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Slate is a hard-wearing product ideal for floors however it does need a sealer to bring out the best in it and sealers do wear off after a few years and this had happened with the Slate tiled floor in this post. The floor was now looking dull and the grout had also discoloured so time to call in Tile Doctor to breathe new life into the tile and grout.
Cleaning a Slate Floor
It’s not a good idea to apply a new sealer on-top of existing as it can affect the final result so the first task was to strip back the floor to the natural stone giving the Slate and Grout a thorough clean in the process.
To do this a strong solution of Tile Doctor Tile Doctor Pro-Clean was applied and left to soak into the floor for about 20 minutes; Pro-Clean has a strong alkaline base so it’s safe to use on Stone as opposed to a weak acid cleaner. After twenty minutes it was worked into the slate and grout using a low speed bonnet machine fitted with a black scrubbing pad with the excess extracted using a wet vacuum.
This process was repeated three times to make sure all the old sealer and dirt was completely removed and after this the grout was cleaned by hand using more Pro-Clean and a stiff brush. Once done the whole floor was then neutralised with more water to ensure there was no trace of cleaning product remaining on the floor prior to sealing.
Grout Colouring
The floor was left to dry off overnight and returned the second day to colour the grout to dark grey which made a big improvement to the overall look of the floor; the grout colours we use come in 12 colours so we can usually find one that matches the customers’ requirements, once applied they also form a great barrier preventing future staining. Once the colourant has dried the floor was given a further clean with Tile Doctor Neutral Cleaner which is an everyday cleaning product we recommend for sealed floors.
Sealing a Slate Floor Sealing
The floor was left to dry and we came back two days later to re-seal the tile for which we used five coats of Tile Doctor Seal and Go which is a great sealer for Slate tiled floors as it leaves a low sheen finish whilst providing excellent stain protection. I should mention that Seal and Go is also a water based sealer so it doesn’t leave a smell whilst it’s drying.
We left the floor to dry overnight again and came back the third day to seal the Slate tiles for which we used six coats of Tile Doctor Seal and Go which give a subtle shine to the tiles and matched the customers requirements.
Source: Slate Floor Tile Cleaning