Restoring Colour to Flagstone Flooring with Tile Doctor Colour Grow Sealer in Ulverston Cumbria

A customer from Ulverston was nearing the end of a house refurbishment and got in touch regarding the renovation of a Flagstone floor. A lot of contractors had been through the property and the stone was not looking its best. Happy to assist I arranged to visit the property and provide advice on its restoration.

I went over to survey the floor and could see it was suffering from heavy ground-in soiling. The stone had lost its colour and now looked dull and lifeless; the grout was also heavily soiled with ingrained dirt. We discussed the floor in detail and I recommended a deep clean to remove all the dirt and then applying a sealer to restore colour to the stone and prevent ingrained dirt.

After measuring up I worked out a detailed quote and emailed it across to the customer for their review. Happy with quote I got the go ahead to restore the floor and agreed a date.

Deep Cleaning a Tired Flagstone Floor

To get the stone clean it was sprayed with a strong dilution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean and this was left to soak in for a good fifteen minutes to give it time to start breaking down the ingrained dirt. The floor was then scrubbed with a rotary machine fitted with a coarse carborundum brush which lifts the dirt out of the stone and grout. The soiling was then rinsed off the floor and extracted with a wet vacuum.

To further clean the Flagstones and strip off old sealers and remaining surface residues the floor was further treated with a strong dilution of Tile Doctor Remove and Go. This time the solution was scrubbed into the stone using a coarse 200-grit diamond burnishing pad to refine the appearance of the stone.

After rinsing and extracting again the stone was given an acid rinse using Tile Doctor Acid Gel. This neutralises the stone after the use of alkaline cleaners and further cleans the stone to remove grout smears and old mineral deposits to further refine the surface, improving clarity and tone within the stone

After a final review of the stone to spot clean any stubborn areas, it was given another rinse and dried as much as possible using the wet vacuum.

Sealing a Flagstone Floor

The floor was left to dry out overnight and work resumed the next day to finish the stone with the application of a sealer. First however the floor was checked for moisture, applying sealer to damp stone can result in a patchy appearance so best avoided.

The results were fine so work started to apply the first of what would be two coats of Tile Doctor Colour Grow. This sealer is an impregnator that soaks in the stone adding protection from within, this ensures dirt remains on the surface where it can be easily cleaned away. Another feature of Colour Grow, as its name suggests, is to enhance and deepen the colour and features in the stone.

Once complete the flagstones were restored to a rich, natural finish with improved colour depth and a far more uniform appearance. The surface is now protected and significantly easier to maintain.

For aftercare I recommended Tile Doctor Neutral Tile Cleaner which will clean the floor without impacting the sealer which can be a problem with many of the stronger products you find in supermarkets.

Source: Flagstone Tile Cleaning Products and Services in Ulverston Cumbria