cleaning services – Tiling Tips – Tips and Information About Tiling

Restoration of Marble Tiles

6th April 2017 Reese Mackie 0 Comments cleaning services, kendal, lancashire, marble tile cleaning, Tile Cleaning

We were recently asked to look at a polished Marble Tile installed in the floor of a house in Kendal, Cumbria. They were recently fitted but the local Tiler had struggled to get the sheen right on the surface of the Marble, in fact the sealer he had used was badly smeared in some places and needed to come off. To strip off the sealer we used with a Red diamond encrusted burnishing pad fitted to a rotary machine and then rinsed the floor with water which we then removed using a wet and dry Vax machine. We then used other pads in the burnishing system process to clean and polish the Marble floor until we had a nice overall sheen. We finished off the floor with a coat of Tile Doctor Ultra-Seal, which is a premium, no-sheen, natural-look penetrating sealer formulated to provide maximum stain protection. Source: Polishing Marble Tiled Floor in Kendal, Cumrbia

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Restoring Marble Tiled Wet Room in Suffolk

5th April 2017 Reese Mackie 0 Comments cleaning services, marble cleaning, suffolk tile cleaner, Tile Cleaning

Details below of a wet room lined with 10m2 of Marble in old cottage on the outskirts of the medieval village of Great Bricett in the heart of Suffolk. You can see from the photographs staining of the Marble Tiled wall and floor which was left in a mess after a friend of the family had tried to remove the limescale during a visit. Cleaning and Sealing Marble Tile The Marble tiles were cleaned and polished using a set of mini Twister burnishing pads. The pads are encrusted in diamonds are brilliant at restoring hard stone surfaces such as Marble. You start with the red pad to remove the existing sealer followed by the white and yellow pads to clean and hone the stone. The wall and floor tiles were then rinsed with water to clean and neutralise the floor ready for sealing. The room had under floor heating which helped to dry out the tile and so it was soon possible to use the final green pad to polish the tiles and move onto sealing. To seal we used two coats of Tile Doctor Colour Grow which is a colour intensifying breathable sealer that enhances colour as well as providing durable surface protection, a one litre bottle of sealer was sufficient. Thanks to the under floor heating we managed to complete the job in a single day and as you can see from the final set of

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Cleaning and Sealing Marbled Tile Hallway

4th April 2017 Reese Mackie 0 Comments cleaning services, marble tile restoration, suffolk tile cleaner, Tile Cleaning

This Marble tiled floor was in the hallway of a house in the historic town of Woodbridge; the floor had lost its lustre was looking dull and in need of a good polish. Marble Cleaning and Sealing It took a day to clean the Marble tiles using a set of 17 inch diamond encrusted Twister burnishing pads fitted to a buffing machine. The pads come in a set of four and you start with the red pad in conjunction with water to remove the existing sealer followed by the white and yellow pads also with water to clean and hone the stone. The tiles were then rinsed with clean water to clean and neutralise the floor ready for sealing. Once the floor was dry we used the final green pad with a small amount of water to polish the tiles before moving onto sealing. To seal we used two coats of Tile Doctor Colour Grow which does what it says on the tin and enhances colour as well as providing that important surface protection, a five litre bottle of sealer was required to provide two coats on this 35m2 floor. I’m not the world’s best photographer but hopefully you agree from the pictures on this page that the floor has now got its shine back. Source: Marble Tiled Hallway polished in Suffolk

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Marble Tiled Bathroom Cleaning and Grout Colouring

2nd April 2017 Reese Mackie 0 Comments cleaning services, marble restoration, marble tile cleaner, Tile Cleaning, west surrey tile cleaning

These Marble Tiles were installed in the bathroom at a residence in Earls Court, west London; the Marble certainly gave a luxurious effect but had dulled over time, on top of that the grout had stained in places and both were in need of really good deep clean. Cleaning Marble Tiles We set about cleaning the Marble Tiled floor using a mild dilution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean worked in with Deck Brushes. Once we were happy the floor was rinsed with clean water to remove and chemical residue and we then began polishing the floor using a buffing machine fitted with a green burnishing pad, the green pads are encrusted with very fine diamonds and used with a small amount of water to produce a high shine finish. Applying Grout Colourant The last step was to colour the grout which is easily done using a bottle of Grout Colourant. This is applied into the grout lines using a tooth brush; as well as changing the colour the product provides an epoxy coating on top of the grout protecting it against future discoloration. The customer was certainly pleased with difference and said the “the results are amazing” when she returned home from work that evening. Source: Cleaning and Polishing Marble Bathroom Tiles

