Removing Bleach Staining from a Sandstone Patio with Tile Doctor Remove and Go in Little Venice London
Earlier this year the owner of this Sandstone patio at a property in Little Venice wanted to spruce up the stone ready for summer and so cleaned it with bleach. Unfortunately, the sandstone flagstones didn’t respond as expected and became discoloured leaving them in a worse condition.
This was a real shame as these Sandstone pavers were of the multicoloured variety which are really lovely and usually full of colour and character. Fortunately, I was able to re-assure the owner that natural stone is a very forgiving material and I was confident of restoring the beauty to the patio. I worked out a detailed quote for the work which included materials which was accepted. The weather was excellent back then, so it wasn’t long before I was able to return to work on the patio.
Cleaning a Multicoloured Sandstone Tiled Patio
The owner had already done a reasonable job of removing dirt and algae from the stone, so we were able to move straight onto making sure it was free of any previous protective coatings. To do this I used a strong dilution of Tile Doctor Remove and Go which was left to soak into the stone for ten minutes before being worked in with a black scrubbing pad fitted to a rotary machine. It was clear to me some sort of topical sealer had been used in the past, and it took a while with several re-applications to make sure all of it was removed.
During the various stages of cleaning and scrubbing the patio was being rinsed with water to remove the soiling which was extracted with a wet vacuum. Once finished the patio was inspected and any stubborn areas spot cleaned with Tile Doctor Pro-Clean. Once done the patio and mortar looked really clean but all that scrubbing and cleaning had removed all the colour from the stone turning it almost grey. I wasn’t worried about that though as I knew the new sealer would put the colour back in the stone.
A lot of water was used during the cleaning so after that was complete the patio was left to dry off in the baking sun.
Sealing a Multicoloured Sandstone Tiled Patio
On our return the Sandstone was tested with a moisture meter to confirm it was dry and then sealed with a coat of Tile Doctor X-Tra Seal which is an oil-based impregnating sealer that soaks into the stone to protect it from within. The oil content of the sealer also does a great job of putting the life back into the stone and bringing out the colours.
Once complete the patio looked fantastic and the owner was super excited about the new look. With the Patio being sealed I warned the client about using bleach again to clean to stone as this would damage the sealer, however I don’t think this is likely to happen again. Instead, I recommended using Tile Doctor Neutral Tile Cleaner which is a mild yet effective product that won’t impact the sealer.
Source: Professional Stone Patio Stain Removal and Restoration Service near Little Venice London