Removing quarry tile stains?Q

[peter]

Hi,

My friend has an old Victorian house with original quarry tiles in his kitchen. The tiles are about half an inch thick and he asked me if there was an easy way to remove stains (mainly fat I think), then re-seal them. He has tried some chemicals but without success. I thought some "wet and dry" to remove the top layer might work! Does anyone have other ideas, such as a machine like a floor sander fitted with a special belt perhaps? It does seem a shame to lay vinyl over it though!

Thanks

[David Lang]

Hi Peter

The problem is probably due to the very porous nature of the tiles. The fat/grease/dirt has soaked into the tile.

The solution is not mechanical, but a hot detergent solution left to soak for as long as possible. Any particularly bad stains, build a 'dam' around the stain with plasticine and fill with detergent solution.

It may not come completely clean no matter what. Accept some stains as 'age' :-)

Seal using a water based acrylic floor polish. Johnsons 'Clear' is OK and found in most supermarkets.

Dave

[[news]]

unless the OP uses one of them there small domestic steam cleaners

RT

[David Lang]

Aha! What a good idea! Could well be the answer.

Dave

[Christian McArdle]

The best chemicals are available from Lithofin.

They have a range of cleaners, up to severe aggression, although as others have stated, they might not be entirely effective if the fat is now internal to the stone. However, once you have managed to clean them, they do a range of excellent sealers. I'd probably go for KF StainStop for quarry tiles.

Christian.