Travertine Tile Cleaning Archives - East Cheshire Tile Doctor

Travertine Kitchen Floor Renovation Wilmslow

Dull Travertine Floor Cleaned, Polished and Sealed in Wilmslow

1 Comment / Grout-Cleaning, Travertine Tile Cleaning, Wilmslow Tile Cleaning, Work by Category, Work by Location, Work History / Kamila Logonzy

This client from Wilmslow contacted me regarding their Travertine floor tiles, requesting a deep clean and seal with particular focus on the grout which was very dirty. Sometimes it’s possible to give a quote over the phone with the pictures emailed over but in most cases I’m in the local area anyway so it’s not a problem to pop in, survey the floor and work out an accurate quote.

Travertine Floor Before Clean Polish and Seal in Wilmslow

They had explained on the phone the grout was the biggest problem and I could see it had darkened a lot. The top layer of cementous grout is will trap dirt unless sealed along with the tiles, in fact what tends to happen is the dirt from the tiles is washed into the grout lines during cleaning. The Travertine tiles had lost a lot of their character and generally looked flat and in need of a good clean and polish.

Having taken a good look at the floor I was confident I could achieve a good finish, so I carried out a quick test clean on a small part of the floor to show what was possible. They were delighted with the test result and could now see the potential of the floor. Happy with the quote which included Grout cleaning and stone polishing a date was agreed for my return.

Cleaning and Polishing a Travertine Tiled Kitchen Floor

To start I focused on cleaning the grout lines using a strong dilution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean scrubbed into the grout recess by hand to ensure it was as clean as could be. I couldn’t guarantee the grout would come up as well as it did, especially in the kitchen where it can be exposed to deep seated staining, so I had given the client the additional option of using a Grout Colourant. Fortunately, this wasn’t needed and after rinsing off the soil I could see it had responded well to treatment.

To renovate the large Travertine floor, I used a set of Tile Doctor Diamond Encrusted Burnishing Pads. I used the same process on a marble floor I renovated previously in Prestbury. Basically, the pads are applied to the floor using a rotary buffer in sequence from coarse 400-grit through to a fine 1500-grit.

Travertine Floor During Clean Polish and Seal in Wilmslow

The pads are fitted to a rotary machine and run over the floor until each tile has been burnished using only water to help lubricate. The first pad cleans up the stone and removes old sealers, this is then followed with the finer 800-grit, 1500-grit and finally a 3000-grit pad. Apart from the 3000-grit, each pad is applied with water and the floor is rinsed and the soil extracted afterwards with a wet vacuum. By now the floors appearance was already looking so much cleaner.

Sealing a Travertine Tiled Kitchen Floor

The Travertine and grout need to be dry before the next stage of sealing so once I was done polishing, I left the floor to dry off overnight with assistance from a couple of floor fans.

I came back the next day to seal the floor using Tile Doctor Ultra-Seal but before starting the tiles were checked for moisture using a damp meter. The readings were fine, so I started applying the first of two coats of sealer leaving the first to dry before applying the next. Ultra-Seal is natural look impregnating sealant that protects the floor by soaking into the stone and grout occupying the pores and preventing dirt from residing there. The floor came up a treat, with a lovely sheen and really transformed the kitchen.

Travertine Floor After Clean Polish and Seal in Wilmslow

My client was equally happy with their now clean and polished Travertine floor and even commented that they thought it “looked like new floor”.

For aftercare cleaning I left them with a complimentary bottle of Tile Doctor Stone Soap which will help keep the floor clean whilst maintaining the polished patina. Maintenance is key to keeping the floor looking this good.

Professional Restoration of a Travertine Tiled Kitchen Floor in Cheshire

Dull Travertine Floor Cleaned, Polished and Sealed in Wilmslow Read More »

Travertine Kitchen Floor Before and After Cleaning Nantwich

Renovating a large Travertine Kitchen Floor in Nantwich

1 Comment / Grout-Cleaning, Nantwich Tile Cleaning, Travertine Tile Cleaning, Work by Category, Work by Location, Work History / Kamila Logonzy

This client from Nantwich had a beautiful Travertine tiled floor installed in their very large kitchen and utility area. Realising that their tiles didn’t look as good as when they were installed, they got in touch to ask if I could clean and re-seal the tiles and grouting.

