Chinese Slate Strip and Seal in Hale Barns Kitchen

I was asked to strip and re-seal these interesting Chinese Slate tiles that were installed in the kitchen floor of a property in Hale Barns, Cheshire. It seems the tiles had been re-sealed over the years without giving them a deep clean first resulting in dirt and grime being sealed in between layers of old sealer making them impossible for the customer to clean.

Chinese slate floor Hale Barns Cheshire before

Cleaning Chinese Slate Floor Tiles

To remove the many layers of sealer and get the tiles clean I let them soak in a strong dilution of Tile Doctor Remove and Go which is a coatings remover for the stripping of sealers from floors that is safe to use on Tile, Stone and Grout. This was worked into the tile and grout using stiff brushes followed by steam cleaning the floor. The resulting soiled solution was removed and the floor washed down with clean water to reveal the bare stone; stubborn areas were re-treated using the same process before leaving the floor to dry before sealing.

Sealing Chinese Slate Floor Tiles

Once I was satisfied the floor was dry it was sealed using Tile Doctor Seal and Go which is a highly recommended sealer for slate that leaves an attractive low sheen finish and smooth surface, it’s also a water based sealer so there is no smell.

Chinese slate floor Hale Barns Cheshire  After

 
 

Over-Sealed Chinese Slate floor tiles stripped and re-sealed in Cheshire

Stained Victorian Tiles restored in Kingswood, Cheshire

This classic Victorian tiled floor in Kingswood Kitchen; Cheshire was quite dirty and in need of a deep clean. Cleaning this type of floor is bread and butter for a Tile Doctor and so I had every confidence we could clean in and then re-seal it without any complications.

Victorian Floor Kingswood Before Cleaning 006 Victorian Floor Kingswood Before Cleaning 005

Cleaning a Stained Victorian Floor

In order to tack the ingrained dirt and I decided the best course of action would be to cover the Victorian Floor tiles with a 50/50 mix of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean and Nano-Tech UltraClean and leave it to work on the tile allowing the cleaner to break down any remaining previous sealer and in-grained dirt.

Victorian Floor Kingswood During Cleaning 007 Victorian Floor Kingswood During Cleaning 008

After about 30 minutes I steam cleaned the whole area multiple times to lift the ingrained dirt and grime out of the floor and then give the floor a thorough rinse removing the soiled solution using a wet vacuum. The floor was quite damp at this stage and needs to be dry to seal so we left it to dry overnight, we also left behind a dehumidifier to assist with the drying process.

Sealing a Victorian Floor

The next day we came back and tested the floor using a damp meter to make sure it was dry. Once we were satisfied we sealed the tiles using five coats of Tile Doctor Seal and Go which is ideal for Victorian tiles as it leaves an attractive low sheen finish, it’s also a water based sealer so there is no smell.

Victorian Floor Kingswood After Cleaning 012 Victorian Floor Kingswood After Cleaning 013

 
 

Soiled Victorian Tiled hallway floor cleaned and sealed in Cheshire

Victorian Tiled Floor Deep Cleaned in Hale, Cheshire

Details below of a Victorian tiled floor that we cleaned and sealed at a house in Hale, Cheshire, you can see from the photographs below how poor a condition it was in however the tiles were structurally sound so we set about restoring it.

Victorian Tiled Floor Before Victorian Tiled Floor Before

Victorian Floor Deep Cleaning

The tiles were covered with thick layer of old resin, glue, trapped dirt, possibly wax as well, so the best system for this on Victorian Floor Tiles is to cover the Tiles with a 50/50 mix of Tile Doctor Remove and Go and NanoTech Ultra-Clean; the Remove and Go breaks down the wax, glues etc. while the Nano-Clean works deeper in to the tiles and encapsulates the trapped dirt. It does take time for this process to work however so to help the process along we soak the area with these products, cover over with a plastic sheet and then leave it. The plastic sheet this stops the products from drying out and also makes the floor sweat which works like a sauna to open up the pores of the Tiles. We then cover the plastic with Cotton Dust sheets and leave it like that overnight, the customer can still walk on the Floor area while the Treatment is in place.

The next day we lifted the plastic and steamed the whole area to help release the old trapped dirt and grime etc., the floor is then given a good rinse with clean water and we use a wet vacuum to remove the resultant slurry. We couldn’t seal the floor that day as it was still wet so the cotton sheets were put back on and switched on a dehumidifier to help speed up the drying process.

Victorian Tile Blanket Cleaning

Victorian Floor Sealing

We came back the nextday and after testing the floor with a damp meter to ensure it was dry we began to seal it using five coats of Tile Doctor Seal and Go. Seal and Go is a sealer for Victorian floor tiles as it provides stain resistance as well as a low sheen finish.

Victorian Tiled Floor After Victorian Tiled Floor After

The customer was very happy with the results and as you can see from the photographs we have managed to completely transform the floor.
 
 

Victorian Tiled floor cleaned and sealed in Cheshire