Quite often our customers will be new property owners who have inherited fantastic tiled floors that are in need of smartening up. Typically the previous owners struggled to maintain the floor which is not unusual when it comes to high quality natural stone such as Travertine and this was the case with this Travertine tiled floor that I recently restored at a property near Woodhall Spa, on the southern edge of the Lincolnshire Wolds.
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The customer not only needed a deep clean for the tiles and grout which had become dirty and discoloured over time, but also needed for many of the small holes caused by the natural process of pitting to be filled to give the Travertine tiles a smooth and polished finish. Finally, the floor would need a fresh seal to protect it and make it easier to cleangoing forward.
Cleaning and Repairing a Pitted Travertine Tiled Floor
To begin the restoration, I applied Tile Doctor Pro-Clean to the floor, which is our reliable high alkaline cleaner designed for use on stone floors, left it to soak in and break down the dirt and then used our hot pressure Rotovaccleaning system to clean the tiles. The Rotovac is an expensive machine but makes light work of the job by deep cleaning and scrubbing the stone whilst rinsing and extracting away all of the soiled cleaning residue at the same time. It allows us to get deep into the pores of the tile and grout to eradicate ingrained dirt and stains.
I then worked through our four-stage diamond encrusted burnishing pad system which hones and polishes the surface of the tiles with excellent results. Each of the four pads is applied in turn, moving from a coarse grit all the way to a Very Fine grit.
Once I was happy with the condition of the floor it was time to deal with the holes in the Travertine by applying a two-part colour matched resin to fill the small and large holes mentioned earlier.After completing the cleaning and filling was completed I left the tiles to dry off completely overnight aided with air movers to speed up the drying process.
Ensuring the floor is bone dry before sealing is important as I needed to seal the tiles the next day, and a small amount of excess moisture can cloud the sealer and damage its performance.
Sealing a Travertine Tiled Floor
When I came back the next day I tested the floor for moisture to confirm it was dry before applying two coats of Tile Doctor Colour Grow, which is an impregnating sealer that intensifies and enhances the natural shades in the Travertine while also providing it with protection against dirt and stains.
With the restoration complete I left the customer with a bottle of Tile Doctor Neutral Tile Cleaner for regular future maintenance, along with an aftercare leaflet. We recommend this product for the regular cleaning of sealed tiles as the neutral pH will help to maximise the life of the sealer and not erode it like many acid cleaning products.
I think you will agree the floor now looks much better, certainly the customer was very happy with the work and left the following feedback:
“Phil and his colleague worked their magic to transform our tired looking, grimy Travertine floors into bright, shiny new look floors. Thank you so much.”
Source: Travertine Tile and Grout Cleaning and Polishing Service in Lincolnshire
Phil Barrs is an agent of Tile Doctor, the largest Tile and Stone cleaning network in the UK who have developed the products and techniques to handle a multitude of issues surrounding tiled flooring including stone and grout.