Vinyl Tile Cleaning

Welcome to my Work History archive where you will find detailed examples of the cleaning and renovation of Vinyl tiles carried out in Lancashire

Cleaning and Renovating Vinyl Tiles

Vinyl flooring whether it be in a Tile format or a full floor covering has come a long way from the days of being a flimsy plastic based product some of which were made from a wood pulp/resin mix called Linoleum, hence the word Lino. Manufacturers have since introduced products that are tough, scratch resistant blends which are a lot more durable than in the past. Well-known brands include Amtico, Karndean, Altro and Rhino flooring and although durable these products do require a sealer to protect the surface from marking, enhance the colour and appearance of the Vinyl and if required add a sheen finish.

Like any sealed surface, the sealer on Vinyl will wear down over time depending on use and so will require stripping off and re-applying. Tile Doctor has a long background in creation of products for the removal of sealers and has developed Tile Doctor Vinyl Strip, which will strip off any remaining sealer and prepare the Vinyl for a new coating. To reseal the floor Tile Doctor recommend Tile Doctor Vinyl Shine, either 2 or 3 coats can be applied to give a satisfactory sheen finish and enhance the colours.

Below you will find detailed examples of work we have carried out in the past, it should give you some idea of what’s involved and what can be achieved with the right techniques and products.

Amtico Vinyl Floor Before After Cleaning Silverdale

Renovating Amtico Vinyl Flooring in Silverdale

1 Comment / Lancaster Tile Cleaning, Morecambe Tile Cleaning, Vinyl Tile Cleaning, Work History /

This client from Silverdale had called us over to renovate their 12-year-old Amtico vinyl floor that runs from the back door, through the kitchen and then over to the dining room. Although modern brands of Vinyl are much more durable than in the past, they do require a sealer to protect the surface from marking, enhance the colour and general appearance. This floor had not been retreated for twelve years and so its appearance had become dull and patchy in places.

Amtico Floor Silverdale Before Cleaning Amtico Floor Silverdale Before Cleaning

Tile Doctors are trained in the renovation of all types of Tile and this includes Vinyl flooring with which we use the same methods and equipment to strip the old sealer away and replace with new. Vinyl if a manufactured material so the products we use are different and Tile Doctor supply a Stripper and Sealer which are designed for the job.

Cleaning and Stripping an Amtico Vinyl Floor

We started by applying a clear mastic silicone around the base of the MDF panels in the kitchen, we would be using water in the cleaning process, so this was done to prevent any moisture being absorbed via capillary action which would ruin the panels.

Amtico Floor Silverdale Prep Before Cleaning

Once the area was prepped, we started stripping the old sealer off the Amtico using Tile Doctor Vinyl Strip diluted with five parts warm water. The solution was gradually applied as a slow speed buffing machine fitted with a black scrubbing pad was run over the surface. The soil generated was rinsed off the floor with water and then extracted using a wet vacuum

The floor was then steam cleaned to remove any excess product from the Vinyl, as well as making sure the floor area was as clean and dust free as possible before moving onto the next step of applying a fresh sealer.

Amtico Floor Silverdale During Steam Cleaning

The Amtico would need to be dry in order to seal it so as much moisture as possible was removed using the wet vacuum and then left to dry for about an hour with air blowers in place. This is very important as applying sealer to a damp Vinyl floor can cause issues with the bonding process resulting in the affected area turning white and feeling sticky.

Amtico Floor Silverdale Drying After Cleaning

Sealing Amtico Vinyl Flooring

Once I was satisfied the floor was dry three thin coats of Tile Doctor Vinyl Shine applied to the Amtico leaving the floor to dry for up to forty minutes between coats. Thin coats are the key, if it has a blueish tinge to the seal (what we call pooling) then the coat is too thick and needs to be thinned out which is best done with a paint pad. If the first coat is patchy, we just let it dry and then add a second coat to which will even out the patchiness.

Amtico Floor Silverdale After Cleaning Amtico Floor Silverdale After Cleaning

Tile Doctor Vinyl Shine is a modern high solids polymer floor seal and polish designed to protect and enhance the appearance of Vinyl floor tiles. It works well on all types of Vinyl including Amtico and Karndean and the optional third coat adds a super high gloss finish.

The floor looked great and really lifted the room. The client was very happy with the result and was kind enough to leave the following feedback.

”Very professional, efficient service, with an excellent end result. Very clean and tidy, punctual and made sure the job was finished to a high standard. Very pleased with the finish on my Amtico floor. – Sheila and Kevin S”

 

Professional Clean and Seal of an Amtico Tiled Kitchen in Lancashire

Renovating Amtico Vinyl Flooring in Silverdale Read More »

Amtico Vinyl Before and After Cleaning and Sealing in Heysham

Amtico Vinyl Floor Tiles Cleaned and Sealed in a Heysham Kitchen

1 Comment / Heysham Tile Cleaning, Vinyl Tile Cleaning, Work History /

Photographs below from the maintenance of Amtico Vinyl Floor Tiles in the kitchen of a house in the village of Heysham which is famous for its ferry port that has links to the Isle of Man and Ireland. This Vinyl wasn’t that dirty but it was starting to lose its sheen and when this happens it’s an indication that the sealer has started to wear down leaving it looking patchy in the high traffic areas. Once the sealer has failed then dirt will start to accumulate making it look less appealing, so my customer decided to call Tile Doctor in before it got to that point.

