Limestone Tile Cleaning and Polishing

A homeowner from Ainsdale was in touch recently regarding the Limestone floor in their hallway which needed attention. The floor had been laid six years prior and over that time its appearance had degraded significantly losing its colour and almost turning white in places.

I visited the property to survey the floor and it was clear to me that the original sealer and polish had long since worn off. Additionally, I suspect they may have been using the wrong product to clean the floor with.

I recommended giving the floor a deep clean to remove ingrained dirt and what was left of the original sealer and then polishing the stone with burnishing pads to bring up the appearance of the stone and then finishing with the application of a protective sealer. Happy with my quote a date was set for the work to start.

Cleaning and Polishing a Limestone Tiled Floor

On arrival the first step was to give the floor a general clean with a focus on cleaning the grout lines and removing any grit from the floor. I used a 1:4 dilution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean which is an alkaline tile cleaning product that is safe to use on grout and stone. The cleaning solution was applied by sponge mop and left to soak in for fifteen minutes before being scrubbed in along the grout line using a stiff narrow brush to get them really clean. Once done the floor was then rinsed with clean water and the now soiled cleaning solution removed with a wet vacuum.

The next step was to use a set of Tile Doctor burnishing pads to polish the stone back to a deep shine. The pads which are encrusted with industrial diamonds are applied with a rotary floor buffer in sequence from coarse to extra fine. The first pad has a Coarse 400 grit which is applied with only water for lubrication, removes minor scratches, sealers, and the top surface dirt. Working in small areas, I applied the pad across the Limestone, rinsing in between and picking up the soiled solution with a wet-vac machine. I then repeated this same procedure with the Medium 800 grit pad which is the first stage polishing pad again rinsing with water after use. The next two pads are a Fine 1500 grit and Extra Fine 3,000 grit which really build up a high-quality polish on the stone.

Sealing a Polished Limestone Tiled Floor

The floor was left to dry off fully overnight and I returned the next day to seal the Limestone first checking with a damp meter that the stone was dry. The Limestone had some lovely brown colours so I had recommended we use Tile Doctor Colour Grow to seal the floor as this brings out the colour and it certainly didn’t disappoint. This sealer is an impregnating sealer that works under the surface by occupying the pores in the stone thus preventing dirt from becoming ingrained there. This ensures dirt remains on the surface where it can be easily removed with regular cleaning.

A couple of floor fans were used to help speed up the drying process and after about an hour the floor gently buffed with a White pad to bring up the shine even further. Once complete the floor looked amazing.

For the aftercare cleaning of a polished stone floor like this we recommend using Tile Doctor Stone Soap. It’s a gentle yet effective cleaner that helps maintain the patina and won’t damage the sealer ensuring it lasts a long time.

 

Professional Limestone Floor Polishing in Merseyside