Lancashire Tile Expert Reveals Travertine Renovation Secrets

This customer in Preston in Lancashire had just moved into a house with a large 60m2 Travertine tiled floor that was installed throughout most of the ground floor. Travertine is a lovely stone but the previous owner had not maintained the sealer on the tiles and as a result it now looked grubby and there was a lot of dirt ingrained in the tiles leaving black staining, especially in the Kitchen.

   

This is a common problem with all natural stone floors, some are hardier than others but without a protective barrier in place they will attract dirt as the sealer become worn off. The new owner was seriously considering having the tiles ripped up, fortunately however they came across our service and decided to try having them renovated first.

   

Deep Cleaning a Travertine Tiled Floor

To get the stone clean and bring back the beautiful appearance of the Travertine I used several diamond burnishing pads which are run over the tiles with water for lubrication. The first was a coarse 200-grit pad which is fitted to a rotary floor machine and buffed into the stone in a circular motion. This process generates a lot of slurry which is then rinsed off afterwards and extracted with a wet vacuum.

 

This process was then repeated using finer burnishing pads and continued with a 400-grit, 800-grit and finally a 1500-grit, again each pad was run over the tiles several times and then the slurry extracted as before. It’s a completely abrasive process with no other products needed and the result is a sealer and dirt-free tile.

 

At this point I inspected the floor to see if the pads had been able to clean up the grout as well as the tile. Pads can struggle to reach down into the recess so I often find more work is needed on the grout. As suspected the Travertine had responded well to the treatment however it was clear the grout would need more work and was still stained black in places. Normally use a grout cleaning product called Tile Doctor Pro-Clean for the grout but on this occasion, I felt something stronger would be needed. So, on this occasion I applied undiluted Tile Doctor Remove and Go along the grout lines and left it to soak in for ten minutes. It was then scrubbed in by hand, rinsed off and the soil remove with the wet vacuum. The grout cleaning had worked a treat and happy with the condition of the floor it was left to dry off overnight.

Sealing a Travertine Tiled Kitchen Floor

The next morning time was spent filling in holes (aka pitting) in the Travertine with colour matching grout before running over the whole floor with a very fine 3000-grit polishing pad to further bring up the appearance of the stone. This is done using a little water sprayed onto the tile a process we call a spray burnish. Spray burnishing also leaves the floor dry and ready to be sealed. The owner wanted the Travertine to look as natural as possible so two coats of Tile Doctor Ultra Seal were applied. This is an impregnating sealer which is recommended for use on polished stone and for use in kitchens.

 

Before leaving I took time to discuss aftercare cleaning and how important it is to avoid the use of strong cleaning products (especially bleach) on Travertine, not only will it degrade the sealer but can also harm the stone. For the regular cleaning of sealed Travertine, I recommend using Tile Doctor Stone Soap which is a gentle but effective cleaner that also helps maintain the patina.

 

Source: Travertine Tile Cleaning and Renovation in Preston

South Bucks Stone Floor Professional Details Renovation of Travertine Kitchen Floor

This client from Amersham contacted us regarding their Travertine Kitchen floor which they were simply not able to keep clean. Frustratingly any spillage went straight into the floor and stained the tiles. I called them to discuss the problem and offered to come round and survey the floor which is a free service we offer.

I can provide a quote over the phone, but my preference is to visit and test different cleaning products and techniques on the floor before quoting. Doing it this way allows me to work out an accurate quote and gives the customer the confidence I can resolve their problems.

After agreeing a suitable time to call I visited the property and could instantly see that their main problem was the sealer protecting their Kitchen tiles had failed and as described dirt was becoming stuck in the pores of the stone. Natural stone like Travertine is porous and without a sealer in place dirt becomes lodged in its pores where is becomes very difficult to shift.

 

The kitchen was stunning but let down by the dirty floor which had been installed around twenty years ago when a new extension has been added to the property. Typically, a sealer should last between three and five years depending on use and what cleaning products are used to maintain it, so it wasn’t surprising that the original sealer had worn off.

I quoted for deep cleaning the floor including the removal of the old sealer and then applying a robust impregnating sealer which is recommended for Travertine. Happy with the price we scheduled a date for the work to be done.

Deep Cleaning a Travertine Tiled Kitchen Floor

On the first day the floor was given a thorough deep clean using a strong dilution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean, this product is our go to Tile and Grout Cleaner and when used in a strong dilution is strong enough to remove sealers. You find with sealers that they wear down first in the busiest sections of the floor so its important to remove all the sealer from across the floor or you end up with layering.

Pro-Clean is a strong alkaline cleaning product and it’s sprayed onto the tile and grout and then left for ten minutes before working it in, this allows it time to soak into the pores and start breaking down the dirt.

The floor is then scrubbed using a Rocky floor machine fitted with a series of diamond burnishing pads of increasing grits. This process generates a lot of soiling, and this is hoovered up with a wet vacuum after each pad.