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Scratched Marble Floor Repolished

1st April 2017 Reese Mackie 0 Comments cleaning services, marble tile cleaner, tile repolishing, west surrey tile cleaning

We were asked to polish this marble floor in Eaton Square which is in Belgravia one of the most historic residential parts of London, a short distance from Buckingham Palace and Knightsbridge. Cleaning a Marble Tiled Floor There were a lot of scratches in the Marble floor and it was also looking dull, so we set about first by giving it a good clean using Tile Doctor Pro-Clean which is an strong alkaline product designed for use on stone floors. It’s important to clean the floor before polishing to ensure there’s no dirt or grit on the floor which might get ground into the floor during polishing making the problem worse. Polishing Marble Tiles Once the floor was clean we started the polishing process with a Red Burnishing pad fitted to a rotary machine, the pads are diamond encrusted and can remove deep scratches. We went over the floor carefully covering every tile four times and then followed up with the white, yellow and then green polishing pads, each one polishes the floor to a higher degree. The next step was to apply Tile Doctor Shine crystallising powder with a little water polished in with our polishing machine fitted with a natural fibre pad; this step gives the floor a tough durable finish. The floor was then thoroughly rinsed to remove any residues left on the

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Cleaning and Polishing Marble Mosaic Tiles

31st March 2017 Reese Mackie 0 Comments balcony tiles, cleaning services, marble restoration, Polishing, Tile Cleaning

Installed on an external balcony these black and white Marble Mosaic tiles had been exposed to the elements resulting in an accumulated of dirt. Cleaning Marble Mosaic Balcony Tiles Marble is a very tough product so for best results we recommend using a set of burnishing pads fitted to a rotary machine that can cut through the grime and re-polish the stone. There are four pads in the set and you start with the Red pad together with a little water, this removes any remaining sealer; next you move on to the White pad again with a little water and this will remove any ingrained dirt. The next two pads, Yellow then Green complete the polishing process and produce a high shine finish. Between pads you need to rinse the floor with clean water to remove loose dirt and grime, I can recommend the use of a Wet Vacuum for this they are excellent at removing surface water quickly. Sealing Marble Mosaic Tiled Floor We left the floor to dry overnight and came back the next day to seal the floor. Luckily the weather held out, being external we wouldn’t have been able to seal the Marble if it was wet and it was forecast to rain that day. We sealed the Marble Mosaic tiles using two coats of Tile Doctor Colour Grow which really does bring out the colour of natural stone, it’s also rated for

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Marble Tile Polishing in Buckinghamshire

29th March 2017 Reese Mackie 0 Comments Chesham, cleaning services, marbled floor, polishing tiles, restoration, Sealing, south buckinghamshire, textured marble tiles, Tile Cleaning, tiled floor

A customer recently purchased a property the village of Chesham and hoped we could improve the appearance of her textured marble tiled floors which had over a number of years become dull and lost the polished marble look one would expect from a floor of this quality. Marble Tile Cleaning and Polishing For polished stone like Marble and Limestone the only way to restore the finish is to burnish the floor and this floor was no different. The burnishing pads are diamond encrusted and come in a setup of four seventeen inch pads for use with a heavy rotary machine, each pad having a different purpose. So we started with the Red pad which is designed to remove sealers together with a little water, we then took the opportunity to clean up the grout by applying a dilution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean and scrubbing it into the grout lines to get them clean. Next step was to remove the soiled cleaning solution and wash the floor down with water before moving onto the white burnishing pad which will grind off ingrained dirt and is the first step in polishing the floor. We then completed the floor polishing using the Yellow then Green polishing pads which smooth down the surface and produce a shiny finish. Sealing Textured Marble Tiles Once the floor was polished we applied Tile Doctor

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Cleaning and Polishing Marble Tiles

28th March 2017 Reese Mackie 0 Comments cleaning services, conservatory, Ealing, floor restoration, kitchen, marble floor, polishing tiles, Sealing, south buckinghamshire, Tile Cleaning, tiled floor

These photographs were taken at a house in Ealing, West London where the customer had requested a deep clean and polish of the marble tiled floors installed in a kitchen and conservatory which had become dull and dirty over a period of time. Marble Tiled Floor Polishing The first step was to give the Marble floor a thorough clean throughout with a medium dilution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean which is an industrial strength Tile Cleaner safe to use on natural stone floors, we also took this opportunity to use a stiff brush along the grout lines to get them nice and clean, the soiled cleaning solution was removed using a wet vacuum and the floor rinsed with clean water. The next step was to use a set of diamond encrusted Twister Burnishing Pads fitted to a rotary buffing machine to polish the floor. The pads come in a set of four; you start with the Red pad together with plain water and this cuts through and removes surface grime and any surface seal. You then progress through one by one until you get to the final Green polishing pad which provides a high polish, we managed to complete most of this process before the end of day. Polishing and Sealing Marble Tile The next day we completed the polishing process with the Green pad which really brought a deep shine to the floor. To

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Multiple Marble Wall And Floor Tiles Cleaned

27th March 2017 Reese Mackie 0 Comments cleaning services, cloakroom, East Surrey, kitchen, marble mosaic, marble tile, Sealing, shower cubicle, Tile Cleaning, tile restoration, Woking

This job was to refresh the Marble tile installed in a house in Woking. There were a number of different marble tiles installed on the wall and floor including two shower cubicles, a bathroom floor, a small cloakroom floor and the kitchen floor; the pictures below show before and after photographs for each job. Cleaning a Marble Tile Shower Cubicle I started with the shower cubicles using Tile Doctor Oxy-Pro which is a specific product for cleaning showers and comes with a spray attachment that mixes the cleaning agent with air making it lighter and helping it stick to vertical surfaces. This was left to dwell on the surface for a while and then the tiles were scrubbed before being rinsed down. This action not only cleaned the dirt and soap scum off the tile it also got rid of some mould that had started to grow. In one shower there was a build-up of limescale on the wall so to get rid of this I used a little Tile Doctor Grout Clean-up, this product is usually for removing grout smears from tile however it’s also good at removing most types of mineral deposits such as Limescale, you do have to be quick though as it’s an Acid based product I had to be quick and to thoroughly rinse because I didn’t want to damage the marble. Marble Mosaic Bathroom floor tile cleaning The next

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Removing Limescale from Tumbled Marble

26th March 2017 Reese Mackie 0 Comments central london, cleaning business, cleaning services, london, Maintenance, marble floor, restoration, Tile Cleaning, tiled floor, tumbled marble mosaic

This Tumbled Marble mosaic wet room floor was installed in a house in London, SE1 four years before prior and was now looking a little tired. This was mostly caused by a build-up of Limescale which had then become grimy. Stripping a Tumbled Marble Floor To treat the Limescale I used Tile Doctor Grout Clean Up which managed to remove most of the scale and to remove the remainder I steamed the tiles using an Earlex Steamer and carefully scraped any remaining Limescale residue away with a Stanley window scraper. To restore the marble itself I used Tile Doctor burnishing pads to re-polish the tiles using 17′ pads on the main area and 8′ pads on a hand-held Clarke polishing machine in the corners. These diamond encrusted pads come in a number of different colours and are applied one after another with each pad being a finer grade than the last. After thoroughly rinsing the stone again and removing the waste water with a wet vacuum. As the marble was naturally fast drying I used an Earlex heat gun to speed dry the floor and repeated this after lunch to ensure the floor was entirely dry before sealing. Sealing Tumbled-Marble Tiles Once the Marble tiles were dry I started to seal them using two coats of Tile Doctor Colour Grow sealer which is a great choice for natural stone as it

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Marble Tile Restoration at a Neoclassical Palladian Mansion

25th March 2017 Reese Mackie 0 Comments cleaning services, cleaning tiles, floor restoration, Glasgow, grout cleaner, Kinross house, marble tiles, pantry, Sealing, Tile Cleaning, tile maintenance

