The picture below is of an Indian Sandstone Patio at a property in Lancaster which has turned green with algae and lichens from the surrounding bushes etc. It had been a while since it was properly cleaned and was likely to get worse over winter and slippery. You can see from the photograph that the beautiful stone was unrecognisable and clearly overdue a deep clean.
You would be right in thinking that Tile Doctors mainly work on internal floors but in fact were just as happy working outside as in, assuming the weather stays fine of course. In fact, we love working on driveways and patios as it’s nice to work outside for a change. We also have solutions for most problems including blackspot and deep-seated dirt.
Deep Cleaning an Indian Sandstone Patio in Lancaster
On arrival I started by power washing to remove as much dirt as possible, this was then rinsed off and the Sandstone inspected. I the sprayed the patio with Tile Doctor Patio & Brick Driveway Cleaner and left it to soak in and get to work for about half an hour. The patio was then scrubbed with a rotary machine fitted with a carbide brush. This process removes the deep-seated dirt and staining. The whole patio was then rinsed again to remove the soiling.
We have had some good weather this summer and so it wasn’t long before it had dried and I was able to inspect the patio and repeat the process focusing on the stubborn staining and to make sure the black spots were removed. To treat the Blackspot, I applied more Patio & Brick Driveway Cleaner directly to the affected areas and left it to get to work before hand-scrubbing it in. To be thorough I also looked for paint stains which can happen during the decorating of window frames, sills, and doors; I didn’t find any in this case but if I had I usually treat them using Tile Doctor Remove and Go.
Sealing an Indian Sandstone Patio in Lancaster
We don’t usually seal external tile and stone (unless it’s a Black Limestone or Marble), the reason being that the weather in Lancaster is very variable with hot weather in the summer (record breaking this year) down to minus ten degrees in winter.
Outdoor sealers can cope with these temperatures but will break down outside of their tolerant range, also its important to apply sealers when bone dry as any moisture trapped in the stone or tile could freeze and breakdown the sealer prematurely. If this happens you have no option but the take off all the existing sealer and start again, because of this we have concluded that for most external stone and tiles it’s best to just power wash them clean once or twice a year.
Once done the natural beauty of the Indian Sandstone came through and the patio was transformed much to the delight of the owner.
Source: Floor Tile Restoration Service in Lancaster Lancashire
Tile Doctors cover the whole country and are able to provide assistance to commercial cleaning companies and property developers who require expert advice and help restoring Tile, Stone and Grout. Tile Doctor also provides training courses to contractors who wish to learn about tile and stone restoration.