The work begins with a coarse 400-grit burnishing pad which strips the Travertine and I work up to a 3000-grit pad which really brings up the finish of the stone to a slight sheen as the client requested. The floor was then left overnight to dry.

Sealing a Travertine Tiled Kitchen Floor

On day two I started on the sealing process first checking that the floor had dried sufficiently to accept the sealer. After discussing sealer options with the client earlier they had expressed a preference for a natural look, so I chose to apply a sealer called Tile Doctor Ultra-Seal which doesn’t colour the stone in any way and is almost undetectable.

Ultra-Seal is an impregnating sealer that works by soaking into the pores of the stone occupying the space and thereby preventing dirt from becoming ingrained there. Two coats were applied with a microfibre cloth allowing it to soak into the tile for a few hours before walking on it.

Once the seal had dried, I went over the tiles again with the 3000-grit pad which buffs of any excess sealant and brings up the sheen. Now with the floor being completely protected with Tile Doctor Ultra Seal the client shouldn't have any problem with spillages which can be simply wiped away.

 

Once finished the deep pitted dirt was gone and the floor looked much lighter and cleaner. My client was very impressed with the transformation and has recommended us to her friend who also lives in Amersham and has a similar stone floor.

I mentioned earlier that a sealer’s life can be impacted by the product you use for regular cleaning, it’s a fact that most supermarket tile cleaners are simply too strong and can damage the sealer so before leaving I took time to discuss aftercare cleaning and for Travertine, I recommend the use of Tile Doctor Stone Soap which as well as gently cleaning the stone also helps maintain the patina.

Source: Amersham Stone Floor Cleaning and Sealing Service

Renovating Dirty Travertine Floor Tiles in Lincolnshire

A customer from the village of Coningsby was having trouble keeping their Travertine tiled Kitchen floor clean. Another company had sealed the flooring previously, but it clearly hadn’t lasted and dirt had now become ingrained in the pores of the stone. As a result, mopping the floor wasn't effective at removing the dirt from either the Travertine or the grout lines.

This was a busy work kitchen that needed to have a floor that is easy to maintain; now frustrated with the way the floor looked they considered having it taken up and replaced but decided to contact Tile Doctor first looking for a remedy.


We visited the property to survey the floor and discuss the issues they were facing with the floor. It clearly needed to be deep cleaned and then resealed properly with a more effective product. I explained our process and discussed the result they were looking for. They were happy for me to go ahead and requested a Matt finish rather than a shine or gloss look as it was a high use kitchen.

Cleaning and Burnishing a Travertine Tiled Floor

I returned on the agreed date and spent the first day removing the old sealer that was no longer working and deep cleaning the flooring. To achieve this, I used a series for burnishing pads of different grits. After each pad the floor was rinsed using our Rotovac system which rinses the floor and extracts the dirty water off the floor at high speed. Although an expensive investment the machine makes light work of cleaning hard floors and saves a lot of time.


After cleaning the floor, a turbo dryer was installed to speed up the drying process so the floor can be inspected, and any stubborn areas redone. The tiles looked nice and clean, but I could see some areas of grouting needed more work so these were hand scrubbed with Tile Doctor Pro-Clean followed by another rinse to remove the soil.


At this stage I also noticed a few holes in the travertine that were filled for the customer with a matching colour. This is a common problem for Travertine and unfortunately, they easily attract dirt, so filling makes the floor much easier to clean going forward.

Sealing a Travertine Tiled Floor

We returned the following morning and tested the flooring with a damp meter to make sure it was fully dry. All was well and it was ready to seal with our quality impregnator Tile Doctor Colour Grow which protects the floor from within whilst enhancing the natural colours in the stone in the process. The Travertine proved more absorbent than usual for this type of stone and took three coats before a water test indicated the floor was fully sealed.


You can see from the photo above that the water beaded up on the surface and can be simply wiped away even after a few minutes. This shows maximum protection has been applied. Given my experience with this floor I suspect the previous company had not applied enough sealer and this would explain why it failed, had they conducted a water test then this should have been obvious.

We then gave a final polish with our buffer and a white soft pad to really strengthen the seal and give the best finish. I should mention that Colour Grow leaves a matt finish which matches the customer’s request.


For aftercare cleaning going forward I left the customer a complimentary bottle of Tile Doctor Neutral Tile Cleaner that looks after the seal better than any high alkaline or acidic cleaners like bleach or washing up liquid which will prematurely erode the seal.

The customer was delighted with the results, commenting on how much brighter the whole room looked.




Source: Travertine Tile Cleaning and Sealing Service in Coningsby, Lincolnshire

Burnishing Polished Travertine Tile

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Burnishing Polished Travertine Tile

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Cleaning & Polishing Travertine Floor Tiles in Lymington

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