Tile Doctor Seal & Go Chosen to Protect Handmade Rustic Terracotta Tiles in Tynemouth

I recently visited a client in Tynemouth who needed some assistance with their rustic Terracotta tiled kitchen floor. It had been awhile since it was last professionally cleaned and sealed and was now due some maintenance.

I paid a visit to the property to survey the floor and the inspection confirmed that the sealer had worn off on the busiest parts of the floor leaving it vulnerable. Terracotta is made from clay and is very porous, without a sealer dirt becomes embedded in those pores where it is difficult to shift. I suspect my client may have been using a strong cleaning product on the tiles as it did look reasonably clean, especially the grout, however many of the tile cleaning products you find in supermarkets are not sealer friendly and will strip a sealer.

I worked out a quote for an intensive clean of the floor to remove ingrained dirt and then re-seal, the quote was accepted and a date set.

Deep Cleaning a Terracotta Tiled Kitchen Floor

To clean the Terracotta my first task was to apply a strong dilution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean which was then left to dwell and soak into the tile for at least ten minutes. This gives the product time to break down the soils and any remaining sealer still present on the floor.

The solution was then agitated into the floor using a black scrubbing pad fitted to a rotary machine which worked the product into the tile and grout. I also worked a stiff brush along the grout lines and dealt with any stubborn grout stains by hand with a wire brush. The floor was then rinsed with water and the soiling extracted with a wet vacuum.

Next the floor was treated to an acid rinse using Tile Doctor Grout Clean-Up. This product further cleans the tiles and is especially good at removing mineral stains such as efflorescence and old grout smears. Another advantage of doing this is it neutralises the ph level of the floor after the use of Pro-Clean which is a strong alkaline. The solution was then extracted with the wet vacuum and the floor rinsed with water to remove any trace of product.

After a final inspection and further spot cleaning the floor was dried as much as possible with the wet vacuum and left to dry out. During the inspection I noticed the imprint of a cat’s paw in one of the tiles which I hadn’t seen before, this mark must have happened after the tiles were made and were drying out indicating they were handmade.

Sealing a Terracotta Tiled Kitchen

Terracotta can take a while to dry due to its porosity, so the floor was left for a few days before returning to apply a sealer. To ensure it was dry the floor was checked for moisture with a damp meter. This confirmed the floor was dry enough to be sealed so I made a start on applying the sealer which for this floor we used Tile Doctor Seal & Go.

Terracotta is made from clay and needed the application of numerous coats of sealer before it was fully sealed. Seal & Go is a water-based product and so doesn’t leave a smell as it dries, it works well on Terracotta and resulted in an appealing satin finish.

The new sealer will ensure that dirt remains on the surface where it can be easily cleaned away, and on the topic of regular cleaning I recommended the use of Tile Doctor Neutral Tile Cleaner which is an effective cleaning product but won’t impact the sealer.

Source: Terracotta Tile Cleaning and Sealing Products and Services in Tynemouth Tyneside