Getting the Dirt out of Paving in East Sussex

So, I had an enquiry from a very nice lady in Eastbourne who wanted to know if I could use some old tiles she had dug up from her garden. It seems her house was the last one to be built in the street many years ago and the builders threw all the tiles into her garden. Since then some were recovered to make a mosaic front pathway but there were four buckets of tiles she couldn't use.

I’m based in Eastbourne, so it was no trouble to go around and take a look. I popped round and in my profession you never know when they might come in handy so I bought them off her for £20 which was a bargain really. Well I was very grateful to her and after seeing her front pathway and garden I offered to clean the paving and tiles up for free.


There were two sections of paving that needed cleaning including the mosaic tiles and with my van being parked right in front of the house I was able to reach them with my van mounted high-pressure cleaning system.

Cleaning Dirty Paving

The first job was to use low pressure jet wash to the paving to remove surface dirt and then apply a medium dilution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean and let it soak into the tile for about ten minutes. The solution was then scrubbed into the tile using a stiff brush to release the ingrained dirt.

The last step was to finish the process using our high-powered state of the art truck mount extraction system. These machines are a big investment but well worth the cost in the amount of time they save. They work by applying hot water under pressure to the surface via a special spinner tool whilst simultaneously extracting the soiled water back to a collection tank on the van. You can set the pressure of the machine and in the case of paving I use a lower pressure to ensure the mortar between the paving isn’t dislodged.


The paving came out remarkably well as you can see from the photographs.


Thank you Joy for your enthusiasm in the finished product, for the opportunity to reveal your lovely pathway, for the buckets of tiles you recovered and for the copious amounts of tea you served to me.


Source: Pavement and Patio Tile Cleaning and Renovation Service in East Sussex

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Cleaning a Victorian Floor Tiles

Some type of adhesive had been used to stick down the Lino and Carpet so the first step was to remove all the stubborn glue build up which I did using Tile Doctor Remove and Go, then once the bad areas had been targeted I concentrated on the plaster and paint build up which I treated using a 3-1 mix of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean in warm water worked in with a buffing machine fitted with a black scrubbing pad. The soiled water was rinsed away using a wet vacuum so the floor could be checked to see if more work was required which it was so stubborn areas that had resisted the initial cleaning onslaught were spot cleaned by using a diluted mix of Tile Doctor Grout Clean-up which is a very strong acidic product for removing grout and other mineral based substances from tiles. Before finishing the entire floor was given a thorough rinse to remove any trace of cleaning product, again a wet vacuum was used to remove the water and this time get the floor as dry as possible.

Sealing the Victorian Tiled Floor

The cleaning took place over two days and then the floor was given a further two days to allow it to dry fully after which I went back and sealed it with four coats of Tile Doctor Seal and Go which is an ideal sealer for Victorian tiles as it combines stain protection whilst giving the floor a subtle sheen appearance.


Looking at the floor when the last coat went on it was hard to believe the state it was in when I first arrived. Incidentally the owner who had inherited the house told me that he had not seen the floor look that good when his parents were alive as he remembered it from his childhood. It always makes the job more worthwhile when you hear stories like that.






Source: Expert Victorian tile restoriation tips and information