When I was asked to survey the historic mosaic floors in Frome Town Hall, I felt I had to go. Here was the sort of job that does not come around that often- an opportunity to enhance and preserve an important public space. The survey went well and I determined that the tiles would respond well to an eco-friendly deep-clean, followed by application of an eco-friendly floor seal.
How we cleaned the floor
Cleaning with a Numatic rotary machine combines the action of a commercial cleaning solution to break down soils etc. with the correct level of agitation (provided by the machine & a foam pad beneath the machine). Together, soils held in the floor are lifted & emulsified, ready to be extracted & removed with a Numatic wet vac machine, as seen in the video below:
The area cleaned is about 80 m2.
Using this method, the initial deep-clean took around 3 hours.
After the mosaic floor had been, it then needed to be rinsed to ensure no cleaning solution or dirt was left. A mosaic floor such as this has an immense matrix of grout lines which lie at a lower level than the tiny tiles themselves. This is where grime builds up.
Without the rinse process, it is likely that cleaning solution could dry & form a sticky deposit that would attract dirt & cause rapid “re-soiling”.
To rinse the floor, we used pressurised pump sprayers and jetted the grout lines at close range, then recovered the water using the wet vac.
After the floor was completely rinsed clean, we then left it to dry overnight.
The floor needs to be fully dry so that it is ready to accept new coats of sealant. Too high a moisture content could mean that the new seal would not be absorbed, or that it could react with the water & fail.
Applying Ecoprotec environmentally friendly floor seal
Here at Green Man, we continue to refine our methods & materials to be able to deliