victorian tiles

Victorian Tiled Lobby Before and After Cleaning in Swindon

Worn and Dirty Victorian Tiled Lobby Rejuvenated in Swindon

Victorian tiled floors are a popular feature in period houses and new builds trying to get that classic look. While they originated in the 19th century, they have a certain timeless quality that property owners love. Historically due to their hard wearing qualities they were most commonly used for flooring high traffic areas such as lobbies and hallways, however Victorian tiles are porous and without the correct maintenance the tiles can start to lose their appearance very quickly.

This customer from Swindon has an original Victorian tiled lobby at the front of their house that was suffering from this very same problem. Years worth of ingrained dirt and muck had completely sapped all colour and character from the tiles, and the customer was keen to get them back to looking their best.

Victorian Tiled Lobby Before Cleaning in Swindon
Whilst I was there inspecting the floor I agreed to run a test on the tiles to ascertain the results that could be achieved, this worked out well and the customer quickly booked me to carry out the full restoration.

Cleaning Dull and Dirty Victorian Tiles

To provide the deep clean these tiles desperately needed, I opted to use a strong solution of Tile Doctor Pro Clean. Pro Clean is our go-to cleaner for most natural stone tiles since it is highly versatile. It is alkaline-based and therefore can be used on acid-sensitive tiles to break down ingrained dirt and any existing seal.

We soaked the floor completely with the product and left it to dwell for roughly 15 minutes. This allows the Pro Clean to seep into the pores of the stone, get underneath and lift any ingrained dirt to the surface to be easily removed. I then attached a soft brush to a rotary machine and scrubbed the area throughly, with the tiles coming up very well. Once satisfied with the appearance of the tiles, I removed the dirty cleaning slurry with a wet vacuum and rinsed.

Having removed many layers of muck it came as a surprise to find that there were a number of paint splashes that have previously had been hidden. I was able to promptly remove them using a hand razor scraper, before rinsing the area again several times to remove any surface contaminants and neutralise the area. I then left it to dry fully overnight.

Sealing Victorian Tiles

Upon my return to the property the next day I ran a few damp tests to check for excess moisture in the area. This is really important to check for as excess moisture can cloud the sealer and damage its ability to provide protection for the tiles.

Once satisfied that the floor was completely dry, I sealed the floor with two coats of Tile Doctor Colour Grow. Colour Grow is an impregnating sealer that penetrates into the pores of the stone to act as a robust barrier against ingrained dirt. It also contains colour intensifying properties that really worked to enhance the fantastic coloured patterns of these Victorian tiles.

Victorian Tiled Lobby After Cleaning in Swindon
With a thorough clean and a fresh seal applied, these tiles are now well prepared to endure further wear and tear, which is especially important in this high traffic area of the house. Certainly the customer was relieved and pleased to know that their fantastic Victorian tiles are protected for the long-term. Another satisfied customer for the Wiltshire Tile Doctor.

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Victorian Floor Found Under Carpet Before and After Restoration in Warminster

Recently Uncovered Victorian Tiled Hallway Restored to New in Warminster

It’s always a great surprise to find old tiled flooring hidden underneath carpet or linoleum which appears especially common with 19th century properties where it’s not unusual for the owners to uncover fantastically patterned, original Victorian tiled floors and, naturally, they want to restore them to their former glory. If you have a property of this type you might want to look under the carpets.

The majority of the time, however, these tiles have been covered up for decades, allowing for thick layers of muck to build-up and are invariably damaged carpet grippers, surface glue and adhesive tape.

This was pretty much the case with this customer who lives in the town of Warminster and was keen to have her own newly discovered Victorian hallway brought back to life, and called me down to see what could be done. Upon arrival at the property, I determined that the tiles would definitely require a very deep clean, including the remove of numerous glue stains, followed by the application of a new seal.

Victorian Floor Found Under Carpet Before Restoration in Warminster

Cleaning a Very Dirty Victorian Tiled Hallway

Before I could begin the deep cleaning process, I needed to remove the carpet grippers and surface glue, attempting to remove as much as possible by hand using a scraper.

For the particularly stubborn areas, I applied Tile Doctor Remove & Go, a powerful stripper specially designed to break down adhesives and solvents, and left it to dwell for 20 minutes to eat through the glue deposits. I then attached a black pad to a rotary machine and scrubbed the area thoroughly to clean the affected areas, before removing the resulting slurry using a wet vacuum and rinsed with clean water.

Once I was satisfied that all of the glue had been removed, I proceeded to soak the floor using a solution of the high alkaline cleaner known as Tile Doctor Pro Clean. This is a versatile product that can be used on a wide range of natural stone floors to deal with heavy soil build-up.

