Marble Tile Cleaning

We received an enquiry regarding a classic chequered Marble tiled entrance hall at a lovely county residence near Uxbridge. The property had been undergoing significant refurbishment and the company doing the work had covered the floor with protective sheeting for a year. With the majority of the work out of the way we were asked to come over and quote for renovating the tiles. This was to include removing any staining, honing the stone to bring back its polished appearance and then sealing to protect it.

I paid a visit to the property to survey the floor and realised that the White tiles were Marble and the Black tiles Limestone. Not that this would make a difference as the work required would be the same. After measuring up and working out a renovation plan, a quote was provided to the renovation company who were happy for us to proceed.

Cleaning a Marble and Black Limestone Tiled Entrance Hall

Work started with the removal of the protective sheeting and then cleaning with a strong solution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean. This was left to soak in for ten minutes before being slowly worked into each tile with a Black scrubbing pad fitted to a rotary machine.

Tile Doctor Pro-Clean is a versatile tile cleaning product that when applied in a strong dilution can remove oil, grease stains and old protecting coatings including waxes. Once the whole floor had been cleaned in this manner the solution was rinsed off with water and the soiling extracted with a wet vacuum.

The next step was to hone the stone floor using a series of Tile Doctor Burnishing pads starting with a coarse 400-grit to open up the pores and flush out the dirt. The pads are applied with water for lubrication and the soiling generated is extracted with a wet vacuum afterwards. The process was then repeated using the 800 and then 1500-grit burnishing pads rinsing and extracting after each pad. These finer pads close the pores and add a polished honed finish to the stone. This left the floor with a silky-smooth finish with a reflective light sheen.

Sealing a Classic Chequered Marble and Limestone Tiled Entrance Hall Floor

Once dry, the tiles were treated with two applications of Tile Doctor Colour Grow which is an impregnating sealer that enriches the colours and provides durable stain protection. Once the whole floor had been sealed it was buffed with a White pad to remove any excess sealer and further bring up the polished appearance of the stone.

With two Tile Doctor technicians working together we were able to complete the whole floor in one day, much to the delight of the client who was keen to get the renovation finished.

For aftercare of a polished stone floor, I recommended Tile Doctor Stone Soap which is sealer safe and helps maintain the patina on the stone.

 

Professional Restoration of a Marble and Limestone Floor in North West London