Terracotta Tile Cleaning

Welcome to my Work History archive where you will find detailed examples of the cleaning and renovation of Terracotta tiles carried out in North Wales

Cleaning and Renovating Terracotta Tiles

Terracotta tiles have been around in certain parts of the world for over two millennia, in fact the word Terracotta means burned earth. The ancient Romans used a variety of terracotta tiles in their villas and palaces for many centuries. Terracotta tiles are thicker than most modern tiles giving them strength and durability.

The one big downside to Terracotta is the fact that it has no glaze on the surface and being very porous can soon pick up and store muck and dirt very quickly. If you have ever owned a Terracotta floor before you will be able to relate to this problem however the answer is to ensure you have the correct sealer in place.

Traditionally Wax was used to protect terracotta tiles however with the advent of modern purpose made sealers we don’t recommend it. Not only is it troublesome to remove but it scratches easily and we have seen situations in kitchens where dirt and oil trapped in the wax turns black and becomes very unsightly.

For sealing Terracotta we actually recommend Tile Doctor Seal and Go which works well on clay tiles such as Terracotta and is also water based so doesn’t give off a smell as it dries. When applying a sealer always make sure the floor is dry first as applying a sealer to a damp floor can lead to inconsistent results. Because of this we typically clean and seal Terracotta floors over two days so we can clean on day one and then apply the sealer on day two having let the floor dry off overnight.

Below you will find detailed examples of work we have carried out in the past, it should give you some idea of what’s involved and what can be achieved with the right techniques and products.

Terracotta Tiled Kitchen Floor Renovated Formby

Cleaning a Large Terracotta Tiled Floor in Formby

1 Comment / Crosby Tile Cleaning, Grout Cleaning, Terracotta Tile Cleaning /

We were asked to quote for the cleaning of a large Terracotta tiled floor in at a property in Formby which consisted of a Kitchen/Diner and Conservatory. The client reported that the floor was grubby and had lost its shine so I organised a visit to the property to survey the floor and work out a solution for them.

Terracotta Tiled Floor Before Renovation Formby
I always prefer to arrange a site visit so I can assess the work required and come up with a more accurate quote should the client decide to go ahead. I’ve seen floors in worse condition and the photos below on this page don’t highlight the problems that much, but it was clear to me that dirt was penetrating the pores of the tile making difficult to keep clean.

Terracotta Tiled Floor Before Renovation Formby
I carried out a test clean on a small area of tiling which came up very well. The client was suitably impressed and was happy to go ahead with the quote which would take two days, one to clean and one to apply a fresh protective sealer.

Cleaning Terracotta Tiled Kitchen Diner and Conservatory Floor

On day one the first job was to spray the floor with Tile Doctor Wax Away which is designed to remove the wax and old polish that was previously in place. This was left to dwell and soak into the tile and grout for twenty minutes and was then scrubbed in with a weighted floor buffer fitted a black pad and lubricated with water.

The grout lines were hand scrubbed with a wire brush and the resulting slurry was then removed with a wet vacuum. Once done the floor was inspected and any further areas were spot treated as required.

When I was satisfied the Terracotta tile and grout were as clean as they could be I gave the floor a final rinse with water to remove any trace of cleaning products and dried the floor as much as possible using the wet vacuum. The floor was then left to dry off overnight.

Sealing a Terracotta Tiled Kitchen Diner and Conservatory Floor

The following morning, moisture readings were taken from the floor to make sure it was dry enough for sealing. The readings were satisfactory so we began the process of applying the sealer.

For this floor Tile Doctor Seal and Go was applied using a paint pad leaving each coat to dry before applying the next. Seal and Go is a water-based sealer that results in a pleasant low sheen finish that’s ideal for Terracotta floors, it took seven coats of sealer to fully seal the floor.

Terracotta Tiled Floor After Renovation Formby
The clean floor and new subtle shine went down well with our client who was over the moon with the appearance. Before leaving we discussed how to maintain the floor for which we recommend the use of Tile Doctor Neutral Tile Cleaner. This product is pH neutral and will not damage the newly applied seal unlike some of the stronger regular household cleaners on the market. Kitchens and Conservatory floors tend to get a lot of use so it’s worth having the right cleaning regime in place to keep it in great condition.

 

Professional Renovation of a Large Terracotta Floor in Merseyside

Cleaning a Large Terracotta Tiled Floor in Formby Read More »

Cleaning an Old Terracotta Tiled Kitchen Floor in Runcorn

Terracotta Tile Cleaning, Work by Category, Work History /

This post comes from a job I did for a customer in who lives in the town of Runcorn on the south bank of the River Mersey. The request was to restore the Terracotta floor tiles in the kitchen of a property which dated back to 1773 and still had all its original features inside and out. You can see from the photograph below that the tile and grout were looking very dull and well overdue a deep clean and seal.

Old Terracotta Kitchen Floor Before Cleaning Runcorn

Deep Cleaning a Terracotta Tiled Kitchen Floor

To clean the floor, I soaked the floor in a strong dilution of Tile Doctor Remove and Go which is a strong stripping and cleaning solution which removes sealers and also draws out ingrained stains and also the heavy grease build up that was present around the cooker.

After twenty to thirty minutes the solution was worked into the tiles using a black scrubbing pad fitted to a rotary machine. The soiled solution was then removed with a wet vacuum and this was followed by scrubbing the grout lines with more Remove and Go and a grout brush until they were clean. The whole floor was then rinsed with water to remove any soil and trace of cleaning product. The water was then extracted using the wet vacuum. The floor was then checked to make sure it was as clean as it could be and stubborn areas spot treated.

Once I was happy the floor was clean it became apparent that some of the grout was loose and would need replacing so I took care of that using a matching grout before calling it a day and leaving the floor to dry out overnight.

Sealing a Terracotta Tiled Kitchen Floor

We returned next morning and tested the tiles with a damp meter making sure it was dry before we could seal it. To seal the floor, I used Tile Doctor Seal and Go which adds a nice sheen to the tiles and works really well on Terracotta.

Old Terracotta Kitchen Floor After Cleaning Runcorn

I took some time to complete though as due to the porosity of the clay it required eight coats to fully seal the tiles. You have to wait between coats to allow them to dry however I was able to speed up the drying process though using an air blower.

 

Restoring an Old Terracotta Tiled Kitchen Floor in Cheshire

Cleaning an Old Terracotta Tiled Kitchen Floor in Runcorn Read More »

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Merseyside Tile Doctor

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