Travertine Kitchen Floor Before Cleaning Nantwich

I went over to survey the floor and could see the grout had darkened (it was originally white) and the travertine was trapping dirt in the natural pits of the stone. I conducted a test clean on the grout and Travertine which responded well, the client was impressed, and I was asked to do the whole floor. Happy with my quote for restoring the tile and grout we scheduled a date to do the work.

Nantwich is a medieval market town in Cheshire, well known for its Tudor and Georgian architecture. It has one of the highest concentrations of listed buildings in England and many of these properties have very old floors.

Deep Cleaning a Travertine Tiled Kitchen Floor

We scheduled in a date for the work, and I began by cleaning the floor with a strong solution of Tile Doctor Remove and Go worked into the grout and pitting with hand brushes. I then used a wire brush on the grout to get it really clean. The soiled solution was rinsed off with water and extracted with a wet vacuum.

Travertine Kitchen Floor During Grout Cleaning Nantwich

Once done the Travertine was burnished using a series of Tile Doctor burnishing pads from 400 through to 1500-grit attached to the rotary machine, rinsing with water in between to remove the soiling. The pads are encrusted with diamond and after being worked over each pad three times do an amazing job of removing ingrained dirt and bringing up the polish on the stone.

The floor needs to be dry before I can apply the sealer so once the burnishing was done, I gave it a final finish and extracted as much moisture as possible with the wet vacuum.

Sealing a Travertine Tiled Kitchen Floor

The Travertine was left to dry off overnight and I returned the next day to apply a sealer, first checking the floor was dry with a damp meter. The readings were acceptable, so I was able to get on with the sealing. My client had requested a natural finish, so I had recommended Tile Doctor Ultra-Seal which is almost invisible sealer that provides protection but doesn’t change the look of the stone. Only a couple of coats are required and being an impregnating sealer, it works by soaking into stone and occupying the pores so dirt can’t become ingrained there.

Once the sealer had dried the floor looked so much cleaner and I had a very happy customer who left the following feedback:

“Kamilla has totally transformed our tumbled travertine kitchen floor. It looks like new again, we are so pleased. Kamilla explained the whole process and was a pleasure to deal with. We are delighted with the end result, Kamilla worked so hard, would highly recommend.”

Travertine Kitchen Floor After Renovation Nantwich

For aftercare cleaning and maintenance, I recommended they use Tile Doctor Stone Soap which is pH neutral and mild enough to use every day. You must be careful when choosing a cleaner for sealed floors as many products are too strong and will reduce the lifespan of the sealer.

Professional Clean and Seal of Travertine Floor Tiles in East Cheshire

Renovating a large Travertine Kitchen Floor in Nantwich Read More »

Travertine Tiled Shower Cubicle Before After Renovation Hale Barns

Bleach Disaster Resolved in Hale Barns Travertine Tiled Shower Cubicle

1 Comment / Altrincham Tile Cleaning, Grout-Cleaning, Travertine Tile Cleaning, Work by Category, Work by Location, Work History / Kamila Logonzy

The pictures shown are from a Travertine tiled shower cubicle that was installed at a property in Hale Barns twenty years prior. The Travertine tiles were in desperate need of renovation and being stone they needed a specialist to sort it out.

20 Year Old Travertine Shower Cubicle Before Renovation Hale Barns

In an attempt to clean the stone a cleaner ended up making it worse when she used a strong bleach cleaner all over the tiles which actually etched the stone due to the acidic nature of the product. We find this is quite a common problem, especially in areas with limescale, in fact Tile Doctor now offer a training course for commercial cleaning companies because of it. I discussed with the client the process I would use to restore the appearance of the Travertine and with our quote accepted we agreed a date to complete the work.