This Marble tiled floor is located in the pantry of the historical Kinross House which is a late 17th-century country house overlooking Loch Leven that was built by the architect Sir William Bruce as his own home in 1686. You can see from the photograph the floor was in quite a state and given the history it was an honour to be asked to work on the floor. Marble Tile Cleaning and Polishing We brushed out the floor to remove all the loose debris and then proceeded to restore the floor using a set of diamond encrusted burnishing pads which fit a rotary buffing machine. The burnishing process is designed to grind out dirt in the stone and smooth /polish the floor, you start with a course pad and work your way through the four pad set until you get to the finer polishing pad. This may sounds simple but it does take time to complete. Sealing Marble Tiles Once the floor was polished we applied a couple of coats of Tile Doctor Pro-Seal which is a non-sheen premium sealer recommended for natural stone that provided the natural matte look the client was after and will protect the Marble and keep the floor looking good. Source: Marble restoration in Perth and Kinross, Scotland

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Dealing with Scratched Marble Floor Tiles

24th March 2017 Reese Mackie 0 Comments cleaning services, floor restoration, hallway, kitchen, Lincolnshire, marble tiles, natural riven stone, re-sealing, Tile Cleaning, tile restoration, tiled floor, Woodhall spa

This Marble Tiled floor was installed in the conservatory of a house in Woodhall Spa who had asked if we could remove the scratches from their inherited marble tiles around the door area and where furniture had been dragged across the tile as shown in the photos. Interestingly our customer is a chief engineer on cruise ships all over the world and knew what this floor could look like if restored professionally. Burnishing Mable Tiles Other than the scratches the majority of the floor had been well maintained so the solution was to burnishing the marble back to its original condition using a set of diamond encrusted pads fitted to a slow speed machine and lubricated with a little water. The burnishing pads come in a set of four and applied to the floor with a little water one by one using a rotary machine running at slow speed. The process starts with the coarse pad which strips back the top layer and removes sealers and dirt from the surface of the stone. The pads then become finer and finer with the last pad being a final polish that takes the tile back to near it’s originally intended shine. You can see from the photographs that we actually managed to resurface the marble, remove the scratches and we also filled in some small holes and then allowed the floor to dry

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300m2 Marble Tiled Floor Cleaned and Polished

22nd March 2017 Reese Mackie 0 Comments cleaning service, cleaning services, floor restoration, marble flooring, marble polishing, marble tiles, Oxshott, palatial home, Sealing, Tile Cleaning, tiled floor

Following on from a referral from a Property Management company I paid a visit it to this palatial property in Oxshott which had approximately 300m2 of Marble tiled flooring that they wanted cleaning and re-polishing, my initial quotation to do this mechanically was too high so I offered an alternative using diamond encrusted burnishing pads which reduced the cost significantly. I didn’t receive an answer so I thought that was the end of it however five months later I got an email asking me to carry out the works. Marble Tiled Floor Polishing This was a very large area so we had two men working with burnishing pads in 10 metre sections. The pads come in a set of four; you start with the coarse pad together with a little water and this cuts through and removes surface grime and any surface seal. You then progress through the other finer pads one by one until you get to the final polishing pad which provides a high polish. Fortunately there were not many stains and the ones that were there came out quite easily. When we had completed a room using this system we then applied Tile doctor Shine powder which is a crystallising power worked into the floor using a white buffing pad and a little water; it adds an extra level of deep shine to the marble floor giving it that extra wow

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Commerical Marble Tiled Floor Restoration

20th March 2017 Reese Mackie 0 Comments classic marble floor, cleaning services, Hampshire, marble tile cleaning, marble tiles, Sealing, Tile Cleaning, tile restoration, tiled floor, winchester

Photographs below of a classic black and white Marble floor tile installation at premises in the city of Winchester. As you can see these Marble tiles had seen some traffic and were not in the best of condition following on from some building work that had been going on; fortunately we are quite used to dealing with these problem and have just the right products and equipment to restore them. Marble Tile Cleaning and Polishing For best results on hard stone surfaces such as Marble we burnish the floor using a set of diamond encrusted polishing pads. You start with a coarse pad which applied with a little water to remove surface dirt and sealers etc. before moving through a set of finer polishing pads until you reach a high shine glossy finish. Half way through the burnishing process we stopped to apply a dilution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean along the grout lines and give them a scrub with stiff hand brushes repeating the process in stubborn areas. After the treatment the floor was washed do to remove any soiled solution before being buffed with a white buffing pad. Any trace of its previous condition was now gone and the floor was uniform in appearance, it took much of the day to do the polishing and a set of four burnishing pads to acquire the right lustre. Source: Mabrle

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Resolving Marble Tile Installation Issues

19th March 2017 Reese Mackie 0 Comments cleaning services, grout haze, Irthlingborough, marble tile cleaning, marble tiled floor, northamptonshire, polished floor, restoration, Tile Cleaning, tiled floor

These photos are from a newly installed Polished Marble floor in the kitchen at a residence in Irthlingborough Northants which had been left covered in grout haze. The customer called the builder back as they were unhappy with the finish but he could not rectify the problem, so the customer contacted Tile Doctor to see if anything could be done. This is a problem we often come up against where a builder or tiler does a good job of laying the tiles but for some reason doesn’t remove all the grout from the tile and we have even seen some jobs where the grout smears have been sealed over which makes it even more noticeable especially on a polished floor. Fortunately for the customer we are able to resolve such problems and after agreeing the process we set about solving the problem. Burnishing Polished Marble Tiles To protect the kitchen units from any splashing etc. all the kick boards were removed and plastic sheeting fitted to protect new doors and panels before any work was undertaken. Polished Marble is a very hard surface that has to be burnished with diamond encrusted pads to restore the finish so we set about this task using a set of Tile Doctor Burnishing Pads. The pads come in a set of four, you start with the coarse pad together with a little water and this cut’s

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Scratched Marble Floor Tiles Restored

18th March 2017 Reese Mackie 0 Comments bedfordshire, cleaning services, floor polishing, floor restoration, kitchen, marble floor, marble tile, olney, Tile Cleaning, tiled floor

This was a Marble tiled floor installed in the kitchen of a house in Olney, Bedfordshire which had been scratched in places and was now overdue for some TLC. Cleaning Marble Tile and Grout The first job was to give the floor a general clean using a dilution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean which was left to dwell on the Tile and Grout for a short while before being worked in with a rotary machine fitted with a scrubbing pad and a stiff hand brushes along the grout lines. The floor was then washed down with clean water to remove the soiled cleaning solution with the liquids being removed using a wet vacuum. Burnishing and Polishing Marble Tile To restore the original finish and remove the scratches the floor needed to be cut back using a set of diamond encrusted burnishing pads. The pads come in a set of four and you start with the coarse pad and a little water and then move on to the Medium, Fine and Very fine pads at which point the surface looks immaculate and polished. The next task was to protect the floor and bring up the appearance even further by applying Tile Doctor Shine Powder which is polished into the floor using a buffing pad; the powder add a really deep finish to the appearance of the Marble and hardens on the surface to provide durable surface protection. Hopefully

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Polishing Tumbled Marble

17th March 2017 Reese Mackie 0 Comments cleaning services, Dewlish, Dorchester, Dorset, floor maintenance, marble tiles, sealing tiles, Tile Cleaning, tile restoration, tiled floor, tumbled marble floor

This 50m2 Tumbled Marble tiled floor in Dewlish, near Dorchester had not been deep cleaned and re-sealed for at least five years and showed signs of the normal wear and tear associated with a busy kitchen/dining room and a dog that enjoyed muddy walks. The old sealer was now breaking down allowing dirt to become ingrained in the Marble making it difficult to clean. Stripping a Tumbled Marble Floor To restore the surface finish it needed to be burnished using a set of diamond encrusted burnishing pads. The pads come in a number of different grades from coarse (used to strip off sealers and dirt from the Marble) too very fine (used for final polishing) and are applied one after another starting with the coarse pad and moving through to the very fine pad towards the end. Each stage requires a little water which captures the soil and is rinsed away and removed with a wet vacuum. This process completely removed the old sealer and surfaces scratches with a new shine. The floor was given a thorough wash down at this point again using a wet vacuum to remove as much water as possible from the surface before leaving it to dry for the evening. Sealing Tumbled-Marble Tiles The next day the Marble had dried and I started to seal the tiles using two coats of Tile Doctor Colour Grow sealer

