I was asked to look at renovating a shower cubicle at a property in in Manchester city centre that had been clad in White Limestone tiles. I understood the bathroom had been installed 12 years prior, but now the tiles were looking grubby, mouldy and dirty.
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The client had lived at the property for the last two years and in an attempt to resolve the problems had used a few different household products such as flash and bleach, they had tried everything, and nothing had helped. I suspected that these strong acidic cleaners had actually made the problem worse by stripping off what was left of the sealer that was protecting the Limestone, allowing dirt to become ingrained in the stone.
I visited the property and ran a few cleaning tests in the shower cubicle with Tile Doctor products. This allows me to see which product will have the best results and gives the customer confidence that we can resolve their issues. The results were immediate, they could see the difference and they were happy to accept my quote and agree a date for my return to complete the work.
Removing Mould from a White Limestone Tiled Shower Cubicle
I arrived several weeks later and made a start. The tiles were scrubbed by hand with a strong dilution of Tile Doctor Remove and Go with excellent results. This product is designed to remove coatings and sealers, and in this case, it did a great job of drawing out the ingrained stains and dirt build-up. This removed what was left of the sealer and took off most of the dirt and mould. The Limestone tiles and grout were then rinsed with water to remove the soil.
Next I needed to restore the smooth surface of the limestone which had been etched by the use of strong acidic cleaning products. To do this I used a set of six-inch diamond burnishing pads attached to a hand buffer to hone and restore the stone.
I then dried the shower tiles and grout with a heat gun checking the moisture levels with damp meter until I was satisfied it was completely dry.
Sealing a Limestone Tiled Shower Cubicle
The last step was to re-seal the Limestone and Grout using a couple of coats of Tile Doctor Colour Grow. This is natural coloured intensifying sealer which provides durable protection to the surface allowing it to breathe and enhancing the colours.
The Customer was amazed with the difference and left the following feedback!
“Kamila was friendly, professional and kept me informed about what to expect before she took on the job and during the tile cleaning. The tiles look absolutely amazing after her work – I feel as though I have a brand new bathroom! Kamila also gave me helpful tips on looking after limestone tiles. I can’t recommend her highly enough.”
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For future cleaning I recommended the use of Tile Doctor Aqua-Pro which is a pH neutral shower tile cleaner designed for use on sealed surfaces. Most cleaning products you find in supermarkets are overly strong and will erode the sealer prematurely, so when choosing a cleaning product always read the label and make sure it’s safe to use on Sealed Stone tiles.
Source: Professional Renovation of White Limestone Shower Tiles in Manchester
Covering Greater Manchester, Alex Lagonzy is an agent of Tile Doctor, the largest Tile, Stone and Grout restorative cleaning network in the UK who have developed the products and techniques to handle a multitude of issues surrounding tile, stone and grout, internal and external.