Tag Archives: tile maintenance

Achieving a Deep Polish on Tumbled Travertine floor in Horley, East Surrey

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This Tumbled Travertine tiled floor at a beautiful house in Horley had been poorly maintained through the years using the wrong type of sealer which quickly wore down allowing dirt to become ingrained in the stone. The owner had become concerned about the state of the tiles and decided it was time to call in an expert that could restore the tiles to a condition that complimented the environment in which it was situated.

Tumbled Travertine Floor Horley Before Polishing Tumbled Travertine Floor Horley Before Polishing

Travertine is known for being very distinctive in character and very durable, making it a very popular choice for tiled flooring in properties worldwide. However, the stone does require regular professional maintenance and polishing to keep it looking it top shape and home owners rarely realise this when they decide to have it installed. Fortunately, in the UK at least you can rely on your local tile doctor to maintain it for you.

Deep Cleaning Tumbled Travertine Tiles

The first part of the job involved giving the floor a thorough clean to remove what was left of old sealers and any polishing compounds that remained on the floor. Before beginning that however I brought in all my equipment and products into the house and then prepped the area by taping up the woodwork to protect it during the renovation process.

Tumbled Travertine Floor Horley Before Polishing Tumbled Travertine Floor Horley Before Polishing

To remove what was left of the old sealers and other coatings still present on the floor a strong solution of Tile Doctor Remove and Go was applied to the floor and left to soak in for about ten minutes before being actively worked in with a rotary machine fitted with a black scrubbing pad. The solution turned black with the soil as it was lifted out of the pores of the stone and it was then rinsed off with water and extracted with a wet vacuum.

Polishing Tumbled Travertine Tiles

Following this, we moved on to a process we know as burnishing that hones the stone and brings up the polished appearance. Working in sections due to the size of the floor It involves the application of a series of diamond encrusted burnishing pads from coarse through to very fine.

The coarse 400-grit pad fitted to the rotary floor buffer and run over the floor using only water for lubrication. The water turns into a slurry as the pad does its job removing dirt and this has to be rinsed off the floor and extracted with the wet vacuum before applying the next pad. The process was then repeated with medium 800 grit pad for an initial polish followed by the Fine 1500 grit pad for the second polish using water for lubrication and rinsing and extracting in between each pad.

The last pad is a very fine 3000 grit pad for the final polish and is applied with only a little water sprayed onto the floor using a technique we call a Spray Burnish. This last pad really brings up the polished appearance of the stone.

Sealing Tumbled Travertine Tiles

To bring up the appearance of the stone even further and add a really durable polish Tile Doctor Shine Powder was applied. This is a crystallising powder sealer that ensures a very high shine and a tough, durable finish. This powder is applied directly to the tiles in combination with approximately ½ a litre of water and a soft white buffing pad.

Last step was to add to the protection provided by the Shine Powder with two coats of Tile Doctor Ultra-Seal which is a natural look sealer that doesn’t change the look of the stone and is applied to the stone and grout. This sealer works by seeping into the stone, occupying the pores and preventing dirt from becoming ingrained.

Tumbled Travertine Floor Horley After Polishing Tumbled Travertine Floor Horley After Polishing

The customer was ecstatic with the results, being particularly pleased that she got the floor looking the way she originally wanted without significant expense, not to mention stress.

Tumbled Travertine Floor Horley After Polishing

 

Source: Tumbled Travertine Tile Cleaning and Polishing Service in Horley, Surrey

Restoring the Polish on Travertine Tiles

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Polished stone floors such as Travertine need to be regularly maintained correctly or will lose their sheen over time, additionally grout lines can fill with dirt and light scratches can quickly dull down Travertine and attract yet more soil. This was the case with this Travertine tiled floor in Northampton which had been left too long between deep cleans and now the protective sealer had worn off and were badly scratched and soiled.

Travertine Tiles Before Cleaning Polishing in Northampton

Burnishing Polished Travertine Tiles

To get the surface back to a condition where it can be polished again it’s necessary to burnish the Travertine using a set of diamond encrusted floor pads. The pads come in a set of four and you start with the coarse pad which together with a little water cuts through and removes grime and sealers from the tile. This take a bit of time to get around the whole floor and then you rinse it down to remove any slurry and start again with the medium pad which is of a higher grade and is the first step in the polishing process. Again the floor is rinsed before moving on to the third pad which is a fine grade and is the second step in bringing the polish back.

By this time it was getting late so the floor was given another rinse and I came back the next day to apply the final pad in the set of four which is a super fine pad that is run over the floor and puts the final shine on the polished Travertine. The floor was given another rinse and left to dry so it could be sealed later that afternoon.

Sealing Polished Travertine Tiles

There are a number of sealers that you can use on Travertine and in this case I chose Tile Doctor Colour Grow which in an impregnating sealer that occupies the pores in the stone to prevent contaminates lodging there and also does well to bring out the natural colours in the stone.

Travertine Tiles After Cleaning Polishing in Northampton

All in the job took two days and I’m happy to report the customer was very happy with the results.
 
 
Source: Polished Tile and Stone Maintenance in Northamptonshire

Removing Grout Haze from a Travertine Tiled Floor

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The photograph below taken at a house in Henley-on-Thames shows a Travertine tiled floor covered with grout haze smears across the surface of the tile. The tiler should of dealt with this after laying the floor however removing grout smears from natural stone is tricky as normally you would use acid but Travertine is very sensitive to acid so I suspect the tiler decided against it in-case the tiles were ruined.

