I recently helped a homeowner from my home town of Dursley who got in touch about her kitchen Flagstone floor. The problem revolved around an accident she had with raspberries which had stained the flagstones and the problem became compounded when a house hold clearing product was applied neat to clean up the mess. If you follow any of our Tile Doctor blogs, you will know that using strong household cleaning products can damage the sealer and, in this case, it had left white marks on the floor. I called round to the property to survey the floor as was surprised to find out that the floor had been cleaned and sealed only four months prior by another company. I don’t like to comment on other people’s work, but I found the grout lines and flagstones were still badly ingrained with dirt, so it wasn’t a through job. I completed by survey and demonstrated the process I would follow to resolve the issues on one of the flagstone tiles. She could not believe the difference I was able to make and booked me in straight away to restore the entire floor. My first task was to protect the wooden kitchen units from splashing that can happen when cleaning the floor. Once that was done, I set about stripping the sealer from the floor and deep cleaning the tile and grout with a strong dilution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean. Pro-Clean is a concentrated, multi-purpose high-alkaline cleaner, stripper and degreaser which is safe to use on all types of tile, stone and grout including natural stone. Working in sections across the Kitchen and adjacent dining room I diluted one part Pro-Clean to two parts water and mopped it onto the flagstones and grout where I left it to soak in for roughly fifteen minutes. Then using a rotary floor buffer fitted with a black scrubbing pad I scrubbed the solution into the floor into the old sealer and trapped dirt came away turning the cleaning fluid black in the process. The soil was then rinsed off with water and then extracted with a powerful 3,000 watt wet and dry vacuum. This process was repeated until I was satisfied the floor was clean and I ran a stiff grout brush along the grout lines to ensure they also received a good scrub. After I was satisfied the section was clean it was rinsed thoroughly with water to neutralise the floor and remove any trace of product and then dried with the wet and dry vacuum. The cleaning process took up the whole day, but the flagstones would need to be dry before sealing so after giving the owner an update I left the floor for two days, so it could dry out thoroughly. On my return I tested the floor was dry in multiple places with a damp meter to ensure it was ready to be sealed. The readings showed that the wet and dry vacuum had done a good job in removing the moisture, so all was well. To seal I applied several coats of Tile Doctor Seal and Go allowing each coat to dry before applying the next however with such a large area to cover I was able to work in sections around the floor. Seal and Go works really well on Flagstones and leaves a very appealing sheen finish, also being water based it doesn’t leave a smell as it dries. The results were amazing, and the customer thanked me for making such a massive improvement on her floor. Before leaving I made sure to discuss after-care and to avoid the use of hash cleaning products. Malcolm Crowther Gloucester Tile Doctor

The picture shows an Travertine patio that was installed at a property in Hackney E5 around ten years ago and it had never been sealed. Over the year’s pollution and weather etc had taken its toll on the stone leaving the travertine stained with lichen, dull and grey as opposed to their original white/cream colour. Had the patio been sealed it would have provided some protection from the elements. I conducted an initial visit where I tested several products to see what would be the most effective and establish what was required. Using that knowledge, I followed up with a written quote which was accepted, and a date arranged to complete the work. We have adopted new working practices since the COVID-19 epidemic so we can work safely inside or outside but given the excellent weather this year this was an ideal and much easier to maintain social distancing. During day 1 on site I started by sweeping away loose stones and other debris you typically find on patios. Then Tile Doctor Patio and Brick Driveway cleaner was applied neat to the stone and left for two hours. This is a very strong product designed for use by professionals which cuts through the dirt and was ideal for this situation. There are certain precautions you do need to take when using it such as wearing PPE and you must keep it away from ponds etc. Using water to lubricate, the solution was then scrubbed into the stone using a coarse 200-grit pad fitted to a rotary machine and followed up with a lot of rinsing and extracting with water and a wet vacuum. To refine the surface after the coarse Travertine the 200-grit pad I followed with 400, 800 and then 1500-grit burnishing pads in sequence rinsing with water and extracting after each pad was applied. This process is known as burnishing and closes the pores in the stone giving it a polished appearance. By this point the Travertine looked way better and we were starting to get the smooth finish back. The weather held so the following morning a 3000-grit polishing pad was applied dry to the stone using only a little water. This brings up the appearance of the stone even further and has the added advantage of leaving it dry and ready for sealing. The client wanted a natural appearance so two coats of Tile Doctor Ultra Seal were applied to seal the stone. Ultra-Seal is an impregnating sealer that soaks into the stone, protecting it from within yet without changing the appearance of the stone leaving a completely natural look. The client very happy with job and now proud so show off her revamped patio. They hadn’t realised that the patio should have looked like this from the start. For aftercare I recommended they use Tile Doctor Stone Soap, many day to day cleaning products you find in supermarkets can strip off a sealer so if your using something else do check the label first. Jackson Davis East London Tile Doctor

