Combining Tile Doctor Remove and Go with Oxy-Gel for Effective Cleaning of a Period Quarry Tiled Floor in Aldridge near Walsall

A homeowner near Aldridge contacted Tile Doctor regarding their Quarry tiled hallway and Minton tiled vestibule. On inspection it became clear that the Quarry tiles had many imperfections and grout in dirt due to being covered in carpet for many years. This had also let to the appearance of white efflorescence salts on the surface on many tiles due to trapped moisture.

I have a lot of experience working on old Quarry and Victorian tiles so I knew the could be restored to a good standard however floors like this have a lot of unknown history so you can never be overconfident. I worked out a detailed quote for the restoration and explained the limitations, undeterred they were keen to go ahead and so a date was set for the work to start.

Repairing Period Tiled Flooring

On the first day I repaired some areas in the hallway floor where screed had been used to fill in missing yellow tiles at the back of the hallway. These must have become damaged at some point and never replaced. This isn’t surprising as yellow tiles are extremely hard to get hold of, luckily however I had a few left over from previous restoration work.

When this was done attention turned to the Victorian tiles in the Vestibule area. Here a row of loose Minton tiles needed to be removed and then reset in place with fresh adhesive and grout.

Deep Cleaning Quarry and Victorian Floor Tiles

The repairs were left to set overnight and the following day I started on the cleaning. To remove the deep-seated dirt the floor was cleaned with a combination of Tile Doctor Remove & Go and Tile Doctor Oxy-Gel. The solution was applied and left to soak in for ten minutes before being worked into both the Quarry and Victorian tiles using a 120-grit carbide brush fitted to a rotary floor machine. This loosened the dirt bringing it to the surface where it could be rinsed away and removed with a wet vacuum.

Next, attention turned to the efflorescence by treating it with Tile Doctor Acid Gel. Being acidic this product dissolves the efflorescent salts and further clean the tiles. The solution was worked into the tiles as before but this time using a finer 240-grit carbide brush and the wet vacuum deployed again to remove the resultant soiling.

A heater and air movers were deployed to quickly dry out the floor before sealing. Once dry the tiles were sealed with a coat of Tile Doctor Stone Oil, I find that this adds a subtle sheen to quarry tiles and provides a base layer of protection.

Sealing a Quarry Tiled Hallway

The floor was then left to dry overnight with the air movers running and then next day the tiles were checked for moisture. The tests confirmed the tiles were dry and the application of the sealer could start. For this, two coats of a 50/50 combination of Tile Doctor X-Tra Seal & Tile Doctor Colour Grow were applied. The Colour Grow makes the X-Tra Seal more workable and improves colour in the tile.

Both sealers are impregnators that work by soaking into the tile, occupying the pores and in doing so prevent dirt from becoming ingrained there. To finish the excess sealer was buffed off with a white pad.

Overall, the floor came our rather well and the client was very pleased with the result. For aftercare I left the client with a bottle of Tile Doctor Neutral Tile Cleaner which is a mild but effective ph neutral cleaner that won’t impact the sealer.

Source: Quarry Tile Cleaning Products and Services in Aldridge near Walsall