terracotta

Mexican Terracotta Ttiled=Floor After Sealing Shrewsbury

Mexican Terracotta Tiles Deep Cleaned and Sealed in Shrewsbury

Mexico is known to produce some of the best quality Terracotta tiles, with the Saltillo region in the north-east of the country being particularly famous for its craftsman. People from countries all over the world import these tiles and use them in their houses to create fantastic, colourful floors.

This set of Mexican Terracotta floor tiles had been installed throughout the ground floor of a property in historic Shrewsbury which is on the Welsh border and renowned for being the birthplace of Charles Darwin. The tiles were in all the functional areas of including the Large kitchen/diner, pantry, utility room and downstairs WC and so had seen a fair share of wear which had worn off any protective sealers that may have been present.

The floor had not received any maintenance for some time so it was now in dire need of a deep clean and re-seal. At a loss for how to improve the condition of the floor, the property owner contacted me to restore the Mexican Terracotta tiles back to their original condition.

Mexican Terracotta Tiled Floor Before Cleaning Shrewsbury
I visited the property to conduct a test clean and, impressed with the result I achieved, the client booked me in to complete the job.

Mexican Terracotta Tiled Floor Before Cleaning Shrewsbury

Cleaning a Mexican Terracotta Tiled Floor

Before beginning the work, I made sure to cover the bottom of the kitchen units with plastic wrap to protect them from splashes during the cleaning process. I then started to clean the floor using a strong dilution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean in combination with a scrubbing brush fitted to a rotary machine.

Mexican Terracotta Tiled Floor After Cleaning Shrewsbury
Pro-Clean is a versatile and powerful high alkaline that can be used with reliable results on all tile, stone and grout. Once I applied it liberally across the floor I left it to dwell and seep into the pores of the tile. After scrubbing it was rinsed off using water and the soiled solution was extracted using a wet vacuum. Stubborn stains were re-treated and then I focused my attention on to cleaning the dirty grout lines using more Pro-Clean scrubbed in with a special grout brush.

Mexican Terracotta Tiled Floor After Cleaning Shrewsbury
Once I was happy with the condition of the tile and grout I gave the floor a good rinse with water and used the wet vacuum machine again to remove as much moisture from the floor as possible and then left the floor to dry off fully overnight.

Sealing a Mexican Terracotta Tiled Floor

Upon my return to the property I immediately checked the floor to see if it was dry enough to be sealed (thankfully, it was). Testing for damp issues is incredibly important before sealing because any excess moisture can affect the sealer and negatively affect its performance.

I sealed the floor using two coats of Tile Doctor Colour Grow, an impregnating, colour enhancing sealer which offers the natural looking, matte finish the customer requested to match the rustic feel of the tiles.

Mexican Terracotta Tiled Floor After Sealing Shrewsbury
The customer was really pleased with the improved condition of his floor. So much so, in fact, that he left the following testimonial:

“Five-star performance from Tile Doctor Jozsef Hoffmann in terms of professionalism and customer service. Really pleased with the end result of our kitchen floor – a vast improvement on what is was like. Very happy that we found Tile Doctor and will certainly use them again when needed. I have no problem in recommending to both family & friends.”

Mexican Terracotta Tiled Floor After Sealing Shrewsbury
 

Professional Restoration of a Mexican Terracotta Tiled Floor in Shrewsbury

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Mexican Terracotta Tiles After Sealing in Wellington

Cleaning and Sealing Handmade Mexican Terracotta tiles in Wellington

This Mexican Terracotta tiled floor was installed throughout the kitchen, dining room, hallway and back porch of a house in the town of Wellington which is the third largest town in Shropshire. It was interesting to work with real handmade Mexican Terracotta tiles which I understand are left outside to dry in the sun, which would seem to be true as in some places you could see the tiles were marked by some animal footprints.

These particular Terracotta tiles were laid over a decade ago and now overdue a deep clean and re-seal, additionally the floor had suffered from a crack in the grout line near the doorway to the kitchen, so I quickly fixed that before making a start on a thorough clean and re-seal for the entire surface.

Cleaning Mexican Terracotta tiles

The previous sealer had worn away so to clean the floor I used a strong dilution of the high alkaline cleaner Tile Doctor Pro Clean. Under normal circumstances I would apply the solution to the tiles using a black scrubbing pad, but in this case I resolved to use a brush fitted to my rotary machine due to the Terracotta floor’s uneven surface. The solution really helped to lift out the dirt and stains, and the residue was extracted using a wet vacuum.

Mexican Terracotta Tile Cleaning Wellington Mexican Terracotta Tile Cleaning Wellington

I then turned my attention to cleaning the grout, using the same Pro-Clean and water combination applied with a stiff grout brush. After giving the floor an initial rinse, I realised that there were a couple stubborn stains still remaining on the tiles. To remove these I used Tile Doctor Remove & Go, a powerful cleaner that is particularly effective at penetrating into porous stone like Terracotta to lift out deeply ingrained muck.

After completing the clean, I gave the floor another thorough rinse, before leaving the house for a week to give the area plenty of time to dry.

Mexican Terracotta Tiles After Cleaning in Wellington Mexican Terracotta Tiles After Cleaning in Wellington

Sealing Mexican Terracotta tiles

Upon my return, my first task was to inspect the floor for dampness. It is always important to do this because any leftover moisture can potentially damage the performance of the sealer. Nonetheless, as expected, the floor was dry enough for the sealer to be applied.

I applied a total of nine coats of Tile Doctor Seal & Go, which provided the floor with a nice sheen finish and durable surface protection for the future. Seal & Go is suitable for use on internal, unsealed porous surfaces such as Terracotta, Sandstone, Slate, and more.

Mexican Terracotta Tiles After Sealing in Wellington Mexican Terracotta Tiles After Sealing in Wellington

My client was extremely pleased with the results, and left the following comment on the Tile Doctor feedback system:

“Joe is a true professional. He was completely committed to doing the best job possible. Also, his manners were impeccable. A pleasure to have in the house.”

Deep Cleaning Terracotta Tiled Floors in Shropshire

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