Shower Tile Cleaning

Travertine Tiled Shower Before After Restoration Totley Sheffield

Troublesome Travertine Tiled Shower Enclosure Renovated in Totley

I was asked to call into a property in the Sheffield suburb of Totley to renovate a troublesome Travertine tiled shower enclosure. The customer simply couldn’t keep the shower clean and the travertine was just getting dirtier and dirtier. I could see from the pictures that the stone tiles were becoming stained with the use of shampoo and soaps, also there was evidence of mould build-up which had led to some of the grout turning black.

Once I was on site, I could see that any sealant that may have been present on the Travertine had broken down and worn off leaving the pores in the stone vulnerable to dirt etc. Once dirt has become ingrained you will find it very difficult to get rid of it using normal household cleaners. I discussed with the client the best course of action, we chatted about the cost and they were happy to go ahead with the work. The work would take less than a day to complete.

Travertine Tiled Shower Enclosure Before Cleaning Totley

Cleaning a Travertine Tiled Shower Enclosure

I started by applying Tile Doctors Oxy-Gel which is a Tile and Grout cleaning product in a Gel form that allows it to cling to walls without running off. This means you can leave it working on the Tile and Grout for as long as you want. Thirty minutes is normally enough to clean most stone and lift the underlying dirt. The Oxy-Gel was then scrubbed in by hand and rinsed off with water. The first clean, removed most of the dirt and grime, however the really stained areas were treated twice.

Once the stone was clean, I turned my attention to the mould stained silicone seal between the tile and shower tray. I worked carefully to remove the existing silicone with a sharp knife to ensure neither the tile or shower tray was damaged. After cleaning up the area and making sure it was dry new Limestone coloured silicone was inserted to match the grout. It’s important to use good quality silicone as the cheaper ones tend to discolour fast.

Sealing a Travertine Tiled Shower

Once the tiles were fully dry, I set about sealing the Travertine and Grout using two coats of Tile Doctor Ultra Seal. This is a premium, no-sheen, natural-look, sealer which is formulated to provide maximum stain protection, it is also an excellent grout sealer. The natural colours of the now clean Travertine tiles were able to shine through and any water now runs off the wall instead of collecting in the pores of the stone.

Travertine Tiled Shower Enclosure After Cleaning Totley

As you can imagine my client was delighted with the result. To ensure they stopped using the household cleaners applied previously we left them with some free Tile Doctor Aqua-Pro shower cleaner and instruction on how to keep the shower area looking great. This product is pH neutral so will not prematurely erode the sealer which happens with stronger supermarket products.

 

Professional Renovation of a Travertine Tiled Shower in South Yorkshire

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Ceramic Tiled Shower Cubicle Before and After Cleaning Hillsborough

Ceramic Tiled Shower Cubicle Revamp in Hillsborough, Sheffield

We were contacted by a family from Hillsborough, which is a suburb of Sheffield, who had seen some of the work we do renovating shower cubicles on the internet and wanted to know if I would do the same for their shower.

Ceramic Shower Tile and Grout Before Revamp Sheffield Ceramic Shower Tile and Grout Before Revamp Sheffield

One of the biggest problems affecting bathrooms is mould which thrives in a warm damp environment, the best way to prevent it is to extract the moisture created when having a shower with adequate ventilation. Other steps you can take to reduce mould include always leaving the door open after a shower to improve cross ventilation and rinsing the shower down with cold water afterwards. Tile Doctor also have a product called Aqua-Pro that you can spray on your tiles after use.

I went over to take a look and could see that the Ceramic tiles were only slightly stained and would no doubt clean-up easily however the grout had gone black in places with mould and orange in others due to the dyes in shampoos and soaps. Ceramic tiles are glazed and so usually very easy to keep clean however grout and silicone is more vulnerable and if you now cleaned on a regular basis mould can get a grip and it can prove very stubborn to remove.

Ceramic Shower Tile and Grout Before Revamp Sheffield

Cleaning Ceramic Bathroom Tile and Grout

The home owners had tried to rectify the problem before by applying more grout and silicone to the affected areas however this hadn’t cured the ventilation issue, so it wasn’t long before the problem resurfaced. I recommended replacing all the badly affected grout and the silicone sealer strip around the base of the shower to give the cubicle a fresh look.

My first task was to see how far we could get by cleaning the tile and grout using Tile Doctor Duo-Clean which is designed for use in bathrooms where it’s effective at cleaning grout and removing mould. It comes in a spray bottle so it’s just a question of spraying it onto the tile, grout and silicone and leaving it for ten minutes before scrubbing it in with a stiff brush or scouring pad. The soil was then rinsed off the tile and grout and the shower left to dry off for a while, so we could see which areas were so badly stained would need re-grouting.

The next step was to carefully remove the old silicone sealant from around the edges of the shower cubicle using a sharp knife, then using a combination of power tools and blades we removed the grout in the affected areas and put in new white grout to match the exiting.

While the grout was drying, the shower tray was cleaned up and new silicone sealant has added around the base of the shower cubicle using a premium mould resistant silicone that should be more resistant to staining.

Ceramic Shower Tile and Grout After Revamp Sheffield

The combination of cleaning and grout replacement worked a treat and the shower looks like a brand-new installation. This doesn’t resolve the ventilation issue, so I left the customer with a bottle of Tile Doctor Aqua-Pro with instructions to spray the tiles down regularly in order to keep it looking fresh and clean.

Ceramic Shower Tile and Grout After Revamp Sheffield Ceramic Shower Tile and Grout After Revamp Sheffield

 

Professional Shower Tile and Grout Cleaning in Cheshire

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