Travertine Tiled Floor Before Cleaning Henleyon Thames

Refurbishing Travertine Tiles

The first step was to give the floor a general wash to remove any grit and to get the grout clean so we started by applying a mild dilution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean which was spread over the floor with particular attention paid to getting the solution into the grout lines where it was scrubbed in with a stiff brush. Next we removed any trace of product by using a wet vacuum and rinsing thoroughly with clean water. To remove the grout haze and restore the surface polish the floor needed to be burnished which is done using four diamond encrusted burnishing pads applied in the correct sequence of grits from coarse through to super fine. First using coarse pad number 1 we put some clean water on the floor and using our rotary machine slowly burnished the area making sure that we passed over each tile around four times. The coarse pad cuts into the surface grime of the floor and also removes sealers and in this case the grout haze. The resultant soiled water is rinsed away with clean water which in turn is removed using a wet vacuum. This process is then repeated with the remaining pads to hone and polish the floor, rinsing between each pad until a nice polish is built up on the tile. The floor is then given a final rinse and once we were satisfied that all the slurry had been removed we left the floor to dry.

Cleaning Travertine and Limestone Tiles

I returned the next day to seal the Travertine Tile for which I used two coats of Tile Doctor Colour Grow which is an impregnating sealer that will occupy the pores in the stone preventing contaminates getting in there; Colour Grow also brings out the colours in the stone and in this case has done well to bring out the deep brown colours.

Travertine Tiled Floor After Cleaning Henleyon Thames
The floor now looks 100% better and how it should have looked in the first place.     Source: Tile, Stone and Grout Maintenance Service in Oxfordshire

Filling holes in Travertine Tiles

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Details below of another Travertine tiled floor that we re-furbished recently in the kitchen of a house in Lutterworth which is a market town located in southern Leicestershire. The floor was looking dull and flat and the colours had become washed out, it now needed burnishing to strip off the dirt and bring back the polish; another problem were the natural holes which you find in Travertine had not been filled and were now trapping dirt and proving difficult to clean.

Travertine Kitchen Floor Tiles Lutterworth Before Polishing

Filling Holes in Travertine

To deal with the ingrained dirt and to remove any surface coatings the floor was cleaned with a dilution of Tile Doctor Remove and Go, this is quite a strong product normally reserved from stripping sealers and other coatings but it’s also an effective cleaning product so to save time I decided to use this first giving the floor a thorough wash down and rinse afterwards. The grout was also given a thorough scrub during this activity and once that was done the soiled waster extracted the floor was inspected and the holes in the travertine filled using a special Travertine filler product.

Burnishing Travertine Tiles

The next step was to burnishing the entire floor using a set of burnishing pads which strip back any surface dirt from the stone using a coarse diamond encrusted burnishing pad and then building up the finish with a medium, fine and super fine pad until you have restored the polish and appearance. This process blends the Travertine filler added earlier into the stone so it’s impossible to tell the holes had been filled; I should mention you need to use little water which is used to lubricate the process and in-between each pad the resultant slurry is rinsed away. Once this is done the floor is given a thorough rinse which is then extracted and then left to dry overnight.

Sealing Travertine Floor Tiles

On our return the floor was checked to ensure it had dried out using a damp meter in a few different spots. The floor was dry so it was sealed using a tow coats to Tile Doctor Colour Grow which is an impregnating sealer that gets into the pores of the stone to prevent dirt from becoming ingrained there; Colour Grow also enhances the colours in the stone and this works well on Travertine as it brings out the brown colours.

Travertine Kitchen Floor Tiles Lutterworth After Polishing

 
 
Source: Travertine Tile, Grout and Stone cleaning in Leicestershire

Cleaning and Polishing Neglected Travertine Tiles

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This property in Telford had been purchased six months earlier with a view to refurbishing it and had recently started to get it back in shape. The history of the Travertine tiled floor was unknown but there was evidence of the wrong kind of maintenance as the legs of the kitchen cabinet was blown by excess moisture. The new owner did mention that the previous owner had three teenage children and I suspect keeping the floor maintained properly was probably not a priority.

Travertine Tile Cleaning Telford Before Travertine Tile Cleaning Telford Before

Cleaning Travertine Tiles

The first step was to give the floor a general wash to remove any grit and the grout clean so we started by applying a mild dilution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean which was spread over the floor with particular attention paid to getting the solution into the grout lines. The solution was left to dwell for 10 minutes in order for it to soak in and eat through any dirt and existing sealer; we then used a stiff grout brush to scrub each and every grout line. Next we removed any trace of product by using a wet vacuum and rinsing thoroughly with clean water.

The next step was to use our diamond encrusted burnishing pads which attach to a rotary machine and burnish the floor with four different grits from coarse to super fine. First using course pad number 1 we put some clean water on the floor and using our rotary machine slowly burnished the area making sure that we passed over each tile 4 times, this coarse pad cuts into the surface grime of the floor and also removes sealers. The resultant soiled water is rinsed away with clean water which in turn is removed using a wet vacuum. This process is then repeated with the remaining pads, rinsing between each pad until a nice polish is built up on the tile. The floor is then given a final rinse and once we were satisfied that all the slurry had been removed we left the floor to dry overnight.

