Terracotta Tile Cleaning Archives - Shropshire Tile Doctor

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.

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.

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.”

Professional Restoration of a Mexican Terracotta Tiled Floor in Shrewsbury

Mexican Terracotta Tiles Deep Cleaned and Sealed in Shrewsbury Read More »

Cleaning and Sealing Handmade Mexican Terracotta tiles in Wellington

1 Comment / Terracotta Tile Cleaning, Wellington Tile Cleaning, Work History / Jozsef Hoffmann

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

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

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

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

Cleaning and Sealing Handmade Mexican Terracotta tiles in Wellington Read More »

Terracotta Kitchen Floor and Victorian Tiled Hallway in Shrewsbury

Victorian Tiled Hallway and Terracotta Kitchen Floor in Shrewsbury

1 Comment / Shrewsbury Tile Cleaning, Terracotta Tile Cleaning, Victorian Tile Cleaning, Work History / Jozsef Hoffmann

For this old terraced house in Shrewsbury I was asked to clean and seal two areas which included a Victorian tiled hallway and Terracotta tiled kitchen; I’ve copied below the original request so you can better understand that there was a fair amount of work that needed doing.

“I have 2 areas of quarry tiles that need a serious make over, in the hall and the back room. There are patches of red paint and areas of mineral deposit and lots of ingrained filth!””

As it turned out the customer had only recently bought the property and told me that the previous owner had rented the property out and that the last tenants kept snakes, rats and all sorts of animals there and the remaining smell was one of the concerns of the customer.

After inspecting the Victorian tiled hallway I suspected it had probably been re-laid at some point in the past as the grout line were different in places and there were several new replacement tiles visible. The terracotta floor was more recent and had showed no signs of a sealer being applied which would explain how they had become so dirty.

Victorian Tiled Floor Before Cleaning in Shrewsbury

Terracotta Tiled Floor Before Cleaning in Shrewsbury

Cleaning a Victorian and Terracotta Tiled Floors

To clean both floors I applied a dilution of Tile Doctor Remove and Go leaving it to soak in before scrubbing it in using a rotary machine fitted with a black scrubbing pad. I was banking on the Remove and Go to deal with any remaining sealer and also to loosen the paint spots. The resultant slurry was washed away using more water and a wet vacuum and the process repeated until I was happy with the condition of the tiles. I also had to use a steamer on the hallway tiles as the dirt was ingrained in the mainly light coloured tiles and it needed the steam to lift it out. it was then given a final rinse to remove any cleaning products and then left to dry.

Sealing Terracotta and Victorian Floors

I left both floors to dry out overnight and returned to seal them the next day checking first with a damp meter that they were dry. To seal the Terracotta tiles in the kitchen two coats of Tile Doctor Colour Grow was applied, Colour Grow is an impregnating sealer that enhanced the colours and leaves a matt finish which is what the customer wanted. For the hallway however the customer wanted a shine so five coats of Tile Doctor Seal and Go were applied. The one advantage of having two floors to seal was that I could be adding a coat of seal on one floor whilst the other was drying.

Victorian Tiled Floor After Cleaning in Shrewsbury

Apologies for not taking a final photograph of the Terracotta tiles after they were sealed, however the customer was really happy with the job and left a nice testimonial:

“Jozsef was a pleasure to deal with – professional, hardworking and friendly. He was quick to contact me, give me the quote and to schedule the work. He clearly explained what my options were and I am really happy with the work done – both tiled floors look great!”

Cleaning and Sealing Tiled Floors in Shropshire

Victorian Tiled Hallway and Terracotta Kitchen Floor in Shrewsbury Read More »

Quarry and Terracotta Tiled Floors Restored in Alveley

1 Comment / Bridgnorth Tile Cleaning, Quarry Tile Cleaning, Terracotta Tile Cleaning, Work History / Jozsef Hoffmann

These photographs were taken at a recently purchased cottage in Alveley, Bridgenorth and the new owner was keen to refurbish the floors. The quarry tiles in the lounge had grout haze and general dirt on also the grout needed replacing in several places.
The remaining areas were covered with Terracotta tiles which they had thought were quarry tiles. On first impression I thought they were a patterned ceramic tile as the tiles a slight sheen on them and the “pattern” looked uniform however on closer inspection I realised that they were definitely not ceramic so I did a test clean on a small area and it turned out that the apparent pattern was in actual fact from a build up dirt all over the tile; the owners were shocked at the discovery.

