Yorkshire Expert Explains how to Renovate Chinese Slate Kitchen Tiles

The pictures above are of a 12 metre squared Chinese slate floor in the kitchen of a property in Harrogate which had been laid ten years prior. You can see from the photographs that the grout had darkened and the slate itself had lost a lot of its character and colour.

 

Sealers typically last between three to five years so by now there was little protection left and so dirt had become trapped in the pores of the stone and grout making it difficult to keep clean. It was now overdue a deep clean and the application of a fresh seal.

I went over to survey the floor and provide a quote for stripping off what was left of the original sealer, cleaning the floor, and then resealing. I had been recommended by a previous customer so happy with my track record and the price I quoted, they asked me to do the work. They had received a quote from another firm which as it turned out was a lot more expensive than mine.

 

Cleaning a Chinese Slate Tiled Kitchen Floor

Given there was little sealer left to remove I decided to start by scrubbing the floor with a strong concentration of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean which was left to soak into the slate for ten minutes. Then I worked the solution in with a rotary machine fitted with a black scrubbing pad. Pro-Clean is a very versatile product that will strip the sealer off a floor when used in a strong dilution with water, it will also remove deep seated dirt too.

 

Due to the riven nature of the tiles however I found the black pad was struggling to reach into the crevices of the tile so to achieve the desired result I resorted to scrubbing the floor on my hands and knees with a scrubbing brush. Its important that the floor is as clean as it possibly can be before sealing otherwise you simply lock the dirt in and it will never look clean.

Sealing a Chinese Slate Tiled Kitchen Floor

The floor was left to dry off overnight and I returned the next day to apply the new sealer. First, I checked to ensure that the floor was fully dry using a damp meter. The sealer would not cure properly if the floor damp and this can detract from the finished appearance.

I was happy with the readings, so I started to apply the first coat of Tile Doctor Seal and Go which I felt was the best product sealing Slate. The stone needed four coats; each one being left to dry before applying the next. Seal and Go is a stain resistant sealer which results in a low sheen silky appearance, it is good on surfaces such as the Chinese Slate which tend to be more porous and being water based it does not leave a smell as it dries.

 

The client was very happy with the result and mentioned to me that it had never looked that good even when new.

For aftercare cleaning I recommended the use of Tile Doctor Neutral Tile Cleaner which will keep the floor in the best condition. This is a pH neutral cleaner which can be used daily and won’t compromise the newly laid sealer like many of the stronger products you find in supermarkets.

Source: Chinese Slate Floor Cleaning and Renovation Service in Yorkshire

Removing Candle Wax from Premium Lapicida Sandstone Tiles in Yorkshire

This customer who lived in the old North Yorkshire market town of Bedale, had a Lapicida Sandstone floor installed many years prior and over the years the sealer had worn off and dirt had become ingrained into the pores of the stone making it dull and difficult to clean effectively. Based in Harrogate, where they have Europe’s largest stone gallery, Lapicida are a premier Tile and Stone company that specialise in reclaimed Sandstone with prices that range from £79 to £594 per square metre.


Naturally having such an expensive stone floor installed my customer wanted it to look its best however when your living with a stone floor day in, day out you fail to notice the gradual decline in its overall appearance. Then one day you suddenly realise the floor is overdue a deep clean and reseal and call in Tile Doctor; there is an alternative however, simply speak to Tile Doctor about setting up an annual Maintenance Plan whereby we pop by once a year to clean the floor and top up the sealer.

Deep Cleaning a Lapicida Sandstone Floor

To deep clean the floor the sandstone flagstones were covered in a strong 1:3 dilution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean which was left to dwell and soak into the stone for ten minutes before being scrubbed clean using a rotary buffing machine fitted with a black pad. The now dirty cleaning solution was then removed using a wet vacuum and then the whole floor washed down with water and stubborn areas re-treated until I was satisfied. Unusually for Sandstone it was all graded and uniformly flat which made cleaning a lot easier.

With the floor clean and all the dirt removed it revealed some black marks, most of which were from candle wax which is very difficult to get off. To tackle this problem a heat gun was used to melt the wax and then it was dappled with a clean cloth. This process was mostly successful, but some still left a faint Mark which the customer was ok with.

After giving the floor a final rinse and drying it as much as possible with a wet vacuum it was left to dry off fully overnight.

Sealing a Lapicida Sandstone Floor

I returned the next day to seal the floor first checking it for dampness using a damp meter. The flagstones were dry. I was going to seal the Stone with Tile Doctor Colour Grow which would have enhanced the natural colours in the stone, but the customer liked the light appearance of the cleaned stone, so l used Tile Doctor Ultra Seal instead; Ultra-seal is a natural look sealer, so it doesn’t darken the stone. Both sealers are what we call impregnators which work by soaking into the pores of stone protecting it from within by preventing dirt from becoming ingrained.


I’m sure you will agree the floor looks much improved, certainly the customer and myself were both very pleased with the transformation of the floor; my customer even left the following testimonial on the Tile Doctor feedback system.

Nigel Stoker was knowledgeable, efficient and very pleasant. My floors are looking amazing. Claire G, Bedale




Source: Lapicida Sandstone Cleaning and Sealing Service in Yorkshire

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