Cleaning Travertine and Limestone Tiles

When I returned the floor was tested using a damp meter to make sure the Travertine had dried sufficiently for sealing. It had so I started to seal it using a single coat of Tile Doctor Colour Grow which is an impregnating sealer that will occupy the pores in the stone to prevent other contaminates getting in there, Colour Grow also brings out the colours in the stone.

Travertine Tile Cleaning Telford After Travertine Tile Cleaning Telford After

It’s tricky to capture all of this with photographs although you should be able to see the shine now the polish has been restored, the main thing is the customer was very happy with the results and was kind enough to leave the following message.

“We moved into a house with very unloved travertine tiles in the kitchen, bathroom and WC. We were really impressed with Jozsef. He was friendly, knowledgeable and conscientious. He was up front with us about what could be achieved with the tiles and we are very pleased with the results. He worked efficiently, was tidy, prompt and mindful of our very young children. We would definitely recommend Jozsef.”
 
 
Source: Tile, Stone and Grout Cleaning in Shropshire

Resolving Travertine Tile Installation Problems

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Incredibly this Travertine tiled floor had been laid just two weeks prior and unfortunately the tiler had not cleaned the floor prior to sealing thus trapping in dirt and dust that were present on the floor and now the tiles looked dull and dirty. Sealing floors can be a minefield and it’s possible the dirt was not that obvious and by sealing the floor it magnified the issue literally; whatever the reason the only solution would be to strip the floor of its sealer, clean the floor and then reseal.

New Travertine Floor Before Cleaning in Disbury

Maintaining Travertine Tiles

To strip the floor of the sealer and clean it requires the application of a set of diamond encrusted burnishing pads which are fitted to a rotary machine in a set sequence and run over the floor lubricated with a little water. There are four pads in the set, you start with a coarse pad which will remove ingrained dirt and sealers before moving on to the medium, fine and very fine polishing pads which are a much finer grit and restore the polished finish of the stone. The floor needs to be rinsed down between each pad application to remove the soil that is produced and then given a final wash at the end to make sure the floor is clean before sealing.

Polishing and Sealing Travertine Tile

The floor must be dry before sealing so it was left to dry overnight and I came back the next day to seal it using two coats of Tile Doctor Colour Grow which is an impregnating sealer that occupies the pores in the stone so dirt cannot become ingrained there and in the process it also enhances the natural colours in the stone. Once the sealer was dry it was buffed using a white buffing pad to make sure that I hadn’t left any residues from the seal.

New Travertine Floor After Cleaning in Disbury

The customer was very happy with work and they now have the floor that they wanted.
 
 
Source: Tile, Stone and Grout Cleaning in Greater Manchester

Maintaining Travertine Tiled Floors

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This Travertine tiled floor was installed in the kitchen of a house in Oadby, Leicestershire. The sealer on the floor was starting to fail letting dirt become ingrained into the Travertine; it was now due a deep clean, burnish and re-seal which would improve the look of the stone and keep it that way for years to come.

Travertine Tile Cleaning in Oadby Kitchen Before

Cleaning and Stripping a Travertine Tiled Floor

The first job was to give the floor a thorough clean with a particular focus on the grout, this was done using Tile Doctor Remove and Go which was left to soak into the floor before being worked into the stone using a scrubbing pad attached to a rotary machine. The soiled cleaning solution was then extracted using a wet vacuum and we set our rotary machine up to burnish the floor

Burnishing the floor involves stripping back the stone using a coarse diamond encrusted burnishing pad and then building up the finish with a medium, fine and super fine pad until you have restored the polish and appearance. A little water is used to lubricate the process and in-between each pad the resultant slurry is rinsed away. Once this was done we left for the day and we didn’t come back for three days so the floor could dry out thoroughly.

Sealing Travertine Floor Tiles

On our return the first thing to check was to ensure the floor had dried out enough which is done using a damp meter and checking in a few different areas. The floor was bone dry so it was sealed using a number of coats to Tile Doctor Pro-Seal which is a water based impregnating sealer. The water acts as a carrier for the sealer allowing it to flow into the pores of the stone and prevent dirt from becoming ingrained there, that water evaporates as the floor dries and being water there is none of that usual smell you get with other solvent based products.

Travertine Tile Cleaning in Oadby Kitchen After

 
 
Source: Tile, Stone and Grout Maintenance in Leicestershire

Cleaning and Sealing Travertine Shower Tiles

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The pictures below are from a Travertine tiled en-suite bathroom at a house in the town of Horsham. A black mould had become ingrained in the pores of the shower tiles and the owner wanted it cleaned up before she rented the property out. The client had tried various well known supermarket products to remove the mould and grime from the tile, grout and sealing strip but without success so we got a call.

Travertine Bathroom ensuite Before clean and seal Horsham

Cleaning Travertine Shower Tile

After explaining the cleaning process to the owner I set about the task by first cleaning the tiles and grout with a strong dilution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean which was decanted into a spray bottle and sprayed onto the tile where it was allowed to soak in before being scrubbed in with a stiff brush. The wall was washed down with fresh water and stubborn areas re-treated. This worked well and removed all the discolouration and grime leaving the tiles and grout looking almost new.

