Marble Tile Cleaning

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

Cleaning and Polishing Marble tiles

Marble is reputed in the international market for its premium quality, toughness and durability. It is often the preferred choice for interior and exterior in both commercial and domestic situations for flooring, wall cladding, paving, facades of buildings, pavements and landscaping.

One of the main issues with polished Marble is the polish starts to wear down with use and eventually becomes dull. Another issue we see is acid etching where strong unsuitable cleaning products used on the stone etch the surface and ruin its appearance. To resolve both these problems the stone needs to be re-polished with diamond encrusted burnishing pads of different grits to hone the stone and bring back that deep shine. If this sounds familiar you should talk to us about our annual maintenance program where we visit you once a year to clean, polish and seal your floor thus keeping it in top condition.

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.

Marble Tile and Grout Cleaned and Polished in Crediton Devon

Grout Cleaning and Polishing a Marble Tiled Kitchen Floor in Crediton

1 Comment / Grout Cleaning, Marble Tile Cleaning, Tiverton Tile Cleaning /

This customer in Crediton originally enquired about grout cleaning for their Kitchen floor, however after speaking to them on the phone I discovered their tiles where Marble and so I suggested they may be interested in our stone polishing service as well.

Interested in the possibilities I arranged a time to pop over to the house and conduct a survey and test clean. I’m based in Crediton, so it wasn’t long before I was able to pay them a visit. Whilst there demonstrating grout cleaning, I explained how Marble responds wonderfully to our diamond pad burnishing system and would be possible to go one step further and make this floor a ‘wow’ feature again. I conducted a quick demonstration of the burnishing process which went well, and they agreed it was definitely something they would like to have done and were happy to book me in for both jobs.

Marble Tiled Kitchen Floor Before Cleaning Crediton

Having agreed my quote the only thing that was left was to agree a date to do the work which would take two days. As it turns out they had planned a holiday and so I it was agreed I would do the work whilst they were away to minimise disruption.

Marble Tiled Kitchen Floor Before Cleaning Crediton

Deep Cleaning Grout and Marble Kitchen Tiles

To start, I added low level protection to then the bottom 7 inches or so of the kitchen units and walls to stop any slurry splashes. After this I applied a coat of Tile Doctor alkaline cleaning/stripping product called Remove & Go and left to dwell and soak into the stone. This emulsified and broke down what remained of the existing sealer and ingrained dirt in the grout lines which was causing the discolouration.

After ten minutes the solution was then worked into the floor using a Black scrubbing pad fitted to a rotary floor buffer. Where needed I also used a stiff grout brush along the grout lines until I was satisfied it was as clean and White as it could be. The soiled liquid was then rinsed off the floor and extracted with an industrial wet vacuum.

Next I started the burnishing process with the application of a coarse 400-grit diamond pad fitted to the rotary machine. Using only water for lubrication the pad was worked into each tile until I had covered the whole area. I then repeated this process through 800 and 1500-grit pads extracting the slurry between each pad with the wet vacuum. The pads deep clean the Marble and slowly refine the surface to build up the polished appearance.

After the 1500-grit pad I put several floor fans in place to accelerate the drying of the Marble floor before applying the last pad in the burnishing system which is a very fine 3000-grit polishing pad which adds lovely shine to the Marble and is applied dry with only a little water sprayed onto the tile.

Once done the burnishing work had been completed and it was time to let the floor completely dry out overnight so it would be ready for sealing the next day.

Sealing a Marble Tiled Kitchen Floor

I arrived in the morning and began work by inspecting the floor and taking a few moisture readings to ensure it has completely dry. I was happy with how clean the Grout looked and how well the Marble had responded to the burnishing process. The floor had that smart, eye-catching polished appearance and just needed sealing to protect it from dirt becoming ingrained into the pores of the stone.

Having discussed choice of sealers with the customer previous we had agreed to seal the floor with Tile Doctor Colour Grow. This is a great choice for Marble as it contains a colour enhancer that intensifies the lovely natural mineral colours in the stone which otherwise are lost when dry. Two coats were needed, allowing the first coat to dry before applying the second.

Marble Tiled Kitchen Floor After Polishing Crediton

A few days later I heard back from the clients who had just arrived back from their holiday, they were overjoyed with the results I achieved not just to the grout but how well their Marble floor now looked. For aftercare cleaning of polished stone floors, we recommend using Tile Doctor Stone Soap, it’s compatible with sealers and helps maintain the patina on the stone.

Marble Tiled Kitchen Floor After Polishing Crediton

 

Professional Cleaning and Polishing of a Marble Tiled Kitchen Floor in Devon

Grout Cleaning and Polishing a Marble Tiled Kitchen Floor in Crediton Read More »

Cream Marble Tiled Floor Polished in Lympstone Devon

Wax Sealed 130m2 Cream Marble Tiled Floor Polished in Lympstone

1 Comment / Exeter Tile Cleaning Service, Grout Cleaning, Marble Tile Cleaning /

I was asked to pop over to the village of Lympstone to survey a beautiful Cream Mable tiled floor. The owner of the property was unhappy with its appearance as the wax-based product used to seal it previously had significantly dulled over the years resulting in a flat/matte look and making marks extremely obvious and difficult to remove.

Wax based products like the one used on this floor and a traditional method for protecting Marble floor but its easily marked, tricky to remove and with the advent of modern stone sealing products it’s not a solution we recommend

After surveying the 130m2 of Marble tiles, I could see the best way forward would be to remove the wax, clean the floor and then use a ‘Burnishing’ process to bring up the deep natural shine in the stone and then seal to protect. I explained the process in full and a date was agreed for my return to do the renovation.

Marble Floor Before Polishing Lympstone Devon

Deep Cleaning Red and Brown Marble Kitchen Tiles

I began by scrubbing in Tile Doctor Cleaner/Stripper product called Remove & Go, this emulsified and broke down the wax seal, loosened up any surface dirt and marks and cleaned up the grout lines which was significantly discoloured due to years of use.

I find the best was to do this it to spray on the Remove and Go, then let it soak into the tile and then run over each tile with a black scrubbing pad. Pads can struggle to reach into the recesses of the grout line so to ensure a thorough clean I also run a stiff hand brush over the grout.

The floor was rinsed with water and then the soiling extracted with a wet vacuum. It was important to remove the wax before starting the next stage of burnishing other wise the diamond pads used in this process will become clogged with remnants of wax.

Marble Floor During Polishing Lympstone Devon
With the wax removed the chemical clean was complete and I was ready to move onto burnishing the Marble. On this occasion I stared with an 800-grit diamond burnishing pad fitted to a rotary machine running with added weight to make better contact with the floor. I only use water to lubricate the process and make eight to ten passes over each section. The process is then repeated without the weights using a 1500-grit diamond pad and water before vacuuming up the slurry.

Finally, I spray a small amount of fresh water onto the floor and burnish the Marble until almost dry with a 3000-grit diamond pad. This is the last step in the polishing processed and adds a lovely sheen to the stone.

Marble Floor During Polishing Lympstone Devon

Sealing Red and Brown Marble Kitchen Tiles

After the floor had been buffed dry, I finished by sealing the marble with Tile Doctor Ultra seal which is a specially formulated seal specifically for polished marble. It’s a natural look sealer that doesn’t change the characteristics of the stone and is almost invisible.

Ultra-Seal is an impregnating sealer that provides durable protection by impregnating the pores in the stone with sealer, so dirt cannot become ingrained there. The results were sharp and obvious and the customers were both very happy with the results and was a large job on their renovation tick list completed.

Marble Floor After Polishing Lympstone Devon
For aftercare cleaning of polished stone floors, we recommend using Tile Doctor Stone Soap, it’s compatible with sealers and helps maintain the patina on the stone.

 

Professional Restoration of a Marble Tiled Kitchen Floor in Devon

Wax Sealed 130m2 Cream Marble Tiled Floor Polished in Lympstone Read More »

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