bathroom

Mouldy Ceramic Tiled Bathroom Refresh Hest Bank

Renovation of a Mouldy Ceramic Tiled Bathroom in Hest Bank Lancaster

We were recently asked to refresh the Ceramic Wall Tile and Grout in the bathroom of a property in Hest Bank which is a small village on the coast North of Morecombe Bay and Lancaster. Ceramic tiles are glazed so very easy to keep clean however the main issue wasn’t the tiles themselves but the grout and silicone sealant which over time had turned black in some areas due to mould and staining.

Ceramic Tiled Bathroom Before Cleaning Hest Bank

This is not uncommon problem in small bathroom were a general lack of ventilation provides the moist conditions that mould thrives in. Additionally, the top layer of grout is slightly porous and having a rough surface it does attract dirt over time.

The only real solution to this problem is to improve the ventilation however you can minimise the problem by opening windows during showering and leaving the bathroom door open afterwards to improve cross ventilation. In the meantime, however you can keep on top of the problem with a little renovation work.

Ceramic Tiled Bathroom Before Cleaning Hest Bank

Deep Cleaning Grout in a Ceramic Tiled Bathroom

The renovation started by scrubbing the grout and sealant with Tile Doctor Duo-Clean which is a purpose made bathroom tile and grout cleaner designed to tackle mould and staining. It also kills mould spores that are still prevalent and can respawn resulting in more mould. Once done, I always like to leave any remaining product with the client for this reason so they can re-treat the problem in the future.

Scrubbing with Duo Clean worked well but some of the staining was simply so deep to remove so the only solution was to scrape it out of the grout joints with a flat blade and Stanley Knife and then re-grout. The silicone sealant around the bathtub was very badly affected by mould and had to be completely stripped out using the same method.

Grout Sealing a Ceramic Tiled Bathroom

Once the treatment was completed the tile and grout was dried off thoroughly and then a coat of Tile Doctor Wall Tile and Grout Sealer was sprayed onto the grout to help protect it from mould forming going forward. This product is very easy to use and adds a protective layer over the surface of the grout to prevent the mould spores or limescale attaching itself. It also makes the tile and grout easier to clean afterwards.

Ceramic Tiled Bathroom After Cleaning Hest Bank

Once this was done a fresh mould resistant and waterproof brand of silicone was applied to the joints between the tiles, and the bath and sink. With the fresh silicone in place and the tile and grout renovated the bathroom looked almost new and much more inviting.

For aftercare I recommended using Tile Doctor Aqua-Pro which is designed for cleaning bathroom and shower tiles, you will find this product is a mild but effective cleaner that will promote the length of the sealer applied earlier. Many tile cleaning products are bleach based and these will strip the sealer off, so it is well worth bearing that in mind when purchasing household cleaners.

Ceramic Tiled Bathroom After Cleaning Hest Bank

The client was very happy with the work we had carried out and were no longer embarrassed to allow people to use their bathroom.

 

Professional Restoration of Ceramic Tiled Bathroom in Lancashire

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Bathrooms at Decoy Cottages Ireland Before and After Cleaning

Restoring Eight Bathrooms at Self-Catering Cottages in County Meath

At Tile a Doctor, we often get asked about doing work abroad – and we are more than happy to oblige under the right circumstances for customers who are interested in benefiting from our services. I myself have been as far as France, Mallorca and Addis Ababa in Ethiopia

On this occasion the job was in County Meath in the Republic of Ireland, colloquially known as The Royal County” due to its history as the seat of the High King of Ireland.

Decoy Cottages Ireland
The customer was looking to struggling to restore the tiled shower cubicles and bathrooms in eight different apartments at their luxury, five-star holiday accommodation known as Decoy Cottages, but was struggling to find a local tradesman who specialises in replacing silicone to the standard required.

The last time it had been done was by a local builder who had made a bit of a mess of it, so you can understand the customer’s concern. Applying silicone sounds straight-forward but there is an art to it, in-fact this is something we focus on in our Tile Doctor training program. He found Tile Doctor online and, after the discussing the project in more detail and sharing examples of our previous work, we agreed a date and price for the job to be completed.

Bathrooms at Decoy Cottages Ireland Before Cleaning Bathrooms at Decoy Cottages Ireland Before Cleaning

With a deposit put down to cover travel costs, we went across on the ferry to Ireland, arriving the day before we were scheduled to start in order settle in.

Ferry Crossing to Dublin

Restoring Several Tiled Shower Cubicles and Bathrooms

As I’ve mentioned, we had eight apartments in total to restore. In each case we started by stripping out all the mouldy silicone, before cleaning the grout lines carefully with Tile Doctor Grout Clean-Up. Grout Clean-up was perfect product for this situation, as it’s an acidic cleaner that can remove grout smears, soap scum and hard water stains.

Once we were satisfied each area was clean, we set about installing fresh silicone sealant in an ivory colour which matched more effectively to the overall colour scheme than the original white silicone.

Bathrooms at Decoy Cottages Ireland After Cleaning
In total it took us took five days in total to strip, clean and re-silicone the eight bathrooms and eight shower cubicles. Naturally, this was quite a lot of work, but we managed it in the time given, and certainly to the customer’s satisfaction.

Bathrooms at Decoy Cottages Ireland After Cleaning
We did such a good job In fact we were asked to quote for more work and the customer left the following feedback on our website:

“Excellent and efficient service provided by Russell and his lovely wife Heidi. They worked really hard to rejuvenate the shower rooms and bathrooms at my self-catering holiday homes and did a fantastic job. Would highly recommend, in fact they are coming back to do my floors later in the year!”

Professional Bathroom Restoration at Self-Catering Apartments in County Meath

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