Deep Cleaning Grout on a Travertine Floor with Tile Doctor Remove and Go in Tetbury Gloucestershire

This client from Tetbury in the Cotswolds, contacted Tile Doctor to enquire if there was something that could be done to improve their twenty-year-old travertine floor. They emailed over some photos so I could get a good idea of the problems and their main concern which was mainly the dull appearance and dirt that was collecting in the natural pits which is a feature of travertine.

I’ve worked on numerous stone floors before, and I could see this just needed burnishing with diamond pads to bring up the natural polish and then sealing to protect it from ingrained dirt. I worked out a detailed quote for the work which included all the products needed and emailed it over to the client. They had a few questions which I was happy to answer and we discussed what to do with the large number of holes or pits in the Travertine which are a natural feature of this stone. I offered an option fill them but as it turns out they rather liked them and felt they added character to the floor.

Normally I like to look at the floor before quoting so I arrived having never been to the property before, however in this case it didn’t worry me as I was confident from the conversations we had had that it would be straight forward.

Cleaning a Travertine Tiled Kitchen

On the first day work started by covering the cupboards and skirting in kitchen with plastic to protect them from potential splashing during the cleaning. Once done I set up a weighted floor buffer with the first of the set of diamond burnishing pads which is a coarse 400-grit. The pads are run over each tile several times using water for lubrication and the soiling generated is rinsed off afterwards and extracted with a wet vacuum. This process is then repeated with an 800-grit and then 1500-grit burnishing pad again using water for lubrication and vacuuming after each pad.

The next task was to clean the grout lines some of which were badly ingrained with dirt and had darkened. To do this I decanted a strong dilution of Tile Doctor Remove and Go into a spray bottle and sprayed it onto the grout lines. The product was left to soak in for ten minutes to give it time to break down the dirt and then hand scrubbed using a small steel brush. The soiling was then rinsed off and vacuumed up as before.

On the second day the process was repeated on the other areas which included the hallway. I was also able to review the floor in the kitchen and spot cleaned any stubborn areas using more Tile Doctor Remove and Go.

Sealing a Travertine Tiled Kitchen

On day three I ran the last of the set of burnishing pads which is a very fine 3500-grit pad over all the travertine tiles. This last pad is applied using a little water sprayed onto the floor using a process we call a spray burnish. This last pad tightens the pores in the travertine and brings up the polish even more, removing any residue left on tiles in the process.

The last step was to add protection to the travertine floor by applying an impregnating sealer which prevents dirt from becoming ingrained in the stone, keeping it on the surface where it is easily cleaned away. The sealer chosen for this floor was Tile Doctor Ultra Seal which is a natural look sealer that doesn’t alter the appearance of the stone.

Two coats of sealer were applied and once dry the floor was buffed again using the 3500-grit pad to remove any smears from the sealer and bring up the sheen.

Once done the floor looked so much cleaner and had a lovely appealing shine which pleased the client. For aftercare I recommended Tile Doctor Stone Soap for polished stone floors, its pH neutral so won’t impact the sealer and it contains a patina enhancer which helps maintain the polished appearance.

Source: Professional Stone Floor Polishing and Grout Cleaning Service near Tetbury Gloucestershire