Terracotta Tiled Floor Cleaning Alveley TestPatch

Cleaning Quarry and Terracotta Tiles

I cleaned both floors with a dilution of Tile Doctor Remove and Go which was left to soak into the tiles for a while before being scrubbed in using a rotary machine fitted with a black pad and the dirty water was removed using a wet vacuum.

Quarry Tiled Floor Cleaning Alveley Before

Terracotta Tiled Floor Cleaning Alveley Before

The Terracotta tiles needed extra attention so I scrubbed them once again with a brush paying special attention to the tiny holes in the surface of the tile which had become ingrained with dirt. Once I was happy both floors were given a final rinse to remove any cleaning products and I finished the day repairing the grout line in the lounge.

Terracotta Tiled Floor Cleaning Alveley During

Sealing a Quarry Floor Sealing

I left the floor for a week so it could dry out thoroughly and when I returned to seal the floor, the damp meter indicated that the floor was dry enough to take the sealer. At the same time I did a final inspection of the floors and spot cleaned those areas where it was needed using a heat gun to dry the tiles afterwards. The customer had dogs and had specified a matt finish so I sealed the Quarry and Terracotta tiles several coats of Tile Doctor Colour Grow which is an impregnating sealer that occupies the pores in the tile and also enhances the colour of the tile.

Quarry Tiled Floor Cleaning Alveley During

Terracotta Tiled Floor Cleaning Alveley After

Needless to say the customer was really pleased with the result.

Deep Cleaning Quarry and Terracotta tiles in Shropshire

Quarry and Terracotta Tiled Floors Restored in Alveley Read More »

Sprucing up Terracotta Tiles in Shrewsbury

1 Comment / Shrewsbury Tile Cleaning, Terracotta Tile Cleaning, Work History / Jozsef Hoffmann

Details below of a Terracotta tiled hallway and kitchen at a house in the historic town of Shrewsbury. The floor had been laid a couple of years previously but the customer had found it difficult to maintain the appearance especially in the kitchen in fact the customer’s description on their enquiry form was “Need to spruce up the hallway and kitchen floor.”

Terracotta Tile Before Cleaning in Shrewsbury

Cleaning a Terracotta Tiled Floor

I cleaned the Terracotta floor with strong dilution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean scrubbed into the tile and grout with a black pad and then rinsed off with clean water which was then removed with a wet vacuum. After rinsing the floor there were a couple stubborn spots left behind so they were spot treated using Tile Doctor Remove and Go which is a strong coatings remover that is safe to use on tile and stone and usually takes care of most issues and certainly worked in this case. The floor was then thoroughly rinsed to remove any cleaning product prior to sealing and then left to dry.

Terracotta Tile After Cleaning in Shrewsbury

Sealing a Terracotta Floor Sealing

I’d agreed with the owner to return a week later to ensure the tiles were bone dry and ready to be sealed and on my return I checked the floor for any problem areas in need of further cleaning and also for dampness. The Terracotta was dry enough to take the sealer so I sealed it using two coats of Tile Doctor Colour Grow which was chosen as the customer didn’t want a shine on the floor.

Terracotta Tile After Sealing in Shrewsbury

Out of interest I’ve included the photograph below which shows how the sealer causes water to form on the surface of the tile due to the surface tension provided by the sealer.

The customer was very happy with the result and left the following testimonial on the Tile Doctor feedback system:
“Very pleased with the work carried out by Jozsef. He is a pleasant and hard working individual and very conscientious about his work. No hesitation in recommending his work.”

Cleaning and Sealing Terracotta tiles in Shrewsbury

Sprucing up Terracotta Tiles in Shrewsbury Read More »

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Bridgnorth Tile Cleaning, Ceramic Tile Cleaning, Encaustic Cement Tile Cleaning, Fireplace Cleaning, Flagstone Tile Cleaning, Grout Cleaning, Ironbridge Tile Cleaning, Limestone Tile Cleaning and Polishing, Ludlow Tile Cleaning, Marble Tile Cleaning, Market Drayton Tile Cleaning, Newport Tile Cleaning, Oswestry Tile Cleaning, Porcelain Tile Cleaning, Quarry Tile Cleaning, Rowley Tile Cleaning, Sandstone Tile Cleaning, Shrewsbury Tile Cleaning, Slate Tile Cleaning, Telford Tile Cleaning, Tenbury Wells Tile Cleaning, Terracotta Tile Cleaning, Terrazzo Floor Cleaning, Travertine Tile Cleaning, Victorian Tile Cleaning, Vinyl Tile Cleaning, Wellington Tile Cleaning, Whitchurch Tile Cleaning, Work by Category, Work by Location, Work History / Jozsef Hoffmann

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