Cleaning a Travertine Tiled Shower Cubicle

To begin with I applied a set of six-inch diamond burnishing pads fitted to a hand buffer to slowly remove the etching and gradually build the polished appearance of the stone. The pads are applied in sequence from 400-grit which resurfaces the stone through to 3,000 grit which builds up the polished appearance of the stone.

The Grout was then given a clean using Tile Doctor Oxy-Gel which was left to soak into the grout line for ten minutes before being scrubbed in by hand. Being a gel, it sticks better to vertical surfaces resulting in longer dwell time and therefore better cleaning results.

The combination of the two processes really got to grips with the ingrained dirt and the heavy limescale. The tiles were thoroughly rinsed which is nice and easy in a shower situation, and then left to dry for a few hours, prior to the seal being applied. During this time, I turn my attention to other bathroom areas for which I use a wet vacuum to extract the water and soiling.

Sealing a Travertine Tiled Shower Cubicle

We sealed the Travertine and Grout later that afternoon using a couple of coats of Tile Doctor Colour Grow. This is a impregnating sealer which soaks into the pores to provide durable protection, it also enhances the natural colours in the stone to bring the best features out in the Travertine. The stone had been installed all the way up to the high ceiling, so I needed to climb up a ladder to reach all areas.

The customer was beyond happy with results and left the following feedback:

“Kamila turned a bleach disaster in a travertine shower into a just installed look, also clearing mould stains at the same time – in a long day. Fantastic service, great price: don’t hesitate to book her. Steve D, Hale, 10 February 2020”

20 Year Old Travertine Shower Cubicle After Renovation Hale Barns

For everyday aftercare I recommended the use of Tile Doctor Aqua Pro which is designed for cleaning bathrooms where a sealer has been applied. This will keep the shower cubicle looking in great condition moving forward. It will also help to keep the dreaded limescale and mould under control and with regular use it will also ensure the newly applied sealant stays in place for longer.

If you’re a commercial cleaner reading this then do take a look at Tile Doctor’s Agency Tile Cleaning training course. It will fill the knowledge gap many cleaners have when it comes to cleaning stone tiling and ensure you avoid being in a similar situation.

Professional Travertine Tiled Shower Cubicle Restoration in West Cheshire

Bleach Disaster Resolved in Hale Barns Travertine Tiled Shower Cubicle Read More »

Travertine Tiled Kitchen Floor Before and After Polishing Wilmslow

Polishing a Dull Travertine Kitchen Floor in Wilmslow

1 Comment / Grout-Cleaning, Travertine Tile Cleaning, Wilmslow Tile Cleaning, Work History / Kamila Logonzy

This is a Travertine tiled floor installed at a property in the popular Cheshire town of Wilmslow around 16 years prior. It had previously been maintained by a Tile Doctor colleague about three years ago and the owner was hoping the floor could be given a simple maintenance clean and seal. This is a service we provide as part of an annual maintenance plan, unfortunately after surveying the floor it was clear they had left it far too long, the floor had lost its shine and it would now need to be resurfaced with a set of diamond burnishing pads and then resealed.

Travertine Floor Before Polishing Wilmslow

Naturally burnishing the floor costs more than a simple seal and polish but if you are going to opt for the quicker maintenance plan route it does need to be done at least annually and possibly more frequently if it’s a floor in frequent use such as a kitchen. We agreed a price for the work, and I arranged a time with them to return and renovate the floor.

Cleaning/Renovating a Travertine Tiled Kitchen Floor

To restore the polished appearance of the Travertine I used a set of four burnishing pads which are applied to the floor with a rotary machine. You start with a coarse 400-grit pad using water to lubricate and running it over each tile at least three times. This first pad cleans up the stone and removes old sealers. This is then followed with the finer 800-grit, 1500-grit and finally a 3000-grit pad. Except for the 3000-grit, each pad is applied with water and the floor is rinsed and the soil extracted afterwards with the wet vacuum.

The Grout lines were also deep cleaned with a scrubbing brush and Tile Doctor Pro-Clean tile and grout cleaner. The product really gets to into deep seated dirt and grease which tends to accumulate in the grout. After a final rinse and extraction, the floor was then left to dry off overnight.

