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Terracotta Kitchen Floor Tile and Grout Revived in Minehead

This client from Minehead got in touch regarding the Terracotta tiles on their kitchen floor. I was told that the floor hadn’t been professionally cleaned and sealed for over ten years and since that time the grout had discoloured and the tiles had become permanently dirty and difficult to clean.

Terracotta Floor Before Cleaning Sealing Minehead

I had a good idea of what the floor would need but to ensure there were no surprises I arranged an appointment to visit the property and survey the floor. This would also enable me to work out a detailed price for deep cleaning the terracotta tiles and grout and then sealing it. It was clear that the previous sealer had worn off some time ago and now dirt was making its way into the pores of the terracotta and grout leaving it looking permanently dirty. This is quite common with terracotta; being made from clay it is very porous and does need a lot of sealer to prevent that from happening.

Happy with my quote I was given the go ahead to renovate the floor and a date was agreed for the work to start which typically takes two days, one to clean and one to seal.

Cleaning a Terracotta Tiled Kitchen

To clean the floor, I started with an application of neat Tile Doctor Remove & Go. This was left to soak in for ten minutes and then scrubbed into the floor using a coarse Silicone Carbide brush fitted to a rotary machine. These brushes are very effective on tile and stone and do a good job of bringing the ingrained dirt to the surface.

The brush does a good job of cleaning the grout but for the best result I find it necessary to follow up with a stiff grout brush. Once the whole floor had been treated in this manner it was rinsed with water and the soiling extracted using a wet vacuum.

The floor was then treated to an acid wash using Tile Doctor Acid Gel which was then scrubbed into the floor using a black pad. This process further cleans the tiles, dissolves any efflorescent salts and neutralises the pH level of the floor after the use of Tile Doctor Remove and Go which is a strong alkaline. The floor was then rinsed again with water and dried with the wet vacuum.

Sealing a Terracotta Tiled Kitchen

The next step would be to seal the floor however with Terracotta being so porous I decided to leave the floor for two days to allow it to fully dry out. After checking the floor was dry with a moisture meter work began to seal the floor using Tile Doctor Seal and Go Extra.

Terracotta Floor After Cleaning Sealing Minehead

Sealing the floor prevents dirt from becoming ingrained in tiles, keeping it on the surface where it can be easily cleaned away and Seal and Go Extra adds a nice subtle sheen to the tile improving its appearance and enhancing its colour and features. Six coats were needed to ensure it was fully sealed and provide long lasting protection.

You can see from the photographs on this page how well the floor came out. My client was delighted with the results and said we had transformed their kitchen.

For aftercare cleaning I recommended using Tile Doctor Neutral Tile Cleaner which is a sealer safe tile and grout cleaner that won’t impact the sealer increasing its longevity.

Professional Restoration of a Terracotta Tiled Kitchen in Somerset

Terracotta Kitchen Floor Tile and Grout Revived in Minehead Read More »

Restoring Dirty Terracotta Kitchen Tiles in Minehead

Anyone with familiar with tile cleaning and maintenance will know that Terracotta is one of the most difficult of tiles to seal. This is due to the clay being particularly porous thus requiring several coatings of sealer to ensure complete saturation and protection against ingrained dirt and stains. The next problem is that a sealer will wear down in high traffic areas first and without regular maintenance will wear off allowing dirt to penetrate resulting in areas which seem to be impossible to keep clean.

Terracotta Floor Before Cleaning Minehead Somerset

At this property in Minehead, the coastal town in Somerset known for its beaches, the sealer on the Terracotta kitchen tiles had not been maintained in over four years and during that time, the sealer had deteriorated, allowing dirt and dust to enter the pores of the stone. Trying to get the floor to look clean was now an impossible task so I was contacted by the property owner to resolve the problem first by cleaning the tiles with professional products and methods, and second by applying a fresh sealer.

Cleaning a Dirty Terracotta Tiled Floor

My focus for the cleaning process was soak the Terracotta tiles in Tile Doctor Pro-Clean for around ten minutes before scrubbing the solution into the tiles with the aid of a rotary machine fitted with a scrubbing pad. Pro-Clean is a powerful alkaline cleaner designed for use on all types of natural stone. In concentrated form, it breaks down old sealers as well as removing dirt, while the rotary machine helps the product to penetrate deep into the pores of the stone to eradicate ingrained dirt and stains.
The now soiled solution was extracted from the floor using a wet vacuum and the then the floor rinsed with water. With the floor clear I was able to see stubborn areas that need more work and spot treated them using the same process.
One I was happy that the floor was clean and free of old sealers it was given a final rinse and then dried as much as possible using the wet vacuum and then then left to dry off overnight.

Sealing a Terracotta Tiled Floor

The next day, I returned to the property to find the tiles fresh, dry, and ready to be sealed.

My sealer of choice was Tile Doctor Seal and Go, a topical sealant which provides a robust seal and the durable low sheen finish in one product. Sealing the floor took some time as you need to let the first coat dry before applying the second and if you recall from my note at the beginning of this post it’s important to use several coats of sealer on Terracotta to achieve saturation due to the naturally high porosity of the clay.

Terracotta Floor After Cleaning Minehead Somerset

The floor is now fully sealed and looking like new, additionally It will be easy to keep clean simply by using a mop and Tile Doctor Neutral Tile Cleaner which is a pH neutral product designed for the routine cleaning of sealed tiled floors.