The owner of this recently purchased property in the Berkshire village of Twyford had inherited a Jerusalem limestone floor that had been installed throughout the ground floor including the Kitchen. The previous owner hadn’t maintained the stone floor very well and as a result it had become dull, patchy and the new owner was finding it impossible to keep clean. The floor was becoming a problem for them and they had been considering ripping it all up and getting it replaced. However due to the size of the floor and potential cost of replacing it they searched for other solutions and contacted Tile Doctor to see if it could be renovated. I scheduled an appointment with the owners to survey the floor and it wasn’t long before I realised that we could achieve a great result by polishing the Limestone using a set of diamond burnishing pads. To prove how well I thought the floor would clean up I offered to complete a demo within the small utility room. This was arranged and completed a week later, as I expected once I had finished the demo the floor looked fantastic, more importantly the client was ecstatic with the results and couldn’t wait to book us in to complete the rest of the house. It was a large floor so I estimated the process would take 4-5 days to complete and would need to work in sections starting with the kitchen then progressing into the study and cloakroom, dining room and finishing off with the entrance hall. Thankfully I had an empty house to work in which helped as I could start sealing the area I worked on the prior day. The limestone had become quite pitted in the high traffic area, these pits had filled up with soil and become unsightly. My first task was to deep clean the dirt filled pits and grout, to do this I used a strong dilution of Tile Doctor Pro Clean and a stiff nylon brush making sure I could get into the pits releasing the dirt, then vacuuming up all the chemical slurry as I went along. The next task was to fill these pits I used a two-part epoxy filler that matched the colour of the stone. Once the filler had dried, I worked through the hand burnishing blocks from 100 grit to 400 and I smoothed out the areas that had been filled. Now the holes/pits had been filled I continued with the restoration of the floor by moving onto the burnishing process using diamond encrusted floor burnishing pads. This involves honing the Limestone with a set of burnishing pads starting at 400-grit. The pads are applied to the floor with a heavy floor buffing machine using water to lubricate the process. The pad is run over each tile around three times and the fine slurry this process generates is rinsed off afterwards with water and then extracted with a wet vacuum. You then move onto the 800-grit and then 1500-grit slowly building back the appearance of the stone. As I had worked in sections/rooms at a time I was able to allow a full day drying time before sealing. Happy with the depth of colour from the pad system I opted to seal the floor with two coats of Tile Doctor Ultra-Seal. I had a range of sealers to choose from an in this case I felt Ultra-Seal would be most suited as it doesn’t change the natural appearance of the Limestone yet will provide years of protection and make it much easier to keep clean. The owners were over the moon with how the limestone now looked and relieved that their problem floor had been restored. For aftercare cleaning I recommended Tile Doctor Stone Soap which is designed for maintaining the patina on polished stone floors. Dennis Buckland Berkshire Tile Doctor

Here’s an interesting work I recently completed on a red Quarry tiled floor at a house in the town of Abington, Northampton. In post-war Britain (more specifically in the 1940s and 1950s), many new homes were built with Quarry tiled hallways and kitchens, so quite a popular feature back then. These floors are typically quite hard wearing and therefore ideal for such high traffic areas; additionally they don’t need a great deal of maintenance but their appearance will degrade over time. In this particular house, the Quarry tiled floor had been covered with linoleum for many years, causing significant patches of visible black mould. The floor also had a loose tile (which I promptly reset to mitigate the potential tripping hazard) and splashes of paint due to a lack of precaution while the house was being renovated. Needless to say, the floor needed a lot of work. Before beginning the cleaning I made sure to vacuum up all of the loose debris from the floor. I then applied Tile Doctor Remove & Go to the tiles, left it to dwell for a short period, and then agitated the area with a black stripping pad, adding water to aid the process. This helped to break down any old and ineffectual sealer, along with the paint splashes marking the tiles, leaving a much cleaner and more refined appearance. I followed this up with Tile Doctor Grout Clean-Up to eliminate the odd speck of cement and grout haze dating back to when the floor was first installed; Gout Clean-up has an acid base so it’s not advised to leave it on the tiles for too long, consequently as soon as I was happy it had done the job I rinsed it off with water and give the floor a thorough wash down. I used a wet-vacuum machine to extract as much water as possible and gave the floor a once over with steam cleaner which improves the evaporation of any remaining moisture by heating up the tiles. After completing the cleaning process, I left the house to allow time for the floor to dry completely. Upon my return, I conducted a damp test which showed the floor needed to dry further before sealing so I left an industrial fan in place for a couple of hours to help speed things up. Once I was satisfied that the floor was dry enough to take the sealant, I sealed the floor using Tile Doctor Colour Grow which is an interesting product that will not only provide durable stain protection but also improves the natural colours of the tile. While the floor required a lot of time and work to restore, I think you will agree the results were certainly worth waiting for. Phil Vissian Northamptonshire Tile Doctor