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Repolishing Marble tiles in a Hallway

16th March 2017 Reese Mackie 0 Comments cleaning services, floor restoration, marble floor, marble tiles, sealing marble tiles, Tile Cleaning, tile polishing, tiled floor, Trowbridge, wiltshire

The owner of this polished Marble Tiled hallway at a house in Trowbridge was unhappy with the look of their floor which had become dull and scratched and wanted the floor re-polishing. Apologies in advance for the pictures below on reflection I should have taken some close-up shots so you could see the problem better. Cleaning Marble Tile and Grout The first step first was to give the floor a general clean focusing on the grout lines so I started by mixing a mild dilution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean which is an alkaline based product that is safe to use on Marble. The solution was brushed around the floor concentrating on getting the product into the grout lines. I left this to dwell for 5-10 minutes before scrubbing with stiff grout brush. Once the grout lines were cleaned the dirty solution was removed with a wet vacuum and the tiles rinsed thoroughly with clean water. Polishing Marble Tiles The next step was to burnish the floor using a coarse diamond encrusted pad fitted to a rotary machine. This is used with clean water to remove surface scratches and any sealer that may be present. Once the water has turned to slurry after 4 passes of each tile I would remove with a wet vacuum and rinsed thoroughly. One that step was completed the process is repeated using the Medium,

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Dull Marble Tiles Re-polished

14th March 2017 Reese Mackie 0 Comments cleaning services, cleaning tiles, Edinburgh, floor polishing, floor restoration, hallway floor cleaning, kitchen cleaning, marble tiles, tile maintenance, tiled floor

Details below of a Marble Tiled floor installed in the hallway and kitchen of a house in Edinburgh. The tiles were in good physical shape but had lost their polished appearance over time resulting in a dull un-appealing finish. This is not unusual for polished stone especially in high traffic areas such as hallways and kitchens. Cleaning Marble Floor Tile and Grout Our first job was to give the floor a general clean to remove grime and dirt especially along the grout lines. This was done by applying a strong dilution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean which is left to dwell on the floor before being scrubbed in, Pro-Clean is an alkaline cleaner so it’s safe to use on tile and stone unlike acidic cleaners which can damage the surface of the stone over time. The now dirty cleaning solution was removed using a wet vacuum and the floor given a rinse using water. Marble Tiled Floor Polishing The next step was to burnish the Marble which is a process that removes ingrained dirt and brings up the polish on the tile. The process involves the application of four diamond pads in sequence; you start with the coarse pad together with a little water and this cuts through and removes surface grime and any surface seal. You then progress through the other finer pads one by one until you get to the

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Marble Tiled Floor Cleaned and Sealed

13th March 2017 Reese Mackie 0 Comments cleaning marble tiles, cleaning services, floor restoration, Hampshire, marble floors, marble tiles, Petersfield, sealing marble tiles, Tile Cleaning, tile maintenance, tiled floor

This polished Marble tiled floor was installed in a house in the old market town of Petersfield. The tile and grout was in good condition but like all polished stone floors they will go dull after a period of time and require burnishing and polishing to restore shine. Cleaning Marble Floor Tiles We gave the floor a quick sweep and wash down with a dilution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean partly to ensure any surface grit etc. was removed but also so we could get a stiff grout brush in along the grout lines and give them a clean. Once done the floor was rinsed down with water which was removed with a wet vacuum, once done we moved straight onto burnishing the floor to restore the polish. Burnishing requires the application of a little water so there was no need to wait for it to dry. Burnishing requires the application of four different diamond encrusted graded pads in sequence working from coarse which removed old sealers and dirt through to medium, fine and super fine pads which build up the polish on the floor. The floor requires a rinse in-between each pad to remove any slurry and water is extracted from the floor using the wet vacuum, after the super fine pad we removed as much water from the floor as possible and left it to dry overnight ready for sealing the next day.

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