Removing Sealer from Slate with Tile Doctor Remove and Go in Wragby Lincolnshire

This client from Wragby contacted me because their Slate tiled shower room floor was covered in limescale and despite trying numerous products they couldn’t get rid of it. Also, for some reason the slate kitchen floor was always sticky, and they wanted this resolving as well. If you haven’t been, Wragby is just East of Lincoln on route to the Lincolnshire Wolds which is an area of outstanding natural beauty.

I went over to the property to survey the tiles and produce a quote for rectifying the problems. I discovered that the Kitchen floor had been over sealed with a solvent based topical seal and that had turned tacky, and in the shower room it wasn’t limescale that was the issue, in fact it was a moisture problem that had bloomed the seal. The tiles needed to be completely dry before applying a sealer or it can cause problems, also because the dining room followed from the kitchen it would need to be stripped as well of sealer and resealed otherwise the two floors would look different in colour.

I quoted for stripping and cleaning all three floors, and then re-sealing. The quote was accepted, and the job was booked in for a few weeks later.

Cleaning a Slate Tiled Kitchen, Dining and Shower Room Floor

To remove the sealer, I used a combination of Tile Doctor Remove and Go mixed with Tile Doctor Pro Clean. This was applied to the floor in the usual way, allowing it to soak in for ten minutes before being scrubbed in with a Black pad. This action removes the old sealer and further cleaned the floor.

The soiling was then rinsed away with water and extracted with a wet vacuum. A couple of the areas were more stubborn that others, so the process was repeated until I was satisfied the sealer was gone and the Slate was as clean.

I setup a couple of air blowers in place to assist with drying and then left the floor to dry out fully overnight.

Sealing a Slate Tiled Kitchen, Dining and Shower Room Floor

Returning the following day, I used a damp meter to take moisture readings and ensure the stone was dry before applying the new sealer, as mentioned earlier it is not a good idea to seal a wet floor.

My client wanted a shine on the floor so for the Kitchen and Dining room I used a topical water-based sealer called Tile Doctor Seal and Go Extra. For the shower floor I explained that due to the moisture it would have to be sealed with a fully breathable impregnating sealer however it would leave a matt finish, they didn’t want a repeat of before so happy to accept my recommendation the shower room floor was sealed with Tile Doctor Colour Grow.

The whole process took 3 days, and all the floors were transformed by the work, certainly my clients were extremely happy with the result. For the aftercare cleaning of Slate floors, I recommend the use of Tile Doctor Neutral Tile Cleaner which an effective tile and grout cleaner but gentle enough not to effect the sealer.

Source: Slate Cleaning and Sealing Products and Services in Wragby Lincolnshire