Sealing Travertine Shower Tile

Travertine is a natural stone and to prevent grime penetrating into the pores of the tile making it difficult to clean it needs to be sealed so the next step was to let the tile and grout dry out followed by some assistance with a heat gun. Once they were dry we were able to seal them using two coats of Tile Doctor Colour Grow which is an impregnating sealer that also enhances the natural colour in the stone.

To finish the job we cleaned up the shower head and taps removing any calcium deposits and cleaned the shower screen. The old silicone sealer was discoloured and the only effective way to refresh it was to completely remove and replace it with new mould resistant silicone.

Once all the remedial work was complete the client came to have a look and was very pleased with the outcome as was I.

Travertine Bathroom ensuite After clean and seal Horsham

 
 
Source: Tile, Stone and Grout Maintenance Service in West-Sussex

Reviving Dull Travertine Tiles

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I recently carried out a clean and diamond polish of a Travertine tiled floor in Surbiton for a customer who had been fed up with the floor since she and her husband had moved in 2 years ago. The floor was the last job on their list of things to be done and they wanted to make sure that it was done properly as unfortunately in the past they have fallen prey to unscrupulous tradesmen who had not lived up to expectations.

When I was asked to quote I explained what I would do and showed pictures of previous work, and also my Trustmark Accreditation. They had also researched my work through my website and through the work history where there are lots of examples of Travertine tiles I have worked on in the past. I received the work order the next day and booked the job in for three weeks after.

Travertine Floor Surbiton Before Travertine Floor Surbiton Before Marked

Stripping and Polishing Travertine Tiles

I arrived at the agreed date and time and was pleasantly surprised to see that they had put sheeting around all of their kitchen units and skirting so all I had to protect was the wooden flooring next to the travertine.

Travertine Floor Surbiton Before Cleaning Travertine Floor Surbiton Before Cleaning

My first job was to scrub the floors Using Tile Doctor Pro Clean to get rid of any ingrained dirt and clean the grout, the soiled cleaning solution was then removed using a wet vacuum and we moved onto burnishing the stone. This is done using a rotary scrubbing machine fitted with a coarse diamond encrusted burnishing pad and a little water began to strip off the old dirt and seal from the floor, the resulting slurry was then removed using a wet vacuum. The burnishing pads come in a set of four so once we were done with the coarse pad we moved on to the Medium pad which is the first step in the polishing process.

At this point I could see more work was required to improve the grout which was done using a combination of pressurised steam, more Tile Doctor Pro-Clean and a stiff brush. Once I had removed all the dirt and old seal from the grout I went on to the next stage of polishing and used the fine pad finally moving on to the extra fine pad to give the floor that extra deep shine.

Sealing Travertine Floor Tiles

Once the floor was dry we set about sealing it using two coats of Tile Doctor Colour Grow which is a colour enhancing impregnating sealer designed to provide maximum stain protection on natural stone floors whilst bringing out the colour in the stone. After the second coat was applied I waited 10 minutes before buffing any excess residue with a white buffing pad.

Travertine Floor Surbiton After Travertine Floor Surbiton After

I offered the customer the option of creating a higher shine by applying Tile Doctor Shine Powder to give it a mirror polish but she declined as she was more than happy with the finish. Overall the floor came out really well and I found it quite a humbling experience as she was constantly saying thank you due to the fact that she had been messed about by previous contractors so was quite relieved to find someone who could actually do the job properly.

Source: Residential and Commercial Tile and Stone Maintenance in Surrey

Cleaning, Filling and Burnishing Travertine Tiles in Sandbanks

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Occasionally I get a call to pop down to Sandbanks on the Dorset Coast which is well known for containing the most expensive property in the UK outside of London. This particular residence had a Travertine tiled hallway which was badly in need of renovation, it had become very soiled and dirt had become trapped in holes that has opened up in the stone over time and now needed cleaning and filling.

Travertine Tiled Floor Sandbanks Before Cleaning

Cleaning and Filling a Travertine Tiled Floor

I began by applying a dilution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean which was left to soak into the floor for ten minutes before being worked into the tile and grout using a Numatic buffing machine fitted with a medium brush. I then dried the floor using a hot air gun and filled the holes with Harbro Stone Filler which is an epoxy filler as hard as the stone itself. I carefully scraped off the excess filler before leaving it to set overnight.

Burnishing Travertine Tiles

The next day I used 17″ wet and dry paper to remove the excess filler and to cut out some of the deep scratches in the travertine. This I followed by honing and polishing the floor using Tile Doctor burnishing pads which are diamond encrusted and come in a setup of four pads which are applied one after the other from Coarse, Medium, Fine and then Super Fine to restore the surface polish.

Sealing Travertine Tiles

On the third day I returned to seal the Travertine tiles using Tile Doctor Colour Grow which is a colour enhancing impregnating sealer that soaks into the pores of the stone occupying them and in doing so preventing dirt and soil from becoming ingrained into the stone. Colour Grow is also a colour enhancing product that brings out the colour in the stone

Travertine Tiled Floor Sandbanks After Cleaning

Unfortunately I didn’t remember to take a photo of the floor until after the initial clean but the effect of the filling and burnishing pad treatment should be visible.
 