This Limestone tiled floor installed in a kitchen and family room at a property in Wellingborough is a great example of how this material can lose its appearance without a regular maintenance plan in place. The customer called me as not only was she concerned that the floor had lost its lustre the grey grout had become very stained and almost black in heavy traffic areas, in fact my customer had originally asked about re-grouting but I was confident it could be cleaned. I provided a quote which they were happy to accept. The area was a nice wide 6 metre by 5 metre space and except for a few items of furniture that would need moving around there were relatively few obstacles. I reasoned the most efficient way to restore the polished appearance of the Limestone would be to use a set of diamond encrusted Burnishing Pads. These are fitted to a rotary machine and applied to the stone in sequence from coarse to smooth. It’s an effective process that cuts back the layer of dirt on the floor and then we build back up the polish. We started burnishing the Limestone with a coarse 400-grit pad fitted to a rotary machine and applied with a little water for lubrication. The coarse pad is very good at removing dirt and old sealers from stone and once completed the resultant surface water and loose dirt is removed using a wet vacuum. At this point I turned my attention to the badly stained grout lines, and applied a strong solution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean which was scrubbed in along the grout lines using a stiff grout brush, this is necessary as the recessed nature of the grout makes it difficult for the rotary pads to reach it. I then repeated the burnishing process with the medium 800-grit pad and fine 1500-grit pad, the 800-grit pad removes any small surface scratches and the 1500-grit further refines the look of the Limestone slowly restoring its polished appearance. After the whole floor had been burnished in this way it was given a further rinse with water and the soil extracted as before. I then inspected the floor to see if more work would be needed. I was not fully happy with how some of the grout lines had responded, some were still slightly stained, and some marks were visible in the high traffic areas. I had already discussed on my initial visit with the client that this might be the case and it was agreed between us that should this be the case I would apply a Tile Doctor Grout Colourant in Light Grey to recolour all the grout lines and achieve a uniform finish. The stone and grout was still damp from cleaning and polishing, so I decided to leave the grout colouring until the following day. On day two I started by grout recolouring all the grout lines, it’s a straight forward process but can be a little tedious where there is a lot of grout to cover. Once complete I allowed the grout colour to dry for a couple of hours before moving onto the next step. The last pad to be applied in the stone burnishing process is the very fine 3000-grit polishing pad which is applied dry to the tiles using a small amount of water sprayed onto the floor and leaves the stone dry and with a polished silk finish. The floor was then sealed using two coats of Tile Doctor Ultra Seal Sealant allowing the first coat to dry before applying the second. Ultra-Seal is an impregnating sealer that works by occupying the pores in the stone thereby preventing dirt from becoming ingrained there. It’s also a natural look sealer that doesn’t affect the appearance of the stone. My customer was very happy with the transformation of her floor and provided the feedback copies below. In-fact she was so impressed with the results that she also used our services to restore the grout and silicon in one of her bathrooms. “Phil was on time & easy to deal with and did an amazing job on my kitchen and bathroom floors and the carpets & sofa. No fuss, just a great job. Liz O.” Phil Vissian Northamptonshire Tile Doctor

Bridgwater is known to be one of Somerset’s liveliest towns. With a history dating back over 1000 years, it has many traditions, including a carnival which happens every November, and is hailed as the world’s largest illumination procession. What wasn’t looking lively, however, was this Limestone tiled kitchen floor at a house in the town. It had been laid five years previously but at the time of laying hadn’t been sealed with adequate amounts of sealer. As a result, the Limestone had absorbed a lot of wet footprints and other dirty stains. The sealer simply broke down after a while, leaving the homeowner with a floor that never looked clean no matter how much they cleaned it – using all kinds of products. In fact, the tiles looked blackened and mouldy, as you can see in the photos below. It was time for the homeowner to seek out professional assistance, so she decided to contact her local Tile Doctor. I was asked to completely restore the look of the floor – something the homeowner had deemed impossible at this point. In practice, I knew the floor could be restored using the right products and methods including a really deep clean and resealing with the right type of sealer for these tiles. I scrubbed in Tile Doctor Remove and Go, which is a powerful coatings remover which draws out ingrained stains and strips away any old sealer remaining on the tiles. The floor was then rinsed thoroughly with plain water to neutralise it, and the resulting soiled solution was extracted using a wet vacuum. I repeated the process on stubborn areas, eventually transforming the floor back to its natural and clean state. I allowed the Limestone to dry out completely overnight before returning to the property to seal the tiles. This is important as the slightest amount of excess moisture can damage the performance of the sealer, and we would’ve been back to square one! After checking with a damp meter, I could see everything was fine, so I proceeded to seal the floor with Tile Doctor Colour Grow, which is not only a robust impregnating sealer that will protect the floor going forward but also enhancing the natural colours in the stone at the same time. In the space of two days, the Limestone tiles had been completely transformed. Now it had been properly sealed, the floor will be much easier to clean and therefore should stay looking great for a long time to come. The customer was very happy to have finally resolved the problem with some assistance from the Somerset Tile Doctor! Dave Hurst Somerset Tile Doctor

I was recently asked to survey an unusual stone floor at a house in in Harrogate comprising of Slate inlaid with Granite. The client advised that it had not been cleaned properly for 20 years and wanted it renovating! It was now definitely overdue a deep clean and professional attention. Fortunately, having worked on these floors for many years I knew I could make a substantial impact and transform its appearance. Fossilized slate is a beautiful stone when cleaned and sealed correctly. The owner confessed they had actually been sealing the floor every two years but without a deep clean first, so they were effectively sealing in the dirt each time. I discussed with them the process I would use to clean and re-seal the floor and we agreed a price to carry to out the work. To remove the layers of old sealer and dirt used a set of Tile Doctor Diamond Burnishing pads. The pads are attached to a rotary floor machine starting with the coarse 400-grit pad which was lubricated with a dilution of Tile Doctor Remove and Go to help strip the floor of dirt and layers of sealer. After rinsing and extracting the soil I worked through the different grades of pads in sequence finishing with the 1500-grit and this time using just water for lubrication. A set of diamond handheld burnishing blocks were then used to clean up the edges and corners where the large 17” pads struggle to reach. This ensures all areas are treated and free of dirt and old sealer. The floor was then rinsed and extracted again to remove the remaining soil. I find a wet vacuum is an invaluable tool for this. The floor was then left to dry out overnight ready for sealing the next day. I returned the next day to seal the floor, first checking with a damp meter that the floor was dry, and the moisture reading was below the acceptable level. These results were fine, so I had a green light to continue and seal the stone. The customer wanted a shine on the floor so rather than apply a satin sealer which I felt wouldn’t adhere to the stone properly I decided to polish the floor further with a the last of the four burnishing pads which is a very fine 3000-grit pad. You don’t need to use a lot of water with this last pad just a small amount sprayed onto the floor using a technique we refer to as a ‘Spray Burnish’. To seal the floor, two coats of Tile Doctor Colour Grow were applied. This is an impregnating matt sealer which intensifies the natural colours of this beautiful stone and provides long lasting durable protection. Even I was impressed with the finished result but more importantly the client was over the moon. To keep the floor looking its best I recommended they use Tile Doctor Stone Soap which is pH neutral. You should always read the label in detail when choosing a floor cleaning product as many are too strong and not recommended for sealed stone surfaces as they will prematurely erode the sealer. Nigel Stoker North West Yorkshire Tile Doctor

