This client in Chepstow had a beautiful Green Riven Slate Tiled floor installed in their living room some year prior but were now unhappy with its appearance. What was once a real feature of the property had lost its deep shine and now looked flat and unappealing.
The client called us in to see what could be done to put the life back in the stone and so I went over to survey the floor and come up with a renovation plan. The owner explained that the floor was sealed with a satin finish sealer and although they liked the way that looked it had deteriorated over time and now the floor looked patchy.
This is a common problem with sealed stone floors, sealers do wear off in the busiest parts of the floor and once this happens, they will lose their appearance as dirt gets trapped in the pores of the stone where its difficult to flush out with regular cleaning. The other problem we see is the use of harsh unsuitable cleaning products which can reduce the life of the sealer.
To resolve I recommended stripping off all the old sealer back to the natural stone, deep cleaning the pores and then re-sealing with a product that would give them the satin finish they had before. Happy with my proposal and quote a date was agreed for the work to start which would take two days, one to strip and clean and the other to seal.
Cleaning a Green Riven Slate Tiled Floor
Work started by stripping off the old sealer with a strong dilution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean which was brushed over the tile and grout, and then left to soak in for ten minutes. This dwell time gives the product time to start breaking down the old sealer and dirt. The solution was then agitated with a poly brush fitted to a large buffer machine which was run over each tile several times. This process released the remaining sealer and dirt from the stone resulting in lots of soiling which was rinsed off with water and extracted with a wet vacuum.
The tile and grout were then inspected and spot treated with a hand scrubbing brush where needed. This is especially useful to get right into the grout and tight corners where a machine will struggle. This was then followed by more rinsing and extracting to remove the resultant soiling and neutralising the entire floor to remove all trace of cleaning products prior to sealing.
The floor was then left to dry off overnight.
Sealing a Green Riven Slate Tiled Floor
The next day I returned to the property and checked several sections of the floor with a damp meter to ensure the Slate had dried off and was ready to be sealed. Sealing a damp floor is never a good idea as it can affect the sealer curing and result in a patchy appearance.
To seal the floor four coats of Tile Doctor Seal and Go were applied which is a water-based sealer that has the advantage of not leaving a smell as it dries. This produced the appealing satin finish they were after and brought out the best in the stone as you will see in the photos. The sealer will protect the stone from everyday use and can last up to five years if maintained correctly.
After the job was completed, the Green Slate looked fantastic and my customer was beyond happy. I took time to explain how to clean the floor and recommended they use of Tile Doctor Neutral Tile Cleaner. This is pH neutral product that is effective yet won’t impact the newly applied sealer.
Source: Slate Floor Tile Cleaning and Sealing Service in Chepstow Monmouthshire
