Marble Tile Cleaning Archives - Cambridge Tile Doctor

Marble Tiled Floor Before After Polishing Great Shelford

Lack Lustre Marble Floor Given a Deep Durable Shine in Great Shelford

This customer from village of Great Shelford south of Cambridge was unhappy with their Marble tiled floor which lost its lustre relatively quickly after being laid. Fortunately, she was given our contact details from a neighbour who we completed a Marble re-polish for a couple years ago and the floor still looks amazing.

Polished Marble Floor Before Polishing Great Shelford

Polished Marble will loose its appearance over time, especially in a Kitchen due to abrasion it receives from foot traffic and the use of the wrong cleaning product. Because of this problem Tile Doctor now offer a maintenance program where we make an annual visit to the property to re-polish the floor and top up the sealer.

After discussing the floor, I recommended we hone the Marble tiles with a set of burnishing pads which will bring back the polished appearance and then work in a crystallising powder to achieve a deep shine before applying a sealer to protect the stone going forward. This is the procedure we followed for her neighbour and she was happy to have the same.

Honing Marble Floor Tiles

Firstly, I removed the existing sealer and dirt with a 400-grit diamond burnishing pad which is applied with water to provide lubrication. Although this initially appears to make the floor look worse, this is only temporary and is the first step in restoring the appearance of the stone. Much to the amusement of a couple of Peacocks who appeared by the back door I rinsed the floor with water and removed the slurry from the floor with a wet vacuum.

Polished Marble Floor Visitors During Polishing Great Shelford

Then I worked my way through the 800-grit and 1500-grit burnishing pads again using water to lubricate and rinsing the floor and extracting after each pad. These finer pads start the process or re-polishing the stone and took up most of the day. Once done I gave the floor a final rinse, extracted the slurry and left the floor to dry off overnight.

Polished Marble Floor During Polishing Great Shelford

Sealing Marble Kitchen Tiles

The next day I returned and completed the polishing process by applying the fourth burnishing pad which is an extra fine 3000 grit pad, you apply the pad dry with only a little amount of water sprayed onto the floor in process we call a spay burnish and this final pad really brings up the polish in the Marble.

The next step was to apply Tile Doctor Shine Powder to the Marble. This is a crystallising powder that is worked into the floor using a White Buffing Pad to provide a very high shine and tough durable finish.

Once the polishing was completed, I set about applying the sealer which for this floor I chose Tile Doctor Colour Grow. This is a colour intensifying sealer that provides durable stain protection by impregnating the pores in the stone with sealer so dirt cannot become ingrained there. As you can see from the pictures the sealer dramatically enhanced the natural colours in the stone leaving my client much happier.

Polished Marble Floor After Polishing Great Shelford

Once dry I ran over the floor with the white buffing pad to remove any excess sealer and bring up the sheen of the tiles even further. For aftercare cleaning I recommended the use of Tile Doctor Stone Soap which is designed for the cleaning of polished sealed floor and will help maintain the patina.

Professional Restoration of a Marble Tiled Kitchen Floor in West Surrey

Lack Lustre Marble Floor Given a Deep Durable Shine in Great Shelford Read More »

Damaged Marble Tiled Bathroom Tiles Before and After Polishing Cambourne

Polishing Marble Tiles in an Opulent Cambourne Bathroom

1 Comment / Cambourne Tile Cleaning, Marble Tile Cleaning, Work History / Tom Conlon

We were asked to visit a property in Cambourne to look at restoring the appearance of the stone in an opulent marble tiled bathroom. Cambourne is a new area of Cambridge which has been developed over recent years with the creation of many new homes. The gorgeous bathroom design and layout of this home was was a key feature of the property.

The owner had employed a general cleaner to give their house a spring clean. Unfortunately, they had used inappropriate products whilst under taking the clean of the marble tiles in the bathroom which ruined its appearance. This is an easy mistake to make, people are often unaware that polished stone such as this should only be treated with specialist products. Many household cleaning products are too strong to be used on natural stone and can cause damage, so always read the label.

Marble Bathroom Tile Surround Cambourne Before Restoration

As you can see from the pictures, the products the cleaner used etched the surface of the marble ruining the polished appearance and they were at a loss to restore it.

Marble Bathroom Tiled Floor Cambourne Before Restoration

Restoring Polish to a Marble Tiled Bathroom

I wasn’t surprised to find that they couldn’t restore the polished appearance of the Marble, as a hard stone needs to be burnished to build up a polish. I suspected that the product the cleaner used on the stone much of been acid based as only an acidic product would have had this effect on the stone.