This client from Nantwich had a beautiful Travertine tiled floor installed in their very large kitchen and utility area. Realising that their tiles didn’t look as good as when they were installed, they got in touch to ask if I could clean and re-seal the tiles and grouting. I went over to survey the floor and could see the grout had darkened (it was originally white) and the travertine was trapping dirt in the natural pits of the stone. I conducted a test clean on the grout and Travertine which responded well, the client was impressed, and I was asked to do the whole floor. Happy with my quote for restoring the tile and grout we scheduled a date to do the work. Nantwich is a medieval market town in Cheshire, well known for its Tudor and Georgian architecture. It has one of the highest concentrations of listed buildings in England and many of these properties have very old floors. We scheduled in a date for the work, and I began by cleaning the floor with a strong solution of Tile Doctor Remove and Go worked into the grout and pitting with hand brushes. I then used a wire brush on the grout to get it really clean. The soiled solution was rinsed off with water and extracted with a wet vacuum. Once done the Travertine was burnished using a series of Tile Doctor burnishing pads from 400 through to 1500-grit attached to the rotary machine, rinsing with water in between to remove the soiling. The pads are encrusted with diamond and after being worked over each pad three times do an amazing job of removing ingrained dirt and bringing up the polish on the stone. The floor needs to be dry before I can apply the sealer so once the burnishing was done, I gave it a final finish and extracted as much moisture as possible with the wet vacuum. The Travertine was left to dry off overnight and I returned the next day to apply a sealer, first checking the floor was dry with a damp meter. The readings were acceptable, so I was able to get on with the sealing. My client had requested a natural finish, so I had recommended Tile Doctor Ultra-Seal which is almost invisible sealer that provides protection but doesn’t change the look of the stone. Only a couple of coats are required and being an impregnating sealer, it works by soaking into stone and occupying the pores so dirt can’t become ingrained there. Once the sealer had dried the floor looked so much cleaner and I had a very happy customer who left the following feedback: “Kamilla has totally transformed our tumbled travertine kitchen floor. It looks like new again, we are so pleased. Kamilla explained the whole process and was a pleasure to deal with. We are delighted with the end result, Kamilla worked so hard, would highly recommend.” For aftercare cleaning and maintenance, I recommended they use Tile Doctor Stone Soap which is pH neutral and mild enough to use every day. You must be careful when choosing a cleaner for sealed floors as many products are too strong and will reduce the lifespan of the sealer. Kamila Logonzy East Cheshire Tile Doctor

The tiles shown in the photographs below are classic distressed Black and White Italian Marble installed in the kitchen of a property in Bamber Bridge which is South of Preston. Some of the tiles had an issue with loose grout which I suspect was due to the suspended wooden floor and a small amount of movement had resulted in the grout cracking. Ideally more support would be needed under the floor to prevent this, in the meantime however I recommended removing the grout and replacing with a flexible grout product that could cope with the movement. The tiles also needed a clean, polish and reseal so it made sense to address the issue with the grout as part of the work. Working as a two-man team we started by cleaning the floor with a set of diamond burnishing pads starting with a coarse 400-grit, followed by 800 and 1500 grit. Water was used to lubricate the process and the floor was rinsed with water between pads with the fine slurry generated by the process extracted using a wet vacuum. These pads remove ingrained dirt and then slowly refine the appearance of the Marble building up its polished appearance in the process. The next step was to rake out all the grout which as discussed was compromised and needed replacing. We had to be very careful when removing the grout due to the electric heating mat under the floor, any damage to that would require ripping the floor up. With the old grout removed and the floor cleaned the floor was then grouted using Mapei Ultra-colour which is a flexible and fully waterproof grout more than suitable for this situation. Between us we managed to pack a lot into day one which was tough, however with the hardest tasks out of the way day two should be a lot easier. Day two started with an initial clean making sure to remove any excess grout smeared on the surface that can affect the look of the tile if not removed. This was followed by the application of the last of the set of burnishing pads which is a 3,000-grit pad that really brings up the polish on the marble. You only need a small amount of water sprayed onto the floor when applying this last pad so by late morning the floor was dry and ready for sealing. The customer wanted a better sheen appearance than they previously had, fortunately we find the Diamond burnishing pads do this well, they also tighten up the pores of the stone as well which means less sealer is needed. The floor was then sealed with Tile Doctor Colour Grow which is an impregnating sealer that improves colour and soaks into the stone occupying the pores and thereby preventing dirt from becoming ingrained. Once complete the floor looked great and the client was very happy. Sealers and Polish do wear down with use over time so before leaving I discussed our annual maintenance plan option which will ensure the appearance of the Marble floor always looks good. The plan involves returning once a year to further polish the floor with a high-grade burnishing pad and to add more sealer if required. We also discussed the use of Tile Doctor Stone Soap for regular cleaning, it is a pH neutral cleaner which is ideal for stone floors like Marble which are acid sensitive. Russell Taylor Lancashire Tile Doctor

