There have been a number of posts recently relating to cleaning Victorian & Edwardian Geometric and Encaustic floors.
Let me clarify "Victorian floors" is a generalisation and usually refers to old floors in Victorian or Edwardian houses that have often only just been found. This usually means someone has just bought a house and discovered what was a beautiful floor below carpet or lino.
These floors are usually made up of small, unglazed tiles in natural earthy colours mixed together in geometric patterns. Sometimes you may come across what is known as encaustic tiles (the patterns are created by thin slips of different coloured clays that produce the same effect as marquetry in woodwork).
These floors are also, typically laid with very tight joints, yet somehow they seem to have remained free of movement issues, this may have something to do with the typical bed, i.e. a lime mortar but is usually down to the skill of the fixer at the time!
So now you have been called out to clean one of these floors!
What do you do? Well the short answer is assess it! If you are unsure what the contaminants are! Ask? 9/10 The client will know!
Over the years the floor has undoubtedly been subjected to all kinds of traffic and a will have been exposed to a great variety of contaminants. This may have resulted in not only a dirty appearance but sometimes a very damaged or pitted surface. Short of replacing the tiles - which is not always an option, there is little we can do about the damage, but it is possible with advanced techniques to repair some damage but that is a post for another day!
Cleaning however, is another matter. The types of dirt to which the floor may have been subjected could include, wax polish, oils, paint splashes (from countless decorating sessions) and if the building has undergone renovation sometime in its recent history, then there could well be cement, plaster etc. Of course, there will be layer upon layer of general dirt and grime. Another common issue with floors like this is that around the perimeter there may be the remains of a 'contact' type adhesive, or even nail holes used to secure carpet gripper rods.
Unless you can see that the vast majority of the 'dirt' is builders dirt, then don't reach for an acid first. If it is clearly cement and plaster type contamination, then, OK, try Miracle Phosphoric Acid diluted accordingly - this is a powerful, water-based cleaner with phosphoric acid (a safe acid). However, in most cases there will be a mix of things and most of it will be wax/oil or general grime. You can also use Miracle Heavy duty Acidic Cleaner and they now do a new one which is acid free.
However, in most cases start with PSRP Xtreme Heavy Duty Tile & Grout Cleaner, a powerful alkaline cleaner that will not harm the tile or grout but will provide a 'deep clean' removing much of the ingrained dirt. For a general deep clean, a dilution rate of 4 or 5:1 with clean warm water should be fine. If there are thicker or more stubborn layers of waxy polish, then you can mix the HDT&GC to stripping strength (2 parts water to 1 part cleaner). Leave the cleaner to dwell for 5 to 10 minutes before scrubbing, then rinse well. This should have removed most of the dirt so now you can take a closer look to see if there are any other isolated stains or stubborn marks. If this fails to move it then you can use Honing Powder. I suggest 220 or 320 grit coupled with a Soft to Medium Nylon Brush on a Mono Speed Rotary Machine. Make sure you thoroughly rinse afterwards.
If there are some really stubborn stains or traces of contact adhesives or paint etc then use PSRP Sealing and Coating Remover or Miracle Epoxy Grout Film Remover. In some cases, the wax polish can be so thick or ingrained that you may need this to strip the entire floor - experience will tell you whether or not to go for the stripping option from the start, however, until you feel you are experienced enough, it is better to try the PSRP Xtreme Heavy Duty Tile & Grout Cleaner first!
Now the floor should be as clean as it is possible to get it. The only problem you may have now is that the customer may think their 'clean' floor looks a little dull or lifeless, this is because it has been polished, even if no polishes had ever been applied, it will have "effectively looked polished by grime" or to put it another way it had gained a patina.
Once the floor is clean you can offer to restore this look in several different ways but that is part 2!
Kev Martin
Marblelife Ltd
