PLEASE READ BEFORE POSTING

Hello Forumites! However well-intentioned, for the safety of other users we ask that you refrain from seeking or offering medical advice. This includes recommendations for medicines, procedures or over-the-counter remedies. Posts or threads found to be in breach of this rule will be removed.
We're aware that some users are experiencing technical issues which the team are working to resolve. Thank you for your patience.
📨 Have you signed up to the Forum's new Email Digest yet? Get a selection of trending threads sent straight to your inbox daily, weekly or monthly!

Cleaning old tiles

Options
Hi all, wondered if any of you could help?
As some already know I have moved to Wales from Staffordshire.
The house we have moved to needs lots of work.
In the lounge we have some old tiles, the house was bult 1954, we aren't sure what these tiles are but they need a dam good clean. We have quarry tiles in the dining room but in the lounge the floor tiles look, at first glance, like parquay flooring but on closer inspection are actually some form of tile. They are a really dark brown colour but as I have found out, after leaving a wallpaper steam stripper switched on, they loose their colour if steamed. Any ideas what I could clean them with or use to restore the dark brown colour?
Thanks Weeze x
«1

Comments

  • weeze210
    weeze210 Posts: 131 Forumite
    Tenth Anniversary Combo Breaker
    Has no-one any ideas?
    I'm a bit stuck as to what to do!

    Weeze x
  • fairtrade
    fairtrade Posts: 476 Forumite
    You could try a micro-fibre cloth, normally give good results on any hard surface.
    For myself I am an optimist - there does not seem to be much use being anything else.
    Sir Winston Churchill
  • SailorSam
    SailorSam Posts: 22,754 Forumite
    10,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    I think it's going to take a lot of elbow grease.
    Could you try something like Tcut, you know the stuff you use on cars to get ingrained dirt out.
    Or, be careful using it but caustic soda.
    Liverpool is one of the wonders of Britain,
    What it may grow to in time, I know not what.

    Daniel Defoe: 1725.
  • weeze210
    weeze210 Posts: 131 Forumite
    Tenth Anniversary Combo Breaker
    Thanks for the replies
    There is some old paint and other stuff which hasn't shifted with a scourer and ordinary floor cleaner so I'm wondering if chemicals might be required! Also where I left the wallpaper steamer on the floor it seems to have 'bleached' the colour out, any ideas what to use to put the dark brown colour back?

    Weeze x
  • Memory_Girl
    Memory_Girl Posts: 4,957 Forumite
    I know this is going to sound nuts - but could the tiles be encaustic tiles? In which case you need to rub linseed oil on them to put the colour back in .............. worth a try on a small area.

    MG
    FINALLY AND OFFICIALLY DEBT FREE
    Small Emergency Fund £500 / £500
    Pay off all Debts £10,000 / £10,000
    Grown Up Emergency Fund £6000 / £6000 :j
    Pension Provision £6688/£2376
  • tpt
    tpt Posts: 312 Forumite
    are you sure its not parquet? 1954 is a bit modern for encaustic tiles.

    Could you pop a picture on?
  • squeaky
    squeaky Posts: 14,129 Forumite
    10,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    I can't believe that a steam cleaner would leach colour out of a ceramic tile. So either your tiles are not ceramic - or they are covered with a layer of "something" which is a dark colour.

    There are all sorts of colourants for tiles on the market, so could this be the case?
    Hi, I'm a Board Guide on the Old Style and the Consumer Rights boards which means I'm a volunteer to help the boards run smoothly and can move and merge posts there. Board guides are not moderators and don't read every post. If you spot an inappropriate or illegal post then please report it to forumteam@moneysavingexpert.com. It is not part of my role to deal with reportable posts. Any views are mine and are not the official line of MoneySavingExpert.
    Never ascribe to malice that which is adequately explained by incompetence.
    DTFAC: Y.T.D = £5.20 Apr £0.50
  • weeze210
    weeze210 Posts: 131 Forumite
    Tenth Anniversary Combo Breaker
    https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-HEsSuWbw5bA/To7r90EeSJI/AAAAAAAAAi8/AtSqwsOXrTc/s800/IMG_2077.JPG

    If you click on the above link it'll show the floor and the 'bleached' patch the wallpaper stripper did!
    Thanks for all your ideas so far

    Weeze x
  • squeaky
    squeaky Posts: 14,129 Forumite
    10,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    I still can't tell if those are ceramic tiles or not - though it's odd that the steam cleaner did a better job (judging by your picture) of cleaning the tiles than it did of cleaning the grout between them.

    One possible way round all this, given that it's likely to be pretty much impossible to get a good colour match, is to clean all of the floor with the steam cleaner and then find a suitable colourant that you like and apply it. ?
    Hi, I'm a Board Guide on the Old Style and the Consumer Rights boards which means I'm a volunteer to help the boards run smoothly and can move and merge posts there. Board guides are not moderators and don't read every post. If you spot an inappropriate or illegal post then please report it to forumteam@moneysavingexpert.com. It is not part of my role to deal with reportable posts. Any views are mine and are not the official line of MoneySavingExpert.
    Never ascribe to malice that which is adequately explained by incompetence.
    DTFAC: Y.T.D = £5.20 Apr £0.50
  • Memory_Girl
    Memory_Girl Posts: 4,957 Forumite
    Do the tiles "sound" ceramic when you tap them with something hard?

    If they don't, well I think they look like proper linoleum - my Gran had something similar. Linoleum (the made with wood dust and boiled linseed oil - not the modern vinyl stuff) was hugely popular in the 1950s (sorry I missed that bit on your original post).

    Asked a mate and he suggested that the "whitening" may be that you have melted the wax polish that was once applied - the heat of the steamer melting the wax and it resets "clean and white" as it cools.

    As for restoration - he says that you should be able to buy a "wax stripper" and wax restorer if you are going for the authentic 1950's thing from people who stock stuff like "marmoleum"

    He also says "Lucky you" because the floors are practically undestructable and apparently antiseptic too - they were use in hospitals to keep a germ free environment.

    Then again - just guessing from your photograph

    MG
    FINALLY AND OFFICIALLY DEBT FREE
    Small Emergency Fund £500 / £500
    Pay off all Debts £10,000 / £10,000
    Grown Up Emergency Fund £6000 / £6000 :j
    Pension Provision £6688/£2376
This discussion has been closed.
Meet your Ambassadors

🚀 Getting Started

Hi new member!

Our Getting Started Guide will help you get the most out of the Forum

Categories

  • All Categories
  • 350.7K Banking & Borrowing
  • 253K Reduce Debt & Boost Income
  • 453.4K Spending & Discounts
  • 243.7K Work, Benefits & Business
  • 598.5K Mortgages, Homes & Bills
  • 176.8K Life & Family
  • 256.9K Travel & Transport
  • 1.5M Hobbies & Leisure
  • 16.1K Discuss & Feedback
  • 37.6K Read-Only Boards

Is this how you want to be seen?

We see you are using a default avatar. It takes only a few seconds to pick a picture.