I was contacted by a homeowner who had moved into a property in the small Yorkshire market town of Masham and discovered a Victorian tiled floor under the hallway carpet. Realising this was a valuable period feature he was keen to see if it could be restored. As you can imagine he was delighted when I told him that it should be possible, and he was keen to get it uncovered and back on show. After discussing the floor on the phone, I visited the property and removed the carpet so we could take a long look at the Victorian tile’s underneath. The carpet had protected the floor well and it was in good physical order, (i.e. no cracks etc.) it was just very dirty but was also marked with paint splashes from some untidy decorating work from the past. I confirmed none of these issues should present a problem and got the go ahead for the work to start. There was no sealer on the floor, so I started the cleaning process using a medium dilution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean which was worked into the tiles using a coarse 200-grit pad fitted to a rotary floor buffer. I then used a 400-grit hand-held diamond block to clean the edges which couldn’t be reached by the machine. This also removed the paint splashes which should have been on the skirting boards and not the floor! The floor was then rinsed with water and the soil extracted with a wet vacuum. I was able to inspect the floor at this stage and spot treat areas that needed more work as they were a little stubborn. It wasn’t a large hallway and except for the paint it only needed a light clean. The result was I was able to complete the cleaning process by lunch time. I dried the floor as much as possible and left an air blower in the space for a couple of hours. I returned later that afternoon and checked the floor for moisture using a damp meter. The floor was mostly dry, but some areas needed some more help with a heat gun. It was late summer and so still warm and so there was no need on this occasion to leave the floor overnight. Once I was happy the floor was dry, I started sealing the tiles with the first of four coats of Tile Doctor Seal and Go. This is a specially formulated water-based blend of acrylic polymers that provides both a stain resistant surface seal and a durable low-sheen finish. It is perfect for a floor of this age as it allows moisture vapour to pass through, this is an important feature when considering a sealer for old floors which will not have a damp-proof membrane installed. If you were to apply a non-breathable sealer moisture can get trapped under the floor causing it to spread out to the walls resulting in rising damp. The combination of the cleaning and new sealer brought the floor back to life and it now looked in keeping with the rest of the property which had numerous other period features. My client was over the moon with the difference and very happy to see the back of the grubby carpet. Nigel Stoker North West Yorkshire Tile Doctor

The owner of this period cottage in the old market town of Tadcaster near Leeds, had what was once a beautiful Yorkshire stone floor in the kitchen. It has been a long time since it had been given a proper clean so over the years and with the Kitchen being a high traffic area the whole floor including the grout had darkened and he now wanted it refurbished in time for Christmas. I visited the property to assess what needed to be done and could see straight away that any protective sealer that was once on the floor had long since worn off. In fact, it was so consistently dirty with years of built-up grease and dirt I had to wonder if one had ever been applied. I explained what the floor needed was a really deep intensive clean and then a sealer applied to make it easy to keep clean. The problem with most tile and stone is its porosity and if left unprotected dirt easily becomes lodged into its pores making cleaning a struggle. To prove the difference that can be achieved and to allow me to work out a process on which I could base an accurate quote I ran a test clean on part of the kitchen floor. The test clean went very well, the difference was remarkable, and the cleaned section really stood out. Pleased with the potential of a clean floor they accepted my quote, and we pencilled a date in the diary. I returned on the appointed date and began by removing the kickboards from under the kitchen units to protect them from splashing. Next, I set about spaying the floor with a strong dilution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean, this is a purpose made tile and grout cleaner that eats into the grease and dirt so it can be removed. This product works best if you leave it for ten minutes before scrubbing in using a heavy-duty machine fitted with a heavy-duty brush. The soil released from the floor was then extracted using a wet vacuum. The Pro-Clean did a good job on the grout however it was clear something stronger was required to really get the stone clean, so I stepped up a gear and applied Tile Doctor Remove and Go using the same process as before. This is a really good product for removing deeply ingrained grease and dirt. The final step of the cleaning process was to give the stone and acid wash using Tile Doctor Grout Clean-Up to remove old grout haze and other mineral deposits; additionally, being an acidic product, it counters the alkaline cleaning products used earlier neutralising the pH level of the floor and leaving it ready for sealing. Before sealing I like to discuss the different products available and the finishes they can provide. In this case my clients’ main concerns were that they wanted the stone to look natural and easy to maintain going forward. With this in mind, Tile Doctor Seal & Go Extra was chosen, it’s a modern acrylic-based sealer that brings out the natural colours in the stone and gives a very slight smooth finish. The protection it provides will prevent dirt becoming ingrained int the pores of the stone and ensure the floor is easier to maintain. Several coats were applied, until we achieved the required finish. The deep cleaning process and fresh sealer transformed the stone floor bringing out its original beauty and my customer couldn’t believe the difference in the floor and was highly delighted. For aftercare I gave the client a bottle of Tile Doctor Neutral Cleaner, this product is pH neutral so it will clean the floor but won’t damage the sealer. Often people use household cleaners for cleaning tiled floors, but due to the strong chemicals they contain, they can do more harm than good by slowly stripping away the protective sealer and taking the floor back to square one. Tile Doctor Neutral Tile Cleaner is reasonably priced, and the concentrated formula means a small amount goes a long way so it’s well worth using. This was a pleasurable job for me as it was good to see the floor transform from dull and lifeless to clean and showing the natural colour and beauty of the York stone, and always lovely to have another satisfied client. Simon Testa North East Yorkshire Tile Doctor

