This customer from South Shields had been maintaining their Terracotta tiled kitchen floor with some sort of varnish or polish. This had continued over twenty years and resulted in dirt becoming locked into the floor and the tiles becoming very dark. The owner felt the floor had lost its original appeal and wanted the whole floor stripping, deep cleaning and then re-sealing.
I went over the property to survey the floor and advise on the steps required to renovate the floor. From this plan I was then able to work out a quotation for doing the work which would take two days. My quote was accepted and a date scheduled for the work to start.
Deep Cleaning a Terracotta Tiled Kitchen Floor
On my return the first task was to start cleaning and stripping the floor using a strong dilution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean and then Remove and Go. These products work best when left to soak into the tile for ten minutes as this gives the product time to breakdown the soils and old sealers.
A Black scrubbing pad fitted to a rotary machine was then used to scrub the solution into the tile and grout. I also worked a stiff brush along the grout lines by hand to get them as clean as possible. The floor was rinsed, and the soiling extracted with a wet vacuum.
Once done the Terracotta tiles and grout were inspected and any stubborn areas re-treated using the same process until I was satisfied the tile, and grout was as clean as possible and free of previous coatings. After a final rinse to remove any trace of cleaning product the wet vacuum was used to remove as much moisture as possible. The floor was then left to dry off overnight.
Sealing a Terracotta Tiled Kitchen
The next day the floor was checked for moisture to ensure it was dry enough to be sealed. The results were acceptable so I made a start on applying the sealer which for this floor we used Tile Doctor Seal & Go.
Terracotta is made from clay and as a result is a very porous material, because of this it took ten coats sealer before it was fully sealed. Seal & Go is a water-based product and so doesn’t leave a smell as it dries, it works well on Terracotta and resulted in an appealing satin finish. The sealer will ensure dirt remains on the surface where it is easily cleaned away.
Once complete the Terracotta floor looked so much cleaner, lighter and fresher with a subtle sheen. For maintenance, I recommended the use of Tile Doctor Neutral Cleaner for regular cleaning which will ensure the newly applied sealer retains its integrity. Many household cleaning products are simply too strong and will strip away the sealer with use.
Source: Terracotta Floor Cleaning and Renovation in South Shields Tyneside
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