This wet room in Doncaster had become so mouldy and dirty the owners didn’t know what to do with it. The Limestone and Marble Mosaics on the floor and the Ceramic wall tile and Grout throughout the bathroom had become so badly affected with mould, nothing they could buy from could resolve it.
Following my site visit I was confident the room could be cleaned up (in-fact I have seen worse), I explained what we could do to restore and revamp the wet room and they were happy to go ahead with my quote.
Deep Cleaning Mouldy Textured Ceramic Wetroom Wall Tiles
First, I opened windows to maximise ventilation and then working top down I set about tackling the Ceramic wall tile and grout by spraying on a strong dilution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean. Spraying on the solution mixes it with air making it lighter and easier to stick to the wall where it can soak in and get to work breaking down the mould.
After about fifteen minutes it was scrubbed into the tile and specifically the grout joints where it was needed most. This action releases grime and other contamination from the grout. The room needed a series of different treatments due to the different tiles and areas of mould, so I followed that up with Tile Doctor Duo Clean. This is a bleach-based cleaner which is brilliant at tackling mould and getting the grout back to its original colour.
The Ceramic tile in this bathroom has a textured surface which traps dirt so to get them clean I also used Tile Doctor Oxy-Gel. Being a Gel is easily sticks to the vertical surface allowing for longer dwell times which allows the product to dissolve the dirt and make it easier to remove.
Deep Cleaning Mouldy Limestone and Marble Mosaic Wetroom Floor Tiles
With the walls looking much clear for my efforts I turned my attention to the Mosaic floor tiles. For these I went straight in with a cocktail combination of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean and Duo Clean cleaners which I knew from cleaning the wall tiles would have the right impact.
I was also able to use a buffing machine fitted with a poly brush attachment and running at medium speed to do most of the scrubbing. The grout lines were green with mould, and I was able to get this process to return the Mosaics and grout lines back to their original state.
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The slurry was removed with a wet vacuum and rinsed thoroughly with water. It took many hours and repeated scrubbing to get the room looking like it should. I was then able to finally leave for the day and allow the wet room to dry out overnight.
Sealing Wet Room Floor and Wall Tiles
I returned the following morning and started by removing all the old silicone from the corners of the room, much of it had become stained and difficult to get clean so replacement was the best option. The waste was removed and replaced with a new bead of mould resistant silicone colour matched to suit the tiles.
The Mosaics has fully dried by this point, so I was then able to apply a sealer to floor to seal in the Marble and Limestone floor Mosaics and grout. I used a couple of coats of Tile Doctor Colour Grow for this, it’s a breathable impregnating sealer that’s suitable for wet rooms. For the wall tile and grout, I used an aerosol sealer which will help protect the walls from getting mouldy and dirty again.
Once I had finished, I educated the owners on how to keep up the cleaning of the room supplying them with a complimentary bottle of Tile Doctor Aqua-Pro shower tile Cleaner. This is much better than any supermarket cleaner as it is pH neutral and will ensure that the newly applied sealant will not be prematurely affected. Hopefully, this will ensure it never gets quite so bad in the future however improved ventilation is the real key to solving that problem. They were very satisfied with the work we carried out and as you can see from the photographs on this page, the wet room has been transformed.
Whilst Tile Doctor products like Duo Clean will allow you to remove mould in most cases it won’t resolve the underlying problem which is a lack of ventilation. Leaving a window open during showering or leaving a door fully open after you have finished can improve cross ventilation and help reduce the problem; rinsing down the tiles with cold water after use also helps.