The pictures below are of a multi coloured sandstone floor installed at a property in East Keswick which is a village approximately halfway between Harrogate and Leeds. (Not to be confused with the more famous Keswick in the Lake District) The stone floor had not been cleaned professionally for ten years and although the grout looked clean It was clear that any sealer that was once present had long since worn off leaving the stone unprotected. The result was dirt had become deeply ingrained in the Sandstone leading causing the stone to darken and hide its true beauty and rich colouring. The client had tried lots of different products to clean the floor but had not had any luck. I visited the property and carried out a few successful patch tests resulting in the floor becoming much cleaner. They were happy to go ahead with my quote and we arranged a time to return and complete the work. I prepared the area before starting, taping up the skirting boards and doors to protect them from the splashing that can happen during the intensive cleaning process. To get the sandstone clean I applied a medium dilution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean to the floor and allowed it to soak in for ten minutes. The solution was then worked into the Sandstone using a rotary floor machine fitted with a black scrubbing pad. More Pro-Clean was applied with a hand-held scrubbing brush to get deep into the grout lines and to reach into the corners. Once done the floor was rinsed with water and the soil extracted with a wet vacuum. The floor was inspected, and the process repeated until I was satisfied that the stone and grout had released all the trapped dirt. After a final rinse, the wet vacuum was used to get as much moisture out of the stone as possible and then the floor left to dry out fully overnight. Returning the following morning, I first checked that the floor was dry using a damp meter. The sealer won’t cure if there is any moisture in the stone and I’ve been known to reschedule sealing a floor if the readings are too high. On this occasion I was satisfied that the floor was within acceptable levels, so I was ready to seal the floor. I used three coats of Tile Doctor Colour Grow to seal the floor, this is an impregnating sealer which intensifies natural colours whilst providing durable protection against stains, an essential feature in an area such as a hallway which is subject to constant foot traffic. As you can see from the photos the transformation was quite impressive, the floor became much lighter and almost unrecognisable, the natural colours of the stone were now visible, and the floor looked beautiful. The client was very happy with the end result and has said they would not hesitate to recommend me to others. Nigel Stoker North West Yorkshire Tile Doctor

Potting mixes for container gardens need to drain freely, but still retain moisture. My base potting soil mix contains (clockwise from upper left) coarse builder's sand, high-quality organic compost or worm castings, coconut coir, and small lava rock. I supplement this with additional compost, fresh worm castings, and organic soil amendments, with the amounts varying depending on what I'm planting. Photo by Steve Masley

This customer in Henfield was contemplating digging up her Terracotta kitchen floor and replacing it, the tiles were ingrained with dirt which had proved impossible to remove and as a consequence were left looking flat, dull and very un-appealing. Additionally she had an elderly dog that had been ill several times in the corner area and she really struggled to make it look decent again. Following a quick test I was able to persuade her to try a clean and re-seal first. The first step was to deep clean the floor to remove the ingrained dirt and any previous sealers. As well as the dog I had two rugby playing sons to deal with so to make it easier for the family I split the floor up into areas and worked on one area at a time. The tiles were first soaked in a strong solution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean before scrubbing it into the tile and grout with a black pad fitted to a buffing machine. The tiles were rinsed, the now dirty cleaning solution extracted and the process repeated until I was happy that the Pro-Clean had done its trick and the floor was as clean as it could be. The Terracotta tiles now looked clean but completely washed out so I assured the customer that once the tiles had been sealed the colour would return and more. Unsealed Terracotta marks easily so given I left the customer dust sheets to walk on. I returned after two days to ensure any moisture had left the tile and proceeded to seal with six coats of Tile Doctor Pro-Seal which is highly recommended for use in food preparation areas and gives a high gloss finish whilst providing maximum stain protection. As each coat takes 40 minutes to dry I took the opportunity to clean her slate front door step as well. The customer was very happy with the finished floor and I’m glad to report she has decided to keep the floor.

This customer had just moved into a property in Chesham around eighteen months ago. During that time, they had completely renovated the property and in the process had pulled up the hallway carpet to discover a lovely Victorian tiled floor which appeared to be in good condition but very dirty. Period features like these can add a lot of value to a house these days and so they decided to investigate having it professionally cleaned and contacted me for a quote. Although I can give some indication of price over the phone you never know exactly what to expect so my preference is to visit the property a conduct a test clean. It’s a little trickier to do this now due to COVID-19 but using a combination of PPE, maximum ventilation and social distancing measures I was able to work on the floor. The tiles were in good order with no replacements needed so my focus would be removing carpet adhesive and ingrained dirt. The test went well, and I followed up with a quotation which was accepted, and a date arranged to do the work. I had worked out previously that the quickest was to deep clean the floor and remove the glue and any old seal was to apply Tile Doctor Remove and Go which as its name suggests is a coatings removed designed for Tiled floors. My method was to spray strong a dilution of Remove and Go onto the Victorian tiles and leave it to soak in for fifteen minutes. Then it was scrubbed in with a black scrubbing pad fitted to a rotary machine. The soil was rinsed off using a minimal of water and extracted with a wet vacuum. Once the floor had dried, I inspected the tiles and could see more work would be needed to get the white tiles really sparkling. For this I went over the floor using a 200-grit resurfacing pad using water to lubricate the process, I also used handheld burnishing blocks of different grits to do the edges. With this extra effort and another rinse with water to remove the soil the floor looked great, and so I left for the day so it could dry out ready for sealing. I came back the next day and started by taking moisture readings with a damp meter to ensure the tiles were dry and ready for sealing. This is important as you don’t want to apply sealer to a damp tile and old floors can suffer from damp issues due to the lack of a damp proof membrane. All was well with the floor, so I was able to move straight onto sealing which started with the application of a single coat of Tile Doctor Colour Grow. This is an impregnating sealer that soaks into the pores of the tile enhancing colour and adding protection. Once this had dried, I followed up with another seven coats of Tile Doctor Seal and Go which adds further protection and leaves a nice subtle sheen to the tiles. This product works really well on old Victorian Tiles like these and being water based it doesn’t leave a smell as it dries. Andrew Newstead South Buckinghamshire Tile Doctor