I left the Pro-Clean to dwell for ten minutes, and then scrubbed it into the tiles to remove the ingrained dirt and also to break down any old and ineffectual seals. The floor was then once again rinsed thoroughly with clean water which was then extracted using a wet vacuum before being left to dry for a couple of days.

Sealing a Victorian Tiled Hallway

Upon our return to the property I immediately tested the floor for damp using a damp meter. This is an extremely important test to carry out before sealing any kind of tiled flooring, due to the fact that excess moisture left over from cleaning can cloud the sealer and damage its ability to protect against dirt and stains.

Thankfully, the damp test revealed no excess moisture, and I was able to proceed with sealing the tiles. My choice of sealer was Tile Doctor Seal and Go, a water-based topical sealer that simultaneously provides both a stain resistant surface seal and a durable and aesthetically pleasing low sheen finish, also being water based it doesn’t give off a smell as it dries.

Victorian Floor Found Under Carpet After Restoration in Warminster
This is a very cost effective product that is highly suitable for use on Victorian and Quarry tiles, I applied five costs to achieve the desired finish.

The customer was very pleased with the final results. It’s always satisfying to restore original Victorian tiled floors to looking their best once again – and this one was no exception.

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Victorian Floor Heytesbury Before and After Cleaning

Cleaning & Sealing a Victorian Tiled Hallway in Heytesbury

A client from the village of Heytesbury contacted me to see whether we could improve the look of her Victorian tiled hallway floor. It turns out that a competitor had previously cleaned and sealed it two years prior but she was disappointed with the result once she realised that the floor still had dirt ingrained in the tile. As per our normal practice we ran a test clean and she booked us in immediately.

Victorian Floor Heytesbury Before Cleaning

Cleaning a Victorian Tiled Floor

We started by wetting the floor using a strong solution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean and left it dwell for ten minutes. We then attached a black stripping pad to a rotary machine and slowly covered the whole area to remove ingrained dirt and any existing seals that may be evident. The dirty slurry was then removed with a wet vacuum and then floor rinsed with the aid of a deck brush and a wet vacuum.

Next we used a heavy duty scraper to remove paint splashes around the edges from years of decorating. Once we were satisfied we’d removed all evident dirt, seal and paint we rinsed the floor thoroughly several times to make sure all contaminants are removed again using the wet vacuum to remove the water.

Sealing a Victorian Floor Sealing

We returned five days later to let the floor dry out thoroughly. Upon our return we tested with a damp meter which tested fine so we proceeded to seal the floor using six coats of Tile Doctor Seal & Go to provide protection and add a nice sheen to the floor which I think you will agree now looks amazing

Victorian Floor Heytesbury After Cleaning
 

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Victorian Tiled Hallway Swindon Before and After Cleaning and sealing

Victorian Tiled Hallway Cleaned and Sealed in Swindon

We were contacted by a home owner in Swindon who had discovered a black and white Victorian tiled floor underneath carpet in their hallway and wanted to make it a feature. I took a look at the floor and can see it was in good condition considering the carpet glue and arranged an appointment to come back and do the work.

Victorian Tiled Hallway Swindon Before Cleaning

Cleaning Victorian Tiles

First we started with a strong dilution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean which was smothered over the floor and left to dwell for twenty minutes so it could get to work breaking down any remaining sealer and dirt build up etc. Then after we attached a black scrubbing pad to a rotary machine and worked the solution into the tile to release the dirt. This caused the cleaning solution to become black with the soil which was removed using a wet vacuum and the floor rinsed thoroughly with cold water.

Upon further inspection it had become evident that the edges still had a build-up of carpet adhesives and yellowing sealer so something stronger would be required to get rid of it. These areas were spot treated with Tile Doctor Remove and Go which was brushed to the edges and let it dwell as before. A hand scraper was then used to remove the adhesive and stubborn sealer. The floor was rinsed thoroughly once more using the wet vacuum to remove as much water as possible.

Another inspection of the tiles revealed slight staining which was most evident on the white tiles so we used a 120grit hand pad with a little water to remove as much staining as possible and rinsed several times. Once we were satisfied we then left the floor to dry over 3 days.

Sealing Victorian Tiles

Upon our return we tested the floor for damp by using a damp meter; the test was fine so we proceeded to seal the floor using five coats of Tile Doctor Seal & Go which will protect the floor from further staining and also adds a nice subtle sheen to the tiles which always looks attractive on Victorian tiles.

Victorian Tiled Hallway Swindon After Cleaning
Our customer said that the tiles had come up cleaner than she had ever imagined possible and was so happy that they now have a ‘feature’ hallway.

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