Having an effective sealer in place is essential for ensuring the long term condition of tiled floors in fact a lack of sealer can make cleaning the tiles exceptionally difficult as the sealer prevents dirt becoming ingrained in the tile. This property owner, living in the former spa town of Matlock in Derbyshire, was experiencing problems with their Terracotta tiled kitchen floor since they had applied some kind of wax to act as a sealer, and this had worn off within a few weeks. After this happened the tiles were not sealed again, making cleaning a big problem. Terracotta is a highly porous stone and thus easily soaks in spillages and stains, and allows dirt to become very easily trapped. In this situation, the property owner resolved to contact me about some professional maintenance. I suggested that the tiles would need a deep clean followed by the application of a fresh, high quality sealer. The work was agreed on and I made my way down to the property the following week. When I arrived at the property and saw the tiles first hand it became clear that a professional clean had been in need for a long time: greasy looking stains were particularly prevalent and covered large areas of the kitchen floor. To remove I mixed a strong solution of Tile Doctor Pro Clean, which is a multi-purpose, high-alkaline cleaner, stripper and degreaser, and, working in small areas, applied it to the floor. Working in small sections was important because the stone is very porous and quickly soaked in any product laid down. I scrubbed the cleaner into the stone using a rotary machine fitted with a black scrubbing pad, with the dirt and stains coming away nicely. Pro Clean is highly versatile and can be used for similar cleaning purposes on most types of natural stone floor. After cleaning each section, I quickly removed the excess dirty water and chemicals with my wet vax machine. Once the whole floor had been cleaned I rinsed it several times with fresh water just to make sure all cleaning chemicals were gone. I then left the floor to dry completely for 36 hours. When I returned to the property, I conducted several damp tests to check for any areas of the floor that needed further drying. As is almost always the case, there were a few areas that remained slightly damp, and I set about speeding the drying process along using my heat gun. In fact, it actually took me more than three hours to get the floor completely dry, but this was worth the effort as even the slightest excess moisture can damage the performance of the sealer. Once the floor was finally dried I began sealing the floor with one coat of Tile a Doctor Colour Grow sealer. Colour Grow is an impregnating sealer that penetrates deep into the pores of the stone, thus acting as a shield against ingrained dirt, and also raises the colour of the tiles to provide an aesthetically appealing appearance. sealer. After sealing with Colour Grow, I left the floor to dry for couple of hours and then applied six coats of Tile Doctor Seal & Go, which is a topical sealer that builds up durable protection on the surface of the tiles. The combination of through cleaning and the application of not one, but two high quality sealers really did wonders for the appearance of these Terracotta tiles. Looking at the final results you wouldn’t have believed they had been without a proper clean and seal for so long! Needless to say the customer was exceptionally pleased and will surely be able to keep her floor looking great for a long time to come. Tony Olmet Derbyshire Tile Doctor