This Terracotta tiled floor was installed in the kitchen of a cottage in the small village of Maidford near Towcester. The tiles were not looking their best and the owner of the property realised it was time to do something about it and contacted Tile Doctor to have the floor stripped and resealed. Stripping and Sealing tile and stone floors is our bread and butter so I was more than happy to pop round and survey the floor which was approximately 9m2. The grout had darkened with dirt and the previous tile sealer was failing so dirt was now getting ingrained in the Terracotta making it difficult to clean in places and leading to a patchy appearance. We discussed the work involved, my quote was accepted, and a date agreed for me to return and complete the work which would take two days, one to clean and one to seal. After tidying up the Kitchen and removing the kickboards from underneath the kitchen units I set about working on cleaning and stripping the Terracotta floor of old sealers. To start I tested a small area with a strong dilution of Tile Doctor Wax Away. Wax was quite often used on Terracotta so I figured this product would be a good place to start. My suspicions were proved correct, and I found this to be the best product for removing the many layers of sealant on the floor. Wax Away is a new alkaline product by Tile Doctor and ideal for cleaning clay-based tiles such as Terracotta. With my sights set on the rest of the floor Wax Away was scrubbed into the tile using a 17” rotary floor scrubbing machine and a black scrubbing pad running on a slow speed which helps to reduce splashing. This activity soon brought the dirt off the floor and the soiled cleaning solution was removed using a wet vacuum and the floor was rinsed down with clean water. The cleaning process was repeated a couple of times until I was happy with the floor, a stiff hand brush was then used along the grout lines with a dilution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean to clean up the grout. After rinsing and extracting the floor again the floor was inspected, and I noticed there were a few stubborn paint splashes on the tiles. I managed to remove these and these by spot treating the affected area with Tile Doctor Remove and Go and a steamer to lift the stain out of the clay tile. Once happy the floor was clean it was given a thorough rinse to neutralise it and remove any trace of cleaning products and then left it to dry. I allowed the floor to dry for several days before returning to seal the Terracotta using numerous coats of Tile Doctor Seal and Go which is an ideal sealer for Terracotta and provides durable stain protection together with a low sheen finish. Terracotta is by its nature very porous and so it’s not unknown for it to take up to nine coats of sealer, which can take some time to apply as like paint you have to wait until it’s dry before it will take the next coat. The customer was so impressed by the results I achieved in their kitchen they decided to go ahead and book me in to carry out this process throughout the whole of the ground floor which included lounge, study and hallway. Phil Vissian Northamptonshire Tile Doctor

This job was carried out in a terraced property in Llanelli which had a Victorian Tiled Hallway laid in a diamond pattern that looking worse for wear and in need of some attention. The clients were a young couple who had moved in two years previously and had only recently decided they wanted the floor renovated. This was earlier in the year, so I was able to pop over to the property and take a detailed look at the floor before recommending a course of action to renovate the tiles. Upon arrival the first thing we noticed was that the border had been laid with an inconsistent pattern, non- matching tiles had been patched in essentially filling voids as you can see in the images. The floor wasn’t terribly dirty however it wasn’t very clean either. I discussed with the client replacing the non-matching tiles, so the floor pattern was uniform however they decided against it and were happy to just to have it cleaned and sealed. We can usually source either reclaimed original tiles or some great reproduction ones, so most floors can be restored if needed. I worked out a quote for the work and they were happy to go ahead. If you have never been you should know that Llanelli is the largest town in the county of Carmarthenshire and famous for Rugby and the production of Tin. It is located on the Loughor Estuary, some 10 miles from Swansea and 12 miles from Carmarthen. With no tiling to do the first job was to protect the woodwork such as skirting and staircase with tape. Once done the process of cleaning began with the application of a 400-grit burnishing pad fitted to a buffing machine. The process is lubricated with water and the pad run over the whole floor two to three times to remove dirt and refine the appearance of the tile. Even after the first application of the pad we could see a massive improvement to the appearance of the tiles. To get right into the edges of the tiled floor we use a 400-grit handheld diamond block, this proved especially useful under the stairs where our buffer machine could not reach. During this process, the water turns into a fine slurry which is rinsed off with more water and extracted with a wet vacuum. On this occasion the floor was not dirty enough to require any chemicals, the use of water and the machine was enough to get the floor cleaned up. This job was very straight forward, and we did not run into any problems at all. After allowing the floor to dry out for 24 hours we returned to seal the tiles checking first that the floor was sufficiently dry first using a damp meter. Fortunately, the burnishing method uses a lot less water than a chemical clean, so I was able to get straight on with sealing. The client wanted a satin sheen finish, so I applied four coats of Tile Doctors Seal and Go which works well on Victorian tiles. The sealer really put the life back into the tiles and will protect them from staining going forward. It will also make the floor much easier to maintain and keep it looking good for much longer. I’m pleased to say the owners were very happy with the floor and recommended us to one of their friends who we also did some work for. For aftercare I recommended the use of Tile Doctor Neutral Tile Cleaner. This is an everyday tile cleaning product that is sealer friendly and not prematurely reduce the life of the sealer which can happen with many household cleaning products which are simply too strong. Adrian Iacono Swansea Tile Doctor

