Ampthill Archives - Bedfordshire Tile Doctor

Grout Stained Encaustic Tiled Floor Renovated Ampthill

Grout Haze Removed from Modern Encaustic Floor Tiles in Ampthill

Last year I was asked to look at cleaning a modern Encaustic tiled floor at a property in Ampthill with a striking design. Many people are drawn to the luxury look of encaustic tiling which are often featured in high end magazines so I thought it would be worth sharing.

It’s absolutely a beautiful type of flooring, however, as our client from Ampthill realised, the tiles must be installed by a professional who understands their makeup. Unlike ceramics they are made from cement and are porous and need to be sealed. In this case the floor had only recently been laid and the tiler had not managed remove all the grout haze before sealing. Consequently, the rough haze attracted dirt making the floor look less than desirable.

Encaustic Tiled Floor Before Cleaning Ampthill

Encaustic Tiled Floor Before Restoration Ampthill

Cleaning and Renovating an Encaustic Tiled Hallway

To remove the Grout Haze, it was first necessary to remove the sealer which was done using a strong dilution of Tile Doctor Remove and Go. This is a powerful stripper that is safe to use on tile and stone. The solution was sprayed onto the tiles and and then left to dwell for about ten minutes before being scrubbed into the floor with a coarse 200-grit diamond pad. This effectively cleaned the floor removing the sealer and the grout haze.

The next step was to rinse away the soiling from the cleaning and give the tiles a deep clean for which I used a high-pressure truck mounted spinner tool. The tool applies water at high pressure to the floor whilst simultaneously extracting the waste back to a tank on the vehicle leaving it clean and almost dry.

Sealing an Encaustic Tiled Hallway

Once the tiles were completely dry, they were then sealed with Tile Doctor X-Tra Seal which is a fully breathable impregnating sealer, it provides water and stain repellence and adds robust protection and enhances the overall beauty.

Encaustic Tiled Floor After Cleaning Ampthill

For aftercare cleaning of any sealed floor, I recommend the use of Tile Doctor Neutral Tile Cleaner which is a mild yet effective tile and grout cleaner. This is a pH neutral product which ensures the newly applied sealer isn’t stripped off which can be the problem with the stronger floor cleaning products you often find in supermarkets.

Professional Cleaning of a Modern Encaustic Tiled Hallway in Bedfordshire

Grout Haze Removed from Modern Encaustic Floor Tiles in Ampthill Read More »

Deep Cleaning and Sealing and old Terracotta floor in Ampthill

As part of our service we advise customers on best practice for maintaining the appearance of the floor and I’m happy to report this client in Ampthill who has a Terracotta tiled floor that we had fully restored a few years ago had followed to the letter.

Having two dogs and two children, the floor gets a lot of traffic and as expected over a period of time the sealer does wear thin in the busier areas. Should the sealer become too damaged dirt can get underneath and gradually the seal will deteriorate to the point where restoration will be needed again.

Terracotta Floor Before Maintained Ampthill

By keeping on top of the maintenance our client has kept a beautiful terracotta floor in great condition however as the sealer was wearing he called us back to do a maintenance clean and top up the sealer an activity which we are able to complete in one day rather than the several days needed to do a full restoration.

Terracotta Floor Maintenance Clean and Seal

To maintain the floor, I applied a Tile Doctor fine diamond burnishing pad fitted to a rotary machine and with a little water sprayed onto the tiles to lubricate the process the top was burnished, this took the dirt off the top of the tiles and left a clean surface to top up the seal. The floor was then rinsed to remove the soil generated by the process.

Having removed any damaged sealer an industrial air mover was switched on to get the floor as dry as possible, we then tested the damp levels at various intervals until the floor was dry for re-sealing.

To re-seal two coats of Tile Doctor Seal and Go we applied to the floor allowing the first coat to dry before applying the second. Once the second coat had dried a white polishing pad was used to buff the tiles.