To restore the polished appearance of the Marble I used a set of six-inch diamond encrusted burnishing pads which come in 400, 800, 1500 and 3000 grit and are applied to the stone with a hand-held buffer. Starting with the coarse 400-grit pad I worked up through the series of pads gradually building up the polish; water was used to lubricate the polishing process and I rinsed the tiles in between with more water to remove the soil generated and used a wet vacuum to remove the resultant soil.

Normally I use this process to burnish stone floor tiles using much larger pads fitted to a floor buffer but within the restricted space of a bathroom this isn’t practical and so it did take some time to polish all the Marble tiles.

Sealing a Marble Tiled Bathroom

Once the stone had dried, we applied a couple coats of Tile Doctor Colour Grow which is a colour intensifying impregnating sealer that will provide durable protection going forward making it very easy to clean. One litre covers approximately 15m² to 20 m² (150 to 210 sq. ft.) so a small amount goes a long way.

Marble Bathroom Tiled Floor Cambourne After Restoration

Once complete the natural features of the marble really stood out and the bathroom looked stunning, certainly our client was over the moon with the results and much relieved the damage caused by the cleaner was resolved.

Marble Bathroom Tile Surround Cambourne After Restoration

To avoid further issues during cleaning we recommended the client use Tile Doctor Stone Soap going forward. This product has been specially formulated for the regular cleaning of polished stone, it helps build patina and will keep it fresh.

The client was so satisfied with our work they asked us back to complete a deep clean of the patio.

Professional Restoration of a Marble Tiled Bathroom in Cambridgeshire

Polishing Marble Tiles in an Opulent Cambourne Bathroom Read More »

Marble Tiled Kitchen Before and After Cleaning in St Neots

Dirty and Stained Marble Kitchen Tiles Rejuvenated in St Neots

1 Comment / Marble Tile Cleaning, St. Neots Tile Cleaning, Work History / Tom Conlon

St Neots is the largest town in Cambridgeshire, with a population of approximately 40,000 (Cambridge is after all a city). This is unsurprising, since the town has a long and rich history. In fact, archaeological evidence indicates that the area was home to settlements as early as the prehistoric Mesolithic period.

I was recently called out to a property in the area – which itself was relatively old – to see what could be done to restore the condition and appearance of a Marble tiled kitchen floor, stylised in a small and uniform square pattern. It appeared to me that the tiles had been installed for a long time – perhaps even laid down in the original construction of the property – and, in any case, had suffered many years’ worth of neglect.

The result? A very dirty and unappealing appearance and a very unhappy owner.

Marble Tiled Kitchen Floor Before Cleaning St Neots

Cleaning a Dirty Marble Tiled Kitchen Floor

Before beginning the restoration of the floor, I covered up the walls and kitchen units to protect from exposure to any of the cleaning products I would be using. I then started by cleaning the floor with Tile Doctor Remove and Go, which is a multi-purpose product. Remove and Go both cleans the stone and strips away any old sealer.

However, there were several areas of the floor which were affected by more deeply ingrained dirt and stains. To remove these, I needed to use a process which we call burnishing. This involves the application of diamond encrusted burnishing pads to grind away the damage layer of stone. I then used a truck-mounted pressure washing system to rinse the floor and remove all the excess slurry and chemicals.

Sealing a Marble Tiled Kitchen Floor

While burnishing can be used to achieve a high quality polished finish on stone such as Marble, Limestone and Travertine, the customer decided instead to have a more natural look for the floor.

Therefore, to seal the freshly cleaned Marble tiles, I applied two coats of Tile Doctor Colour Grow, which is an impregnating sealer that offers maximum protection and a matte finish that matches nicely with the rustic characteristics of the floor. As an impregnating sealer, Colour Grow penetrate deep into the pores of the stone to fill them and prevent dirt from becoming ingrained in the future.

Marble Tiled Kitchen Floor After Cleaning St Neots

The customer was amazed by the difference made to the condition and appearance of the floor, so much so that he has queried about getting more areas of the property cleaned in the future. Another satisfied customer.

Professional Tile Cleaning and Sealing for a Dirty and Stained Marble Kitchen Tiled Floor Restoration in St Neots

Dirty and Stained Marble Kitchen Tiles Rejuvenated in St Neots Read More »

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Cambridge Tile Doctor

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