Oundle | Stone Cleaning and Polishing Tips For Travertine Floors

Although at first glance this Travertine tiled floor in Oundle appeared to be in decent condition, upon closer inspection however it became very clear that it was suffering from significant pitting issues and had become very dull for a polished stone. While they can’t necessarily be seen in the photographs, the floor had hundreds of small holes across the entire area, along with a few hairline settlement cracks in a few particular tiles.

It is natural for Travertine to become pitted and for small holes to appear over time. To give the stone a smooth appearance these holes are filled at the factory; however, in high traffic areas such as kitchens and living rooms these fillers pop out and the holes quickly fill with dirt and grime, making the floor grubby and difficult to clean.

Needless to say the property owner was keen to have the Travertine restored as quickly as possible to avoid the situation becoming worse.

Cleaning a Travertine Tiled Floor

To begin the restoration, I needed to clean the whole floor to remove the dirt and muck that had become ingrained in the Travertine. I did this using our reliable high alkaline cleaner known as Tile Doctor Pro Clean, which I applied liberally and worked into the stone using the Tile Doctor diamond burnishing pad system, paying special attention to the grout lines.

There are four pads in the system and each burnishing pad is fitted to a rotary machine and ran across the floor in sequence starting with the coarse pad and finishing with the fine pad using a little water to help lubricate.

Pitted travertine during cleaning Oundle

Before applying the final polishing pad, I went round on my hands and knees and filled all the holes and cracks with an appropriate colour filler which did take some time to complete.

Sealing a Travertine Tiled Floor

After allowing the new filler to dry overnight, I returned to the property to polish off any excess by hand with a cloth. Following this, I gave the tiles a final polish with the Very Fine diamond encrusted burnishing pad which gave the floor a uniform polished finish.

To protect the floor in the future the last step was to apply a fresh sealant in the form of Tile Doctor Colour Grow, a fanatic product for high-end tiles like Travertine, Limestone and Marble. Colour Grow is a colour enhancing, impregnating sealer which fills the pores in the stone to prevent trapped dirt and also emphasises the natural colours and shades in the process.

The tiles were then left to dry for two hours. I then opted to test for water repellency to check the sealant would provide adequate protection, with a successful outcome. The final picture below shows the finished results: clean, well-protected Travertine tiles with improved sheen.

My customer was very pleased to have the pitting problem resolved, while also having the floor deep cleaned and sealed and left the following testimonial on the Tile Doctor feedback system.

Phil did an amazing job of repairing the holes and cracks and cleaning the pale coloured grout, which now looks like new. Lovely transformation. I have tried the Tile Doctor Stone Soap and this has given the floor a deep shine. I would gladly recommend Tile Doctor to anyone. Sonia A, Oundle

Source: Travertine Tile Cleaning and Maintenance Service in Northamptonshire

Cleaning a stained Travertine tiled floor

On day one, my first job was to address the holes marked the tiled surface. I filled the unsealed holes with matching filler, before re-colouring the concrete that had been previously used as a makeshift sealer, thus creating greater consistency in the appearance of the floor.

Following this, I made a strong dilution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean, which is a high alkaline cleaner which is safe to use on stone, in order to tackle the bad staining on the tiles and grout lines. Once applied to the floor, the solution was left to dwell for a short period of time. By allowing the solution to sit like this, the cleaner is able to seep into the stone, get underneath the dirt and stains, and lift them to the surface. Pro-Clean is highly effective at treating stained tiles, while common acid-based, household cleaning products can cause further damage over time.

To remove the resulting muck from the surface I used a set of Tile Doctor Burnishing pads applying them individually to each tile in sequence from Coarse to Fine, rinsing the floor in-between each pad and removing the resulting residue using a wet-vac machine. The pads are encrusted with diamonds and are ideal for bringing back the finish of Travertine and did a great job of making the filled holes look part of the original floor.

Stained Travertine Hallway Oundle After Cleaning

Sealing a Travertine tiled floor

After leaving the floor to dry overnight, I returned to the house to seal the newly cleaned tiles. I did this using Tile Doctor Colour Grow, a colour intensifying sealer that also provides a durable surface seal and pleasing finish (as you can see from the photographs).

Overall the job took roughly two days of work to complete and my client was extremely pleased with the results and even left the following comment on the Tile Doctor feedback system:

“Phil was reliable and very professional. Written quote provided detailing in exact detail the work to be done and the products to be used. It was a large area that needed to be treated. Arrived on time and got the job done in good time. Certainly recommend Phil”.

Travertine Tile and Grout cleaning and polishing service in Northamptonshire