 
Source: Residential and Commercial Tile and Stone Cleaning in Dorset

Reparing Damage to Travertine Tiles

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The photographs below probably don’t do this job justice but in summary recent high winds had dislodged tiles from the roof adjacent this conservatory at a house in Oldham causing them to smash through the glass roof and damage the Travertine Tiles on the floor below.

Damaged Travertine Tiles Oldam Conservatory Before

Cleaning, Filling and Polishing Travertine Tiles

The first job was to wash the floor down with Tile Doctor Pro-Clean to give it a general clean and remove any surface dirt and grit from the floor. Travertine is a very hard stone so to restore the finish it needs to be cut back and polished using of a set of diamond encrusted burnishing pads fitted to a rotary machine. You start with a coarse pad with a little water, then a medium pad, fine pad and finish with a very fine polishing pad, this takes some time but the effect it quite transforming, it does build up slurry on the floor so it all needs to be washed down again at the end. I use a wet vacuum to remove the liquids from the floor and this also gets the floor quite dry. I then filled the holes in the damaged tiles using resin cement that matched the colour of the Travertine.

Sealing and Buffing Travertine Tile

I let the floor dry fully overnight and came back the next day to seal the tiles checking first with a damp meter that the floor has dried. A sealer is highly recommended for natural stone as it protects the stone from staining and keeps it looking good for longer. For this floor I used coats of Tile Doctor Colour Grow which is a colour enhancing sealer that brings out the colours in natural stone, it’s also an impregnating sealer that soaks into the pores of the stone and preventing dirt becoming ingrained there. Once the sealer was dry it was buffed using a white buffing pad to make sure that I hadn’t left any residues from the seal.

Damaged Travertine Tiles Oldam Conservatory After

The job took two days to complete and the customer was very happy with the final finish and the fact that you could not tell where the damage had been.
 
 
Source: Residential and Commercial Tile, Stone and Grout Repair in Greater Manchester

Burnishing Polished Travertine Tile

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The photographs below are from a house in Lymington where the Travertine Tiled floor had become dull and were now in need of a re-polish. It’s a fact that depending on the amount of foot traffic they receive all polished stone floors will lose their shine over time and require a re-polish.

Polished Travertine Lymington Before Cleaining

Cleaning Travertine Floor Tiles

To get the shine back on the floor we use a process called burnishing which is done using a set of four diamond encrusted pads, each one has a different grade from coarse through to super fine.

We gave the floor a quick sweep and wash down first to ensure any surface grit and other detritus was removed and then stated the burnishing process with the coarse pad fitted to a rotary machine with a little water. The burnishing pads are very good at removing dirt and sealers from hard stone including Marble; the surface water and loose dirt was removed used a wet Vacuum. And the process was repeated using the Medium and Fine pads. Before moving onto the superfine polishing pad we gave the grout a good scrub using Tile Doctor Pro-Clean worked in using a stiff grout brush. The final Super Fine polishing pad was then applied and the floor given another wash down to ensure any dirt had been removed, the water being extracted from the floor using the wet vacuum.

Sealing Travertine Floor Tiles

The floor was still quite wet at this point so rather than sealing the floor we left it to dry naturally and came back the next day to seal it. It’s important the floor is dry before sealing so we test first using a damp meter in several locations to be sure. Once we were happy the floor was dry we proceeded to seal the Travertine tiles using two coats of Tile Doctor Ultra Seal which is a natural look sealer that doesn’t alter the look of the tiles but provides the necessary surface protection by filling the pores in the tile so dirt cannot penetrate.

Polished Travertine Lymington After Cleaining and Polishing

 
 
Source: Residential and Commercial Stone, Tile and Grout Cleaning Services in Hampshire

Travertine Tile Polishing in Hampshire

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Travertine floor tiles look amazing when they have just been installed but after a few years the polish wears down, dirt starts to become ingrained in the stone and they start to lose their appearance. They do need regular maintenance and potentially re-polishing and these tiles installed in kitchen in Havant were no different.

Cleaning Travertine Floor Tiles in Havant Before

Cleaning Travertine Kitchen Tiles

First job was to remove the kickboards under the kitchen units and cover the free standing fridge with a wrap of plastic, this is a necessary precaution to stop fluids soaking into the wooden kicker boards and splashing the fridge. A dilution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean was applied to the floor with a mop and left to soak in for around fifteen minutes. The grout lines were then given a good scrub and we ran a scrubbing pad fitted to a rotary machine over the tiled floor to give it a good clean and remove any lose debris.

Cleaning Travertine Floor Tiles in Havant During

To restore the polished appearance of the Travertine it was burnished using a set of diamond encrusted pads which come in four grades and are applied to the stone floor with a little water in sequence from Coarse through to finally Super Fine which provides the final polish leaving a high shine finish.

Sealing Travertine Tiled Floor

The floor was given another wash and left to dry off overnight and we came back the next day to seal it. We check the floor was dry first and then proceeded to seal the Travertine tiles using two coats of Tile Doctor Colour Grow which really enhances the colours in natural stone as well providing excellent stain protection.

Cleaning Travertine Floor Tiles in Havant Finished Cleaning Travertine Floor Tiles in Havant Finished

I think you will agree from the photographs above that the Travertine tiles looks so much better and the natural brown and gold colours in the stone have really come through.
 
 
Source: Residential and Commercial Tile, Stone and Grout Cleaning in Hampshire

Deep Cleaning Dirty Travertine Kitchen Tiles

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This Travertine tiled kitchen floor in Ottershaw, Surrey, was in need of a deep clean, strip out the old sealer and re-seal to ensure easy maintenance in the future. Being a high traffic area the tiles had accumulated a high amount of soil over the years. There was also marking from breakfast stools which are visible in the picture.

Travertine Tiled Kitchen Ottershaw Before Cleaning Travertine Tiled Kitchen Ottershaw Before Cleaning

Firstly, I rotary machine scrubbed the floor using Tile Doctor Pro-Clean high alkaline cleaner. This broke down the soil and released it along with the remaining old sealer which was then pressure rinsed to ensure all of the dirt was removed from the pores. Following this, I used diamond encrusted burnishing pads to cut back through the stone and remove the marks from the chairs and fine scratches. After restoring the surface to a satin finish with the finer pads, the floor was left to dry out.

Cleaning Travertine Tiles

I gave the floor a scrub with Tile Doctor Pro-Clean which is a strong alkaline tile cleaning product safe to use on Tile, Stone and Grout, this was mopped onto the floor and then scrubbed in using a rotary machine; grout lines were done by hand using a stiff scrubbing brush.

This broke down the soil releasing it along with the old sealer and the tiles then pressure rinsed to ensure all the dirt was removed from the pores of the tile.

In order to remove stubborn marks, fine scratches and finish the floor was cut back and re-polished using a set of diamond abrasive burnishing pads fitted to a heavy rotary machine. You start with the coarse pad which cuts through the stone and removes any remaining old sealer and soil and then smooth off the surface ready to receive a new seal using the medium, fine and extra fine pads until a highly polished finish is achieved.

Sealing Travertine Tiles

The floor was then left for twenty four hours to allow it to dry and then I returned to seal the Travertine and Grout using two coats of Tile Doctor Colour Grow. This is an impregnating sealer that repels liquid and soil so contaminates cannot become ingrained in the stone making it easier to clean in the future. As you can see from the pictures, it transformed the look of the floor and brightened up the kitchen.

Travertine Tiled Kitchen Ottershaw After Cleaning Travertine Tiled Kitchen Ottershaw After Cleaning

 
 
Source: Residential and Commercial Tiled Floor Restoration in Middlesex

Travertine Tiled Floor Cleaned, Filled, Polished and Sealed in Stratford Upon Avon

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Following on from a referral I agreed to travel down to Stratford upon Avon and deep clean this Travertine tiled floor which had not been professionally cleaned for over eight years and was now looking rather dull as you can see in the photograph below, additionally the holes in the travertine had not been filled and was allowing dirt to get trapped into the tile.

Travertine Stratford upon Avon Before Cleaning

Cleaning, Filling and Polishing Travertine Tiles

The first job was to wash the floor down with Pro-Clean to give it a general clean and remove any surface dirt and grit from the floor and then fill the holes with a colour matching grout; there were quite a few holes to fill so this task took some time to complete. Polished Travertine is a very hard stone so restore its finish it needs to be cut back and polished using of a set of diamond encrusted burnishing pads fitted to a rotary machine. You start with a coarse pad with a little water, then a medium pad, fine pad and finish with a very fine polishing pad, this takes some time but the effect it quite transforming, it does build up slurry on the floor so it all needs to be washed down again at the end.

Sealing and Buffing Travertine Tile

To keep the floor looking good for longer and protect it from stains it does need to be sealed so once it was dry it was sealed using two coats of Tile Doctor Colour Grow which is a colour enhancing sealer that brings out the colours in natural stone. Then once the sealer was dry it was buffed using a white buffing pad to make sure that I hadn’t left any residues from the seal.

Travertine Stratford upon Avon After Cleaning

The job took three days to complete in total and I think you will agree it’s now looking much healthier.
 
 
Source: Travertine Flooring Problems Resolved

Maintaining Travertine Floor Tiles

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This Travertine tiled floor had been laid in a house in the picturesque village of Brightwell-Cum-Sotwell in south Oxfordshire and the owner had decided it was time to have it properly cleaned and re-sealed.

Cleaning Travertine Floor Tiles

The floor was given a wash with Tile Doctor Neutral Cleaner to remove any surface grit and we then filled the small holes, which are quite a common feature of natural travertine, with a matching coloured grout.

This was then followed by the use of the Tile Doctor burnishing system which involves the use of a set of four Burnishing pads fitted to a rotary machine. There are four pads and you start off with a course stripper pad with a little just water and then carry on with the white pad and then the yellow pad until the floor is thoroughly cleaned and any previous sealer removed. Next step was to use Tile Doctor Pro-Clean along the grout lines with a stiff brush to get the grout cleaner.

To bring up the polish on the Travertine tile you then apply the last of the four burnishing pads with gives a final polish.

Travertine Floor Brightwell Cum Sotwell

Sealing Limestone Floor Tiles

To seal the floor and protect it from staining two coats of Tile Doctor Colour Grow as applied; Colour Grow is a colour enhancing sealer which enhanced the natural colours in the stone. Once dry the last step was to buff the floor to a nice shine with a rotary machine fitted with a white pad..

Source: Travertine Maintenance Specialist in Oxfordshire

Sealer Problems Resolved on Travetine Floor Tiles

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These Travertine tiles were laid five years ago at a residential property in Ashton Clinton and our client had never been entirely happy with the tillers finish from sealing which was marked with smears and also had the tillers bare footed prints embedded within the seal. The sealer was now wearing off and polish fading so it was due to be re-done and we were given the call.

Cleaning Travertine Tile in Aston Clinton During

Burnishing a Travertine Tiled Floor

The owner had maintained the floor well so we set to work removing the old sealer using rotary machine fitted with a coarse number One diamond encrusted burnishing pad and a little water. The resultant slurry was rinsed off and removed using a powerful wet vacuum the grout lines were given a good scrub by hand using a stiff brush and Tile Doctor Grout clean–up. With the same method we cleaned and polished the tiles with the number Two and Three burnishing pads followed by a final clean and rinse and then left to dry overnight.

Polishing Travertine Tile in Aston Clinton During

Sealing and Polishing Travertine Tile

The next day the tiles had completely dried we used the final number Four burnishing pad which is a very fine pad to polish and add shine to the travertine floor. The last stage was to seal the Travertine which we did with two coats of Tile Doctor Colour Grow which is a colour intensifying sealer that brings out the colours in natural stone and provide lasting protection.

Travertine Tile in Aston Clinton After

 
 
Source: Travertine Problems Solved in Buckinghamshire

Cleaning Honed Travertine Tile in Lancaster

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This honed Travertine tiled floor was newly laid by a professional tiler in South Lancaster, unfortunately however the tiler mistook some white lines in the stone as resin post installation and tried very hard to remove them damaging the finish of the stone (it’s quite common for new stone to have this issue). The white marks turned out be in the stone itself and not on the surface, to complicate things further the Travertine had been laid onto electric under floor heating so it would have been tricky to lift and replace the tiles without compromising the expensive heating matts placed underneath the stone.

The customer was left in a dilemma as the suppliers of the stone were blaming the tiler and the tiler the supplier, the only option was to call out Tile Doctor. On inspection and after conducting two cleaning tests we managed to get a result with our burnishing system with no white lines showing after the Travertine had dried out.

Honed Travertine Lancaster Before

Stripping and Re-Polishing Travertine

To get the Travertine looking new again we had to strip back the surface of the tile using a set of Diamond Encrusted burnishing pads fitted to a rotary machine. You start with a coarse stripper pad with water to strip back the surface and then move onto the finer pads to polish the floor. We also use some grinding discs to remove scratches left behind by the kitchen fitters who were clumsy when fitting the kitchen.

Once I was happy that all the problems had been resolved with the Travertine tile we resealed it using two coats of Tile Doctor Colour Grow to get a nice overall finish for the floor. Colour grow is a great sealer to use on natural stone as now only will it offer good stain protection it brings out the colours in the stone.

Honed Travertine Lancaster After

 
 
Source: Honed Travertine Tiled Floor Problems resolved in Lancaster

Travertine Floor Lobby Restoration

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This Travertine tiled floor was installed in the high traffic lobby area of a house in Horsham, the tiles were in reasonable condition but had become dull over the years and were now in need of a refresh

Travertine Tiled Floor Before

Cleaning Travertine Tile

I swept the floor and gave it a quick wash with Tile Doctor Pro-Clean paying particular attention to the grout joints on which I used a stiff hand brush along the grout lines to get them looking clean. The next step was to use the diamond encrusted burnishing pad system starting with the coarse pad and water to clean the tiles and remove any remaining sealant that may have been present on the tile. This was continued with the finer pads using nothing but water as before then rinsing the floor of any dirt picked up by the pads. When the floor was dry I used a green polishing pad to add a shine to the floor.

Sealing Travertine Tile

To protect the travertine it was sealed using two coats of Tile Doctor Colour Grow which is an impregnating sealer which enhances the natural colour in stone. Once it was all dry again I buffed it up again but used a soft white buffing pad. You can’t really appreciate the difference in the photographs however natural stones such as travertine tiles do need to be maintained on a regular basis if you want them to keep on looking good.

Travertine Tiled Floor After Cleaning and Polishing

 
 
Source: Travertine Tiles Rejuvinated in West-Sussex

Removing Mould from Travertine Bathroom Tiles

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This mouldy filled Travertine tiled bathroom was located in a house in Glasgow and as you can see from the photograph below was completely covered in mould right round the whole bathroom, there was also some staining from the dyes in soap etc.

Mouldy Filled Travertine Tiled Shower Before Cleaning

Cleaning a mouldy Travertine tiled bathroom

Firstly we cut out all the mouldy silicone with a sharp knife and once this was done we mixed a strong solution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean in a spray bottle and sprayed the cleaning product onto the walls, we used a spray as the air makes the solution lighter and stick onto the tile. Once this was done the Pro-Clean was scrubbed into the stone with stiff brushes and a lot of elbow grease using small nail brushes to allow us to get into all the tiny dimples in the filled travertine. Travertine is a natural product so Pro-Clean being a strong alkaline product is ideal for cleaning natural stone as even mildly acidic cleaners can eat away at the stone.

Sealing Travertine Tiles

Once the tiles were cleaned they were then sealed with two coats of Tile Doctor Colour Grow which is a colour enhancing sealer which is designed to protect the stone whilst lifting the colours out.

Grout Colouring

The grout was still discoloured following the cleaning process so to get it looking fresh again and after the stone was sealed we applied white grout colourant which brought the grout back to perfect white. This was done after sealing to stop the colourant absorbing into the tiles when they were un-protected making it easier to wipe off. The grout colourant we use looks natural and also forms a barrier over the grout making it easy to clean.

Once everything else was complete we finished the job off by renewing the white silicone up the corners of the walls and around the bath; the end result was a huge transformation that both us and the customer were more than happy with.

Filled Travertine Tiled Shower After Cleaning

 
 
Source: Travertine Tiles Rejuvinated in Glasgow

Cleaning a Travertine Tiled Shower Cubicle

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This Travertine wet room in Glasgow was in a sorry looking state, the tiles had become very dull and there was evidence of mould especially around the silicone.

Travertine Wetroom Glasgow Before Cleaning

Cleaning a Travertine Wet Room

The first job was to cut out all the mouldy silicone around the bottom of the shower cubicle; which had the added advantage of allowing us to clean the adjacent tiles right to the edges. Once the silicone was removed we decanted a dilution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean into a spray bottle and began to spray it onto the wall tiles. Pro-Clean in an effective alkaline tile cleaner designed for use on stone tiles such as Travertine, spraying the product onto the wall allows it to mix with air making it lighter and easier to stick and soak into a vertical surface. The wall tiles and grout were then scrubbed using a stiff brush until the dirt and mould had been cleaned away.

Polishing Travertine Wall and Floor tiles

Once there tiles were free of dirt and mould we then used a set of six inch diamond encrusted burnishing pads with a hand held rotary machine to polish the travertine. The burnishing pads come in a set of four and you start with a coarse pad with a little water and work your way through the set moving from a the coarse pads through to the less abrasive pads; this process polishes the stone more and more until you get a smooth finish.

Sealing Travertine Tiles

Once the burnishing process was completed we then sealed the stone with two coats of Tile Doctor Colour Grow which is a colour enhancing sealer designed to protect the stone whilst lifting the colours out of the stone. Finally to finish off the job we renewed the silicone seal with Jasmine silicone around the floor and up the corners.

Travertine Wetroom Glasgow After Cleaning

The job took the best part of a day and I think you will agree the results speak for themselves.

Source: Travertine Shower Refresh in Glasgow

Travertine Tile Cleaning in East Grinstead

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Pictures below of a Travertine tiled floor in East Grinstead which had been laid some years earlier and over time had become dull as it lost its polished appearance with wear. The customer had tried cleaning but could not get the floor looking the way they it used to.

Travertine Tiled Floor East Grinsted Before

Cleaning Travertine Tile

To restore appearance on polished hard stone floors such a Travertine and Limestone they have to be cut back and polished with floor burnishing pads, it’s a similar process that you use on wood where you start with coarse sandpaper first and moving on to a finer grade towards the end.

At Tile Doctor we have access to a diamond encrusted burnishing pad system which starts with a coarse red pad applied together with a little water, the coarse pad cleans the tiles and removes any topical sealers or ingrained dirt that may have been present. Next comes the white then yellow pads which are a finer grade again applied using nothing but a little water.
Before applying the final green polishing pad the grout lines need to be cleaned for which we use a solution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean worked in along the grout line by hand with a stiff brush. Last step of the cleaning process was to rinse the floor of any dirt picked up by the pads and then when the floor is dry the last green polishing pad is applied to add a shine to the floor.

Sealing Travertine Tile

To protect the travertine it was sealed using a single coat of Tile Doctor Colour Grow which is an impregnating sealer that helps to bring out the natural colours in the grain of the stone. Once it was all dry again I buffed it up again but used a soft white buffing pad. The photograph below was taken after we had finished and you can see the shine in the Travertine and how much cleaner the grout lines are.

Travertine Tiled Floor East Grinsted After

 
 
Source: Travertine Tile Maintenance in East Sussex

Maintaining the Polish on Travertine tiles

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I had a phone call a few weeks ago from a lady in Gerrards Cross to come and clean her large Travertine tiled floors prior to her renting out a property. I had actually carried out this job for her four years ago and she was really pleased with the service we provided and had therefore asked me come back. Thinking back four years is a long time between floor polishes so we certainly did a good job on the floor the first time.

Maintaining Travertine Tiles

Travertine is a very hard stone which required the surface to be cut back before polishing, to do this we make use of a diamond encrusted burnishing pad system which is supplied in a set of four pads each one having a different purpose. We started with a Red pad first together with a little water and this strips dirt and old sealers from the floor, this is followed with the White, Yellow and finally Green pad which doesn’t required the use of any water. As you progress through the pads you find the polish is restored and you get a deep shine in the surface of the tile.

Sealing Travertine Tile

To protect the floor from stains it was sealed with a single coat of Tile Doctor Colour Grow which is a colour enhancing sealer that brings out the colours in natural stone. Once the sealer was dry it was buffed using a white buffing pad to make sure that I hadn’t left any residues from the seal.

Once again the lady was really pleased with our work and promised to call the next time the property was to be let out again, but next time she wants me to do the carpets and the patio areas as well.
 
 
Source: Cleaning and sealing Travertine floor tiles in East Surrey