Slate floor difficult to keep clean- Help!

[Neil_S]

Hi. I need some advice on a slate floor I have in my kitchen. This is a riven slate 300 x 300. I sealed with HG Impregnator before and after grouting on advice found online and by the guy at Topps Tiles. Once grouted the surface was cleaned with a cement film cleaner (another HG product) and sealed with another HG product suitable for sealing slate.

This was 3 years ago. The floor has always been extremely difficult to keep clean. It "hangs onto" anything that is dropped onto the floor, and is difficult to sweep and mop. Over time, grease and grime has built up and the fact that it is dark grey/black doesn't help the situation.

I have the same slate flooring in the downstairs loo and porch and it is fine but in the kitchen it has been a nightmare. I have stripped it back using the recommended cleaners and resealed it a number of times without any improvement in the appearance over any length of time.

We are bitterly disappointed. So much so that I am about to bite the bullet and pull it up! We are considering a "slate look" porcelain tile to replace the original slate.

I dont want to pull the slate up as I am sure many people have slate floors in their kitchens and are very happy with them. For us it has been a nightmare.

If anyone has the answer to my nightmare before I pull up the slate I would be interested to hear. Also if there are any pitfalls with laying Q-rock black porcelain tiles from Topps Tiles (these are NOT highly polished porcelain tiles), please let me know.

 

[chrisroe]

have you tried the aquamix products

v good imho

 

[Neil_S]

I think I'm probably past trying any more products until someone can reassure me that the slate floor can become an easily cleanable surface...or rather convince my wife that it can be easily cleanable. Otherwise I may be on my way to the divorce courts!

 

[wetdec]

Lithofin Slate seal will do it no worries m8


tiler

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[DHTiling]

I agree with wetdec... to make it esier to clean a topical sealer like lithofin slate seal will make it easier to clean......but you must make sure you have stripped it back nice and clean before using it.........

Lithofin IMO is a better product than any aquamix ones......

 

[CJ]

The beauty of slate.

I try and tell customers the very same problems............will they listen. Will they $£*%&.

 

[wetdec]

I agree with wetdec... to make it esier to clean a topical sealer like lithofin slate seal will make it easier to clean......but you must make sure you have stripped it back nice and clean before using it.........

Lithofin IMO is a better product than any aquamix ones......

Call them what you like and curse them for having a monopoly........Lithofin is top !!!


As dave says sorry strip would be good so starting fresh.


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[Perry]

what have you put on after the impregnator ? ete

 

[Spud]

i am in the lithofin fan club the slate seal is a great product i finish coat slate floors with either fila longlife or wax it with johnsons traffic wax and buff with soft brush on a buffing machine , slate is a natural stone and as with all natural stone flooring there will always be a certain amount of maintainence involved to keep the floors lookin good

 

[TilingLogistics]

I agree with wetdec... to make it esier to clean a topical sealer like lithofin slate seal will make it easier to clean......but you must make sure you have stripped it back nice and clean before using it.........

Lithofin IMO is a better product than any aquamix ones......

Thats a bold sweeping statement Dave! Lithofin is the market leader purely and simply due to the time on the market and the amount of retailers that carry it. It has its uses but is not a better product than Aqua Mix IMO.

We should try to conduct some sort of tests really! What do you think?

Kev

 

[Neil_S]

Over the 3 years I have tried the following:-

HG Impregnator Sealer

HG Impregnator Sealer + HG Golvpolish Satin Gloss Polish

Fila Slate Impregnator Sealer

Fila Slate Impregnator Sealer + HG Golvpolish Satin Gloss Polish
​

It looks great for a few days until after a day or two it starts to look a bit mucky with all the things you would expect on a kitchen floor; crumbs, bits of vegetable peelings, splashes and splops, bits of cat food, cat hair, red wine, fragments of broken glass, stray peas all trodden in by a three year old in muddy boots!

So you think a quick sweep and a mop down with a proprietry floor cleaner should bring it back to its former glory. To an extent it does but the nooks and crannies hold on to all that detritus and over a period of time it just looks 'orrible. Then you spend an hour on all fours with a scrubbing brush trying to get it clean. It looks OK for a bit but now the Golvpolish has taken a bit of hammering and the slate starts to absorb the grease deposited around the oven and the grout becomes dirty looking. So its back to the acid cleaner/impregnator/Glovpolish and we start all over again.

I don't think it will ever be an easy maintenance floor due to the nature of the rivened surface. Have a look at these!!!!

Neil's space

 

[wetdec]

Aw m8 you have China Black the easiest riven slate out there


Get some Lithofin Stain-Away to clean the surface properly. Put SA on without diluting it leave it as per instructions then clean off.

When clean and dry give it 2 coats of Lithofin Slate Seal.

Job done


tiler

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[TilingLogistics]

Why not strip the floor of all topical sealers and waxes etc. Scrub the floor clean and seal with a colour enhancing impregnating sealer. It is difficult to get it in but it can be done.

Alternatively invest in a secondhand rotary scrubber and a wetvac and the floor will be done in minutes without getting down on your hands and knees. It has to be cheaper than ripping the floor up and relaying.

Kev

 

[Neil_S]

OK I'll give it one last go. I wish I'd found this forum 3 years ago. At least I now know how to store photos on Windows Live Spaces and on under an album in my profile...if any one else is interested and would like to take a look at my dirty floor ...

tilersforums.com Tiling & Tile Forum (Tilers Forums) - Neil_S's Album: Slate Floor


http://cid-0395ad4a3a575872.spaces.live.com/photos/cns!395AD4A3A575872!111

 

[MICK the Tiler]

You could also test an area that is out of the way with some pool chlorine mixed 4:1 with water as a start then go stronger if stains persist.

This is a pro tiler tip so if you don't feel right about this then stick with the above mentioned products.