Flagstone Tile Cleaning Archives - Northamptonshire Tile Doctor

Flagstone Floor Before After Restoration Olney

Flagstone Kitchen Floor Deep Cleaned and Sealed for Olney Landlord

I was contacted by the owner of the property near Olney, on the border of Northamptonshire, who was renting the house out whilst he worked abroad. The flagstone floors on the ground floor were grubby and the tenants were struggling to keep them clean. I guess being a rental property the tenants didn’t want to be blamed for the condition of the floors when they eventually left.

I was asked to pop round to the property, meet the tenants, inspect the floors, and come up with a plan to resolve the issues. It was clear to me that the flags had not been sealed when laid and as a result dirt had become trapped in the pores of the stone making it difficult to shift. With the owner abroad all correspondence was done over the internet and so I sent over an email to explain the problem and included a quote to resolve the issues. Happy to have the problem resolved and with quote I got the go-ahead.

Deep Cleaning Sandstone Kitchen Flagstones

The work was carried out over two days with day one for cleaning and the second for sealing. Cleaning started by spraying the flagstones using a 3:1 dilution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean using a pump-up sprayer. This was left to soak in for ten minutes and then agitated using a rotary machine fitted with a black scrubbing pad. This process generates a lot of soiling as the dirt is released from the pores of the stone which is rinsed off the floor and extracted with a wet vacuum.

The next process was to give the grout a good scrub using 10:1 dilution of Tile Doctor Grout Clean-up. This was applied to the grout lines throughout and scrubbed in by hand using stiff grout brushes to remove any stubborn stains. The entire area was then rinsed using water and extracted with the wet vacuum as before. The vacuum was used to remove as much moisture from the floor as possible and then they were left to dry off overnight. I also make use of an industrial air mover to speed up drying times as I work.

Sealing Sandstone Flagstones

I returned the following day to seal the flagstones but before starting I checked the moisture levels in the flagstones with a damp meter. The readings were fine so I proceeded to apply the first of three coats of Tile Doctor Colour Grow sealer, allowing each coat to fully dry before applying the next.

As well as providing protection from dirt and stains this product enhances the natural colour in stone and being an impregnator that soaks into the pores will work well in a demanding kitchen environment. Additionally, Colour Grow is fully breathable which is an important feature when sealing tiles in an older period property like this one which will have been built without the benefit of a damp proof membrane.

I sent before and after photographs to the landlord as he was abroad, he was very pleased with the job and told me the tenants had contacted him to tell him how happy they were with the process and the finished result and even left the following feedback on my web site.

I’ve had a large number of tradespeople work on my house in the last few years and Phil is up there with the best of them. Many trades don’t do comms well, but Phil does: he’s easy to reach, easy to communicate with and quickly understood what needed doing – and just did it, exactly how we wanted and to a very high standard. Highly recommended.

Grout Haze removed from a Sandstone tiled floor in Northamptonshire

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Clean and Seal a Flagstone Floor in Long Buckby

A client in the village of Long Buckby called us out to look at her Flagstone floor that needed some love and attention. As you can see in the pictures the floor was looking very dull which was due to dirt becoming ingrained in the pores of the stone.

The Flagstone tiles were installed in the dining room and well suited the look of the period property. Long Buckby is a small village with a long history that dates to the Vikings and is situated midway between Rugby and Northampton, so not too far from my base over in Rushden.

Flagstone Floor Before Cleaning Long Buckby

I went over to inspect the floor and could see the Flagstone and grout was in need of deep clean to extract the dirt. It looked as if they had never been sealed since installation which according to the owner was many years ago. With no sealer to protect the pores of the stone it wouldn’t have been long before the build-up of dirt had become unsightly in the high traffic areas. I discussed with the client the best way to clean the floor and we agreed a price for the work to be done, booking it in for the following week.

Cleaning and Restoring a Flagstone Tiled Dining Room Floor

To start I decided to apply a dedicated cleaning agent, Tile Doctor Pro-Clean. The cleaning solution was sprayed onto the floor and then left to soak in for about twenty minutes. It was then agitated with a buffing machine fitted with a black scrubbing pad and also with stiff brushes run along the grout lines. The soiled solution was then extracted using a wet vacuum and the floor rinsed with clean water and left to dry.

As the floor dried, we could see that the deep clean was a success and that we had managed to clean the floor and remove all the embedded dirt in one go. This is quite rare, and normally more work is required before it meets the standard we aim for. The floor was left to dry overnight in preparation for the all-important sealing process.

Sealing a Flagstone Tiled Dining Room Floor

Returning the following day, we checked the floor was dry enough to seal with a moisture meter. It met the acceptable level, so we sealed the floor with Tile Doctor Colour Grow which is an impregnating sealer that helps bring out the deep colour from within the flagstone.

Colour Grow also offers superior protection from everyday staining and will prevent dirt from reaching the pores of the stone so it keeps its appearance for some years to come. Another benefit is the sealer is breathable which is useful for older properties with no damp proof course membrane, as the sealer allows the floor to pass moisture from the sub floor. Three coats of sealer were applied, allowing each coat to dry before applying the next.

Flagstone Floor After Clean Seal Long Buckby

The client was over the moon with the result, as you can see from the pictures the floor was now looking good and should be easier for them to maintain.

For general cleaning and to get a longer life out of the sealer we recommended the use of Tile Doctor Neutral Tile Cleaner. It’s super concentrated product so a small amount product goes a long way.

Flagstone Tile Cleaning