Amtico Vinyl Before Cleaning in Heysham
It wasn’t a big area and unlike a clay or Stone tile, Vinyl is a lot less porous and can be cleaned and sealed within the same day rather than leave it do dry overnight or even longer. This means less hassle for the customer and a better price for doing the work as well. As a guideline, a 10m2 floor area usually takes around two to three hours to deep clean and re-seal, naturally the larger the area the longer it takes.

Deep Cleaning Amtico Vinyl Floor Tiles

We started with a deep cleaning product developed for Tile Doctor called Vinyl strip which as well as leaving a pleasant floral aroma is biodegradable and phosphate free. You dilute the concentrate with ten parts of water to 1 part Vinyl Strip or if you prefer a litre of water to 100ml of product. This was mixed together in a clear container and then applied to the area to be cleaned. It’s left to soak into the floor for a while so it can break down any remaining old sealer and dirt and then scrubbed in using a deck brush.

Amtico Vinyl During Cleaning in Heysham
I find a wet vacuum machine invaluable at this point at this junction, mopping is okay but you really need to make sure all the product is extracted off the surface to be sealed otherwise it will do to the new sealer what it has done to the old. We call this process Neutralisation and a good rinse with fresh water also helps as does having an industrial air mover in place to help speed dry the floor.

Sealing Amtico Vinyl Floor Tiles

You can’t seal the Vinyl until the tiles are dry as dampness can cloud the sealer so if you don’t have an air blower we recommend leaving the floor for six to eight hours. Our air mover is quite large and it soon had the floor dry so we could move onto sealing quite quickly and applied three coats of Vinyl Shine which gave the floor a nice sheen. Each coat must dry out before the next coat can be applied but it’s worth doing correctly as each coat builds up another layer of protection on the Vinyl, again we used an Air blower to speed up the drying process.

Amtico Vinyl After Cleaning and Sealing in Heysham

Amtico Vinyl Floor After Care

Once dried we left the customer with a free bottle of Tile Doctor PH Neutral Tile Cleaner for the regular cleaning of the floor. We always recommend this product for the regular cleaning of sealed surfaces as it’s PH neutral and won’t degrade the sealer like most domestic cleaning products you find on supermarket shelves.

Maintaining Amtico Vinyl Floor Tiles in Lancashire

Amtico Vinyl Floor Tiles Cleaned and Sealed in a Heysham Kitchen Read More »

Tile Doctor Russell Taylor and Phil Middlemiss aka Des Barnes

Amtico Floor in Manchester For Corrination Street Actor

Vinyl Tile Cleaning, Work History /

As well as Tile and Stone Tile Doctor also have the ability to restore Amtico and Karndean vinyl flooring such as this Hallway in Manchester owned by none other than Coronation Street actor Philip Middlemiss aka Des Barnes which had become ingrained with dirt and was becoming difficult to clean properly.

Tile Doctor Russell-Taylor and Phil Middlemiss aka Des Barnes
Tile Doctor Russell-Taylor and Phil Middlemiss aka Des Barnes

First I applied a small tester of Tile Doctor Woodstrip, which although very good at stripping wax and polish off wooden flooring is also very good at doing the same on a quality Vinyl flooring such as Amtico and Karndean.

Amtico flooring in a Hallway Manchester
Amtico flooring in a Hallway Manchester

I did some initial testing to work out the right dilution ration and settled on five parts water to one part Woodstrip. This was then applied to the larger area and worked in using a tan buffing pad fitted to a rotary machine which is the best pad to use on Vinyl. I should add that you do have to be careful which chemicals and cleaning tools you use on these floors in case Damage is caused.

Once I had the floor clean I gave it a thorough rinse with water and removed all the soil and water with a wet vacuum to reveal a new cleaner floor. Mr Middlemiss wanted a Matt finish so we decided not to apply a sealer however I would normally recommend a sealer called WoodSeal which will protect the floor from staining.

Amtico Hallway Floor in Manchester- After Cleaning
Amtico Hallway Floor in Manchester- After Cleaning

Mr Middlemiss was really happy with the floor and was kind enough to leave the following message for me.

I would like to thank Russell Taylor, the ‘Tile Doctor’, for transforming our hall floor. The Karndean flooring we had laid, over the years had accumulated lots of dirt and staining which we have been unable to remove, yet within 2 hours Russell had transformed our floor back to its original state. He was professional, affable and highly efficient, I would highly recommend this service to anyone.
Philip Middlemiss

Amtico Floor in Manchester For Corrination Street Actor Read More »

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