Shower Cubicle Cleaning Archives - North West Yorkshire Tile Doctor

Renovating a Mouldy Porcelain Tiled Shower Cubicle in Osmotherley

The pictures below are of a Porcelain tiled shower cubicle at a property I was asked to survey in the village of Osmotherley on the Western edge of the North York Moors national park. It had been tiled in two different types of Porcelain to achieve an impressive effect. Unfortunately, the tiles had now become discoloured with the usual build-up of soap dyes, soap scum and mould. To make things worse there were layers of silicon sealant that were more black than clear, making it look really dirty and unpleasant.

Mouldy Porcelain Shower Cubicle Before Cleaning Osmotherley

The client had contemplated trying to replace this themselves but recognised they could not achieve a good finish. We discussed the work to be done and agreed a price and a suitable date.

Cleaning a Porcelain Tiled Shower Room

I first spayed the grout with Tile Doctor Pro-Clean in a 1:3 dilution with water to loosen the soap scum. Dependent on the situation and how soiled the tiles we will dilute the product accordingly. This was left to dwell for a short time, scrubbed and rinsed off. I then applied Tile Doctor Oxy-Gel to small 2 square metres areas of tile at a time and left for ten minutes before scrubbing it in to remove the grime. This process was repeated until all the walls were scrubbed down. It was amazing how much dirt and grime was removed. The resultant slurry was then rinsed off thoroughly with water and removed with the wet vacuum.

I then spent nearly four hours carefully removing the layers of silicone sealant, the sealant had been reapplied before on top of the existing by the previous owners. It was a tedious part of the job, but essential to remove all the sealant so we could get a nice finish when we came to reapply it. Also, to make sure there was no moisture trapped between the tile and tray l force dried it with a heat gun.

Sealing a Porcelain Tiled Shower Cubicle

Then a thin coat of quality mould resistant clear silicone was applied to provide a water proof barrier around the edges of the shower cubicle. This ensures that no water can escape from the cubicle and get behind the tiles or worse still leak through the ceiling. It is critical that this is water tight.

Mouldy Porcelain Shower Cubicle After Cleaning Osmotherley

You can see from the pictures a massive transformation in the appearance of the shower, it now looks a lot more inviting and appealing to use!

For aftercare I recommended the use of Tile Doctor Duo Clean which is an effective double action grout cleaner and mould remover designed for use in bathrooms.

Professional Restoration of Porcelain Tiled Shower Room in North West Yorkshire

Travertine Wet Room with Leakage Problem Restored in Harrogate

1 Comment / Harrogate Tile Cleaning, Travertine Tile Cleaning, Work History / Nigel Stoker

Travertine is a distinct and highly aesthetic material which offers unique characteristics and colouring that not many other types of stone can offer. It looks great when used on tiled floors and in this case shower cubicles however like any natural stone it does need maintenance.

Travertine WetRoom Harrogate Before Cleaning

A good example of this point was this Travertine wet room in Harrogate, which comprised of large format Travertine tiles on the floor and Travertine mosaic tiles on the walls. It was in poor condition and to make things worse had been leaking for years. A local plumber had tried to resolve the leak, but to no avail. At this point, the property owner was desperately searching for a solution, and decided to contact me to see what could be done both to restore the appearance of the wet room and fix the leakage.

Cleaning a Travertine Tiled Wet Room

On first inspection of the wet room, l couldn’t see any obvious problems that might be causing the leak, however the white silicon did look a bit questionable and had already decided that would need replacing. To start I turned my attention to cleaning the whole shower cubicle, including the tile and grout.

I did this by applying Tile Doctor Pro-Clean, which is a high alkaline cleaner, to remove the mould, soap scum and dyes caused by daily exposure to acidic soap and shampoos. These issues can build up exceptionally quickly if care is not taken to regularly rinse down the shower after each use.

During this process, I noticed grout haze had been left on the surface of the tiles following installation and so treated the problem with Tile Doctor Acid Gel, which is a blend of hydrochloric and phosphoric acid in gel form. Being a gel, this product works particularly well on vertical surfaces because it is easier to control.

The next step was to resolve the leakage problem, starting by removing all the old and unattractive white silicon. When l removed the silicon, I could see that it was black with mould at the back. It was clear to me then that water was getting behind it and this was the cause of the leak. Also, this revealed a 2-3mm gap between the wall and the base of the shower. The gap was damp and mould had collected there, so this needed to be scraped out manually and the gap dried with a heat gun. Finally, l filled the gap with grout to seal it and left the wet room to dry overnight.

Sealing a Travertine Tiled Wet Room

The next day, I returned to the property and sealed the grout with Tile Doctor Ultra-Seal. This is a premium, natural-look, penetrating sealer formulated to provide maximum stain protection and allow moisture vapour transmission. To finish the restoration, I applied fresh, clear silicon around the base.

In my opinion, white silicon should never have been used with stone, as clear silicon is far more suitable and more pleasing to the eye. Certainly, my customer agreed – and she was very pleased with the result and no more leak.

Professional Restoration of a Travertine Tiled Wet Room in North Yorkshire

Travertine Wet Room with Leakage Problem Restored in Harrogate Read More »