This client from North London had recently bought a property in Highgate N6 and during renovation had discovered an original Victorian tiled floor in the hallway. The floor was laid in a classic black and white diamond pattern but unfortunately a large section was missing and had been filled with concrete. Furthermore, most of the remaining floor had been covered in cement and glue. I carried out a survey of the floor to determine the main issues and was then able to email over a quote later that day that included rebuilding the missing section of flooring. I suspect the floor had been excavated at some point in the past to install central heating and then rather than have the excavated section restored it was simply back filled and then levelled with a cement screed before finally gluing down a carpet on top. Once the quote was accepted, I sourced replacement tiles from the Vintage Floor Tile company. Situated in Kent they are a reclamation yard that specialises in supplying original geometric and encaustic tiles including the major historical makers such as Minton and Craven Dunnill. Armed with replacement tiles I started by removing the concrete that had been used to backfill the missing section and prepare a new surface for tiling with quick drying cement. When ready I was able to carefully build back the original pattern using the replacements. The tiles were secured with tile adhesive and once that had gone off, they were grouted. The floor was left to set fully overnight and then the next day I was able to return and clean the whole floor using a strong dilution of Tile Doctor Remove and Go. As usual this was left to soak into the tiles for a good ten minutes before being scrubbed into the tiles using a black scrubbing pad. The Tile Doctor Remove and Go did a good job of cleaning the floor and the cleaning solution soon turned black with dirt during the scrubbing. The floor was rinsed with water and the soil extracted with a wet vacuum. After inspecting the floor any areas that needed further work were hand scrubbed and rinsed again until I was happy the floor was clean. The last part of the cleaning process was to give the tiles an acid wash using Tile Doctor Acid Gel which further cleans the floor by removing old cement residue and grout haze. It also neutralises efflorescent salts in the tiles which are a common issue with floors of this age with no damp proof membrane. After another rinse and extraction, the floor was given a final rinse and then dried as much as possible using the wet vacuum. I left the floor to dry out for a couple of days before returning to apply a protective sealer. Tile and Stone should be dry before sealing so I use a damp meter first to double check. All was well so to seal the tiles I proceeded to apply the first of what would be three coats of sealer. I used Tile Doctor Colour Grow for this, it works by impregnating the tile occupying the pores and thereby preventing dirt from becoming ingrained there. This product also enhances the black and white colour of the tiles and makes the floor much easier to clean. Once done the floor was transformed and needless to say my customer was very pleased with the result. For the aftercare of Victorian Tiled floors, I recommend the use of a ph neural tile cleaner such as Tile Doctor Neutral Cleaner; most supermarket tile cleaners are simply too strong for use on sealed floors and can strip off the sealer prematurely. Andrew Newstead North London Tile Doctor

The pictures show a large Limestone floor laid through much of the ground floor of a property situated on the outskirts of York seventeen years prior. The owners had three dogs that slept in their own doggy room. The floor in this room was in the worst condition of the five rooms as it had been subject to significant wear and tear. The Limestone tiles looked dull with ingrained dirt and the grout was stained and patchy. The original tiler had laid the floor well, but he had applied a satin topical sealer to the stone most of which had worn off over the years. A floor like this would need a little maintenance and the sealer reapplying from time to time to maintain it. I completed a test clean for the client to show them what could be achieved which came out well. Happy with the result they accepted my quote for the restoration work, and we booked in a suitable time to complete the work. The area was quite large, so I separated the job into rooms and started by protecting the skirtings and woodwork from splashing etc. I decided to do a chemical clean first to remove what was left of the old sealer but more importantly to give the grout a thorough clean which was making the floor look scruffy. For this I opted to apply a strong dilution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean which was left to dwell for a short while and then worked in with a mechanical rotary cleaner. It gets to work on the ingrained dirt and sealer. It should also help to get rid of the doggy smells. This process turns the cleaning solution black and is then extracted using a wet vacuum keeping the mess to a minimum. I paid particular attention to the grout which was deeply discoloured and found that some areas required going over a couple of times to get them clean. I was only just getting started on the cleaning but immediately the floor was looking so much better. I then deep cleaned the Limestone with a set of diamond burnishing pads, working in sequence from the 400 grit through to 1500 grit. A small amount of water was used to aid the lubrication and after each pad have been over the entire area few times the solution is rinsed off with more water and extracted with the wet vacuum. The floor came back to almost new and as the client wanted a satin finish, I ended by applying a 3000-grit pad to add a deeper polish to the Limestone. The floor was then left overnight to dry. The last step of polishing with the 3000-grit pad already leaves the floor quite dry however I always like to check before sealing so just to be sure I took some reading with a damp meter. The readings were fine, so I started applying the first of two coats of Tile Doctor Ultra Seal to finish the floor. This is an impregnating sealer (as opposed to the previous topical sealer) that soaks into the stone protecting it from within but without affecting its appearance. This product was chosen in consultation with the client who was specific about how they wanted to floor to look. The floor now looked superb. Both the client and l were very pleased with the finished floor and so where the dogs! For aftercare I recommended Tile Doctor Stone Soap which is designed for cleaning polished stone floors like these, it’s a gentle stone cleaner that helps maintain the patina and ideal for this type of floor. Nigel Stoker North West Yorkshire Tile Doctor