Tile Doctor X-Tra Seal Puts the Life Back into Tired Black Slate Flooring in Richmond London
This is a black slate floor in Richmond that had been stripped of its natural oils and sealer due to the client using a steam mop repeatedly over the years. The floor also had missing grout that needed replacing before cleaning could commence.
The flat wasn’t on the ground floor so there was a concern that the missing grout may result in water getting under the tile causing damage to the floor and not to mention the ceiling of the property below.
Repairing Grout and Cleaning a Black Slate Tiled Kitchen Floor
The first thing I did was to protect all the Kitchen units by covering them in a drop cloth. Once that was done work started on the grout lines which involved raking out the loose grout and replacing with a fast-setting grout in matching grey.
Once the grout had set attention moved onto to cleaning the Black Slate tiles which without the protection of a sealer contained a lot of ingrained dirt. To clean the tiles a medium strength dilution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean was sprayed onto the floor and left to soak in for ten minutes. The floor was then scrubbed with a carbide brush fitted to a handheld De Walt polishing machine, I then used a Hyundai wet vacuum to hoover up the water and sediment that had come up during cleaning.
Next, I scrubbed the grout with a mixture of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean, water and a wire brush. To finish I gave the tiles a light acid wash using Tile Doctor Grout Clean-Up diluted with water. I vacuumed this off, washed the tiles down with water and gave it a final vacuum to get it as dry as possible.
The floor was then left to dry out, leaving a floor dryer with the client to run for a few hours more before turning off and leaving the floor overnight.
Sealing a Black Slate Tiled Kitchen in Richmond-Upon-Thames
On my return, after establishing the stone had completely dried out, I applied two coats of Tile Doctor X-Tra Seal. The sealer was worked into the floor with a cloth using small amounts at a time polishing off the excess as I went along. It’s important to do this with this sealer otherwise it can get slightly tacky if too much is left on the surface.
Tile Doctor Xtra Seal was chosen for this floor as it’s an oil-based sealer and that add structure to the stone and works well to bring out its features and colour. It’s also extremely durable and leaves a nice low satin finish.
The floor was transformed by the work and my client was extremely pleased with the result. For aftercare I recommended the use if Tile Doctor Neutral Tile Cleaner, it has a pH neutral formula that won’t impact the newly applied sealer. Typical household cleaning products tend to be bleach based and will strip off the sealer protecting the stone from ingrained dirt and so best avoided.
Source: Slate Tiled Kitchen Restoration Products and Services in Richmond London