Renovating Very Dirty Flagstones in Sheffield
Our clients owned a stunning 400-year-old cottage in the village of Oughtibridge, Sheffield with a Flagstone floor in the Kitchen. The floor was original to the building but wasn’t practical, it had 400 years of dirt and grime stuck to it and over the years had turned black.
In an attempt to get the floor clean, they had tried lots of different cleaning products but nothing you could buy from a supermarket was ever going to help when the stone is this dirty. After researching the problem further, they found Tile Doctor and so contacted us for a solution.
I went over to the property to survey the floor and carry out a test clean on small area to work out which products and methods would get the floor clean. The demonstration went well which impressed the client and agreed to our quote.
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Oughtibridge stands 5 miles north of the centre of Sheffield and is surrounded by beautiful countryside, there are breath-taking views from the village looking down the valley towards Sheffield City Centre.
Cleaning a Flagstone Tiled Hallway Floor
To get the flagstones clean we started by soaking the floor in a strong dilution of Tile Doctor Pro Clean, this was left to work for 10 minutes before using a rotary floor machine fitted with a selection of diamond pads and brushes to scrub the floor.
A combination of the Tile Doctor Pro Clean and the machine made short work of the 400 years worth of grime on the stone. The difference was incredible, our clients were shocked at the results we were getting. Once clean we rinsed the floor a couple of times to make sure all the slurry had been removed, this was extracted away with the wet vacuum to keep the mess to a minimum.
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With the floor clean the next stage was to seal the stone however it would need to be dry before we could do that. Old flagstone floors like these don’t have a damp-proof membrane installed beneath the stone so can take longer to dry out; with this in mind we left it a week before returning to make sure it had plenty of time to dry out.
Sealing a 400-Year-Old Flagstone Kitchen Floor
Returning the following week, we used the moisture meter to test the floor and ensure it was fully dried out. The weather had been warm all week so I expected it to be fine which it was.
Our clients chose Tile Doctor Seal & Go Extra to seal the floor, it gives stone a satin finish and makes sure all the pores in the stone can’t be filled with dirt again. We applied three coats leaving each one to dry between coats. This sealer is also breathable so will cope well with any moisture rising through the stone.
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My clients were so happy to have a clean floor and left the following message on the Tile Doctor feedback system.
“Matt has transformed our 1640 sandstone floor from a dark grey colour, which was impossible to keep clean with ingrained dirt over years to an attractive looking sealed floor with beige and rose tints which can now kept clean.”
Before leaving I discussed with them the best way to maintain the floor and recommended that they use Tile Doctor Neutral Tile Cleaner. This is pH neutral tile cleaning product which won’t harm the sealer with use. It has a nice minty smell and being concentrated only a small amount it required.
Source: Stone Floor Cleaning and Renovation Service in Sheffield