through all the original mortar and made any remaining cement very lose and would need to be replaced after pressure washing. The Read more...

Red And Black Victorian Quarry Tiles hidden Under Lino Restored

A customer called me out to take a look at restoring the Red and Black Victorian Quarry tiles floor they had discovered under linoleum In the kitchen of their house in the town of Rushden. I carried out a patch test to see which products would have the best results and although most of the old Read more...

Grout Cleaning Difficulty in a Rushden Kitchen

This customer from Rushden called me in because she was having difficulty keeping the grout in her kitchen clean although the ceramic tiles themselves were fairly easy to maintain. On speaking to the customer it became evident that the one coat of sealant that was originally applied to the grout five years ago had all but worn off and the cleaning products she was using were too strong reducing the life of the sealer and now dirty water getting into the now porous grout which was causing Read more...

Cleaning and Repointing a Patio in Rushden

You may be surprised but we just clean interior stone and tile we also specialise in exterior stone cleaning as well as you will see with the post below where we cleaned and re-pointed a neglected patio at a house in Rushden. The first photo shows the condition of the patio which hadn't been professionally cleaned for over forty years, weeds and moss had eaten through all the original mortar and made any remaining cement very lose and would need to be replaced after pressure washing. The Read more...

Recently discovered Victorian Quarry Tiles restored

A customer called me out to take a look at restoring the Red and Black Victorian Quarry tiles floor they had discovered under linoleum In the kitchen of their house in the town of Rushden. I carried out a patch test to see which products would have the best results and although most of the old sealants had worn of over time there was still glue from the lino and patches of sealer that would have to be dealt with. A quote was given and accepted and the work was booked in to the customer’s convenience.

Cleaning Victorian Quarry Tiles

After vacuuming and mopping the floor I decided my best course of action would be to spray Tile Doctor Remove and Go to 25% of the area, this was then scrubbed in by machine using a black stripping pad. This area was then rinsed off with an extraction machine and the process repeated over the rest of the floor. I then inspected the floor and noticed a few shiny patches where the sealant hadn't been fully removed so I then tackled these stubborn areas by hand with a second application of Remove & Go. A final rinse to the whole floor was given to make sure no trace of cleaning product remained before sealing. As much water as possible was removed using the extraction machine and a dehumidifier installed and left for seven days to assist the drying process.

Sealing Victorian Quarry Tiles

On my return I confirmed the floor had dried thoroughly by taking took damp meter readings in different parts of the floor. All was well and so I proceeded to seal the tiles using multiple coats of Tile Doctor Seal and Go which matched the customers’ requirements of gloss finish.


As the pictures show there was a vast improvement in the floor and the customer was very pleased with the results. They were also given information on maintenance of this type of floor to keep it looking its best for years to come.




Source: Professional Tile, Stone and Grout restoration service in Northamptonshire

Putting the life back into your patio for the summer

You may be surprised but we just clean interior stone and tile we also specialise in exterior stone cleaning as well as you will see with the post below where we cleaned and re-pointed a neglected patio at a house in Rushden. The first photo shows the condition of the patio which hadn't been professionally cleaned for over forty years, weeds and moss had eaten through all the original mortar and made any remaining cement very lose and would need to be replaced after pressure washing.

The second picture shows the equipment set up ready to pressure wash the patio, the power of the pressure washer blasted away most of the dirt and we used Tile Doctor Remove and Go on any stubborn stains that became evident.


The third picture below shows the results after the patio has been pressure washed; you can see that the remaining mortar had all but washed away.


After allowing a few days for the patio to completely dry out I returned to site to repoint all joints between the slabs. There are a few different colours to choose from and on this occasion the customer chose a light grey. The final picture shows the finished patio after it had been sealed.


The customer was over the moon with the results as she had no idea that the slabs were different colours under the 40 years of dirt, grime and weeds.



Source: Professional UK wide maintenance service for your stone