Removing Carpet Glue from an Edwardian Tiled Hallway Floor with Tile Doctor Remove and Go in Cleadon South Shields

This Victorian Tiled hallway was located at an Edwardian era property in Cleadon, Just outside of South Shields. It was a lovely old house which had carpet covering the tiles, this had now been removed and the owner wanted the floor renovating as an original feature.

Comprising of Black and Yellow clay tiles laid in a chequered pattern the floor also had a patch of concrete covered in tiles where an old fireplace was once installed. As well as bringing the old floor back to life the owner wanted the concrete removing and replacing with tiles to match the original.

Fortunately, this style to tile is still popular today and so after sourcing a supplier for the replacements I provided the owner with a comprehensive quote for the restoration. I was also able to re-assure them that once complete the floor would look amazing.

Happy with the quote I was given the go-ahead and a date agreed for the work to begin. A lot of other work had been going on in the property so the date was chosen towards the end of the work and to avoid other trades.

Cleaning a Victorian Tiled Hallway

To clean the floor and strip off any remaining a strong dilution of Tile Doctor Remove and Go was sprayed liberally across the floor. This product is a very strong alkaline cleaner for use on tile, stone and grout and as the name suggests is designed to remove old coatings such as sealers and in this case carpet glue.

The solution was left to dwell for about ten minutes to allow time for it to soak into the pores of the tile. It was then scrubbed into the tiles using a scrubbing pad fitted to a rotary floor machine. The resulting cleaning slurry was rinsed off with water and then extracted from the floor using a wet vacuum. I repeated this process until I was confident the tiles were clean and free of contaminates.

The next step was to treat the floor to an acid wash using Tile Doctor Acid Gel, this is especially important on old floors where there is no damp proof course to prevent damp rising through the tile and leave salt deposits on the surface. This problem is known as efflorescence and is neutralised by the acid. The gel was then removed and the floor given another rinse using the wet vacuum to get the floor as dry as possible.

The last task of the day was to fix replacement tiles in the gap where the fireplace had once been and in other damaged areas. As suspected, I had been able to source replacement tiles that matched the originals without too much trouble.

Sealing a Victorian Tiled Hallway

I returned to the property a few days later to make sure the tiles were dry enough to seal using a damp meter. This is incredibly important to do before sealing any tiled floor because any excess moisture can cloud the sealer and prevent it from doing its job properly.

Once satisfied that the floor was dry, I applied a single coat of Tile Doctor X-Tra Seal which is a breathable impregnating sealer that enhances colour and protects from within. I then buffed the floor dry with a rotary machine fitted with a white buffing pad over the floor to makes sure the sealer was fully dry.

The new sealer soaks into the pores preventing dirt from residing there and thereby keeping dirt on the surface where it can be easily cleaned away using a ph neutral cleaning product such as Tile Doctor Neutral Tile Cleaner. It’s important to use a mild product such as this as anything stronger will erode the sealer.

Once complete the floor did indeed look amazing and really added the wow factor to the front of the property. The customer was over the moon with the finish and left the following five-star review.During what was meant to be a simple redecoration we uncovered an area of original Edwardian floor tiles that had been tiled over. Several areas were damaged or missing. I spent some time trying several companies and trade persons but no one could provide a portfolio of similar work. The tile doctor had experience and talked us through what his game plan was and was able to relay the existing tiles and provide repair and replacement and clean and seal the floor to almost original condition. Fantastic results beyond what we had hoped for.
By Andrew F, Cleadon Village , 05 December 2025

Source: Professional Edwardian Tile Cleaning and Restoration Service in 
Cleadon near South Shields