Back here with another job, this time in the small commuter town of Chinnor in Oxfordshire to clean and seal a Slate patio which was looking worse for wear. Slate is a highly durable material that is a popular choice not only for external flooring such as patio, but also for internal flooring in high traffic areas like kitchens and hallways. A few days before I began the cleaning, I visited the property in order to rake and re-fill the grout.
Cleaning a Slate patio
Working in sections, I began the cleaning process by pre-wetting the individual area of the patio, before applying a dilution of Tile Doctor Pro Clean. I use Pro-Clean as a cleaner for several different types of stone flooring, whether internal or external, as it is very good at getting underneath the dirt and lifting it out, being an alkaline it’s also safe to use on all types of Tile and Stone.
The solution was left to on the surface to dwell for a while, before scrubbing in with a medium brush attached to a floor machine. Once I had finished cleaning, I used a wet-vac machine to remove any watery residue before rinsing the area with clean water, and soaking up the excess once again with the wet-vac. I repeated this same process for the entire patio.
Sealing a Slate patio
Before beginning the sealing process, I ensured that the floor was completely dry, as any excess moisture could have impacted negatively on the performance of the sealer. My sealer of choice was Tile Doctor Colour Grow, a colour enhancing, impregnating sealer; two coats were sufficient.
As an impregnating sealer, Colour Grow works its way into the pores of the Slate, providing durable surface protection from within. In addition, the colour intensifying properties of Colour Grow bring out the natural colours and shades in the surfaces to which it is applied.
The finished result, as you can see from the photos, was quite a different look for this Slate patio. The many layers of grime and dirt had previously hidden the fantastic character of the tiles, but with a good clean and colour enhancing seal, the patio was brought back to life. Both myself and my client were very pleased with the outcome.
Source: Professional Tile, Stone and Grout cleaning services in Oxfordshire
Sealers do breakdown over time depending on wear and tear and what products are used to clean the floor so if you do want to keep your tile and grout looking its best talk to Tile Doctor to work out a maintenance program for your patio.