York Tile Cleaning

This large Limestone tiled kitchen and lounge area had been installed at a residence in the York area. Over time the Limestone tile had lost its shine and were badly etched in the kitchen area due to acid contamination from food, products and not using the right cleaning products for the floor.

I was asked to call round and carry out a full survey on the floor to ascertain what needed to be done to restore the appearance. My immediate thought was to restore polish to the stone using diamond encrusted burnishing pads so whist there I tested a small area with a set of Tile Doctor burnishing pads to see how well the floor would respond and demonstrate what could be achieved. I’ll describe the burnishing process in more detail below, but the small test area responded very well to the approach.

My client was very excited to see that the appearance of the Limestone tiles could indeed be restored and happily excepted my subsequent quote. Fortunately, I had a gap in the diary, so I was able to come back the following week to carry out the work.

Cleaning and Polishing a Limestone Kitchen and Lounge Tiled Floor

The first step was the protect the skirting and kitchen plinths from splashing so these were taped up before starting. Next, and working in large sections I began the process of removing old sealers and dirt by stripping back the floor to the original stone using a coarse 400-grit burnishing pad. The process involves fitting the pad to a weighted floor buffer and running the pad over each tile at least three times using only water for lubrication.

There are four burnishing pads in the set and after rising off the slurry generated by the first coarse pad and extracting with a wet vacuum I moved onto the next pad in the sequence. This is a medium 800-grit pad which is the first step in bringing back the polished appearance of the stone. I followed the same process as before rinsing with water and extracting the slurry afterwards. The next pad is a finer 1500-grit and is applied to the Limestone floor exactly as before.

The last pad in the sequence is a very fine 3000-grit pads which brings up a deep high gloss polished finish to the stone. You don’t need to apply much water for this pad, it’s basically applied dry with only a little water sprayed onto the tile using a process we call a ‘Spray Burnish’. Once done and I was satisfied that the floor was complete, it was left it to dry out fully overnight.

Sealing a Limestone Tiled Kitchen and Lounge Floor

The next day the floor was checked for moisture using a damp meter to ensure it was completely dry. Fortunately, the wet vacuum and spray burnishing the previous day had helped to dry the floor and the readings were fine.

Its not a good idea to seal a damp floor, so satisfied all was well I was able to start applying the sealer which for this floor Tile Doctor Ultra-Seal was chosen. This product is almost invisible after application, so we recommend it when the client wishes a natural a look as possible. Two coats were needed, and this will add protection to the floor by seeping into the natural pores in the stone occupying the space and preventing dirt from becoming ingrained there. After sealing you find fluids form a bubble of the surface and not soak into the stone thereby leaving a stain.

Once completed the Limestone tiles had a taken on a deep shine which my client was extremely pleased about and commented that the floor had never looked so good.

For the aftercare cleaning of polished stone including Limestone, I recommend using Tile Doctor Stone Soap which enhances patina yet it’s a mild enough cleaning product that’s safe to use on sealed tiles.

Professional Polishing of a Limestone Tiled Floor in Northeast Yorkshire