Sealing a Travertine Tiled Kitchen Floor

I returned on the second day and started by checking the floor was dry by taking several moisture readings with a damp meter. The readings were good, so I proceeded to seal the floor using a couple of coats of Tile Doctor Colour Grow. Colour Grow is an ideal sealer for Travertine as it seeps into the pores of the stone enhancing the natural brown colours in the process. It also offers great protection going forward.

Whilst I was there I had noticed that one of the doors had scratched the floor, fortunately the polishing process had got the scratches out of the stone but to prevent future scratching I helped them remove the door so a carpenter could shave off a few mm’s from the bottom.

Travertine Floor After Polishing Wilmslow

My customer left the following feedback:

“Second time had Travertine floor restored, cleaned & sealed, the first time was 3 years ago. Great job done then by Simon Bywater. This time Kamila did a really professional job on the kitchen limestone floor. A bit more expensive this time, but a good job was done. Have left instructions for her to contact me in 12 months time for annual maintenance on the same floor, hopefully to prevent restoration being required! Highly recommend the service.”

The floor looked great and they should now be able to maintain it in between the maintenance visits, with day to day cleaning using Tile Doctor Neutral Tile Cleaner.

Professional Restoration of a Travertine Tiled Kitchen in East Cheshire

Polishing a Dull Travertine Kitchen Floor in Wilmslow Read More »

Travertine Floor Tiles Before After Polishing Mottram St Andrew

Large Pitted Travertine Floor Filled and Polished in Mottram St Andrew

1 Comment / Alderley Edge Tile Cleaning, Travertine Tile Cleaning, Work History / Kamila Logonzy

This customer lives in the small yet sought after village of Mottram St Andrew near Alderley Edge in East Cheshire. I was asked to do something about the Travertine tiled floors which had become an eye sore due to many black holes and pits that where appearing. This is not an unusual problem for Travertine, it’s a very porous and Acid Sensitive stone so it’s not a good idea to use powerful acidic cleaning products which are quite common in supermarkets. They reduce the life of the sealer and can actually eat into the travertine. Pitting is also a common with this type of stone and easily traps dirt, so we always recommend having the pits filled.

Travertine Floor Before Polishing Mottram St Andrew

I visited the property to survey the floor and re-assured the owner the problems could be resolved, and the floors appearance restored. The floor was installed throughout much of the ground floor and as I suspected the previous sealer had worn down with use and now dirt was becoming ingrained in the pits and pores of the stone making it impossible to keep clean.

Cleaning and Burnishing a Large Travertine Floor in Mottram St Andrew

To restore the appearance of the Travertine the tiles would need to be polished using a set of Burnishing Pads that would cut through the dirt and polish the stone. Before starting however, I made sure any exposed woodwork was protected which included removing the kickboards from underneath the kitchen units.

The first pad was a coarse 400 grit which fits onto a rotary machine and is applied to the Travertine tiles with water spread which acts as a lubrication. The pads literally scratch off the dirt and the resultant slurry is then removed with a wet vacuum. The floor is then washed, and the process was repeated with the next two pads which are 800 and 1500 grit, again using water to lubricate (although less than the 400-grit) and rinsing and extracting in between the application of each pad. These higher grit pads are much finer and slowly restore the finish of the stone.

There was a lot of surface area to cover so this process took up the whole of the first day and the floor was then left to dry off overnight.

Polishing and Sealing a large Travertine Floor in Mottram St Andrew

When I came back the next morning, I finished off the burnishing process using the last floor pad in the Burnishing set which is applied dry to the floor with a few squirts of water. This final pad is 3000 grit which is super fine and builds up a high gloss shine on the Travertine, it also leaves the floor dry and ready to be sealed.

Travertine Floor After Polishing Mottram St Andrew

I then sealed the floor using a single coat of Tile Doctor Colour Grow which is an impregnating sealer that soaks into the Travertine occupying the pores and preventing dirt from becoming ingrained into the stone. Colour Grow also enhances the natural colours in the stone and in this case, it did a great job of bringing out the brown shades in the Travertine.

The next step was to fill the holes in the Travertine throughout using appropriate colours of stone filler. The filler is left to dry and harden before the excess is polished off using a white buffing pad. Once done the floor is vacuumed to remove dust before applying another coat of Colour Grow sealer which was allowed to dry before giving the floor a final polish with a new 3000-grit burnishing pad to achieve a deep shine. Given the size of the floor I was able to work in sections, polishing, sealing, filling etc, moving onto the next section as the sealer dried.

The process made a huge difference to the floor which now looks much lighter and is not spoilt by the dark patches brought about by the pitting.

Professional Travertine Floor Polishing in Cheshire

Large Pitted Travertine Floor Filled and Polished in Mottram St Andrew Read More »

Travertine Tiled Floor Before and After Polishing in Eaton

Large Travertine Floor Polished at an Eaton Barn Conversion near Congleton

1 Comment / Congleton Tile Cleaning, Travertine Tile Cleaning, Work History / Kamila Logonzy

This customer who lives in Eaton near Congleton had a new barn conversion built with a 120 sq. meters of polished Travertine floor tiles. Unfortunately, he was unable to appreciate the beauty of the floor due to builder’s walking all over them for a few weeks without any protection. With dirt being trodden into the tile they were now in need of a deep clean and polish to bring back the shine and restore the real beauty of the tiles.

Polished Travertine Floor Before Cleaning Eaton

Cleaning and Burnishing Polished Travertine Tiles

After giving the floors a good brush to remove grit etc. the next stage was to apply a set of tile doctor diamond encrusted burnishing pads to take off the ingrained dirt and restore shine to the tiles.

The first pad was a coarse 400 grit which fits onto a rotary machine with water spread on the floor as lubrication. The pads literally scratch off the dirt and the resultant slurry is then removed with a wet vacuum. The floor is then washed and the process was repeated with the next two pads which are 800 and 1500 grit. These pads are much finer and restore the finish of the stone, again the floor is rinsed in between each pad to remove the slurry each time.

Polished Travertine Floor During Cleaning Eaton

The floor is then left to dry off overnight which is much quicker when underfloor heating has been installed.

Sealing a Travertine Tiled Entrance Hall

When I came back the next day I finished off the burnishing process using the last floor pad which is applied dry to the floor with a few squirts of water. This final pad is 3000 grit which is super fine and builds up a high gloss shine on the Travertine.

To finish off the process I then sealed the floor using a couple of coats of Tile Doctor Colour Grow which is an impregnating sealer that soaks into the Travertine occupying the pores and preventing dirt from becoming ingrained into the stone. Colour Grow also enhances the natural colours in the stone and in this case, it did a great job of bringing out the brown shades in the Travertine.

Polished Travertine Floor After Cleaning Eaton

The customer was over the moon with the finish and asked if I would come back in three weeks to buff the whole floor to a high shine ready for a party that evening.

Professional Travertine Floor Polishing in Cheshire

Large Travertine Floor Polished at an Eaton Barn Conversion near Congleton Read More »

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Alderley Edge Tile Cleaning, Altrincham Tile Cleaning, Ceramic Tile Cleaning, Cheadle Hulme Tile Cleaning, Congleton Tile Cleaning, Crewe Tile Cleaning, Encaustic Cement Tile Cleaning, Fireplace Cleaning, Flagstone Tile Cleaning, Grout-Cleaning, Holmes Chapel Tile Cleaning, Knutsford Tile Cleaning, Limestone Tile Cleaning and Polishing, Lymm Tile Cleaning, Macclesfield Tile Cleaning, Marble Tile Cleaning, Middlewich Tile Cleaning, Nantwich Tile Cleaning, Porcelain Tile Cleaning, Quarry Tile Cleaning, Sandbach Tile Cleaning, Sandstone Tile Cleaning, Slate Tile Cleaning, Terracotta Tile Cleaning, Terrazzo Floor Cleaning, Travertine Tile Cleaning, Victorian Tile Cleaning, Vinyl Tile Cleaning, Wilmslow Tile Cleaning, Work by Category, Work by Location, Work History / Kamila Logonzy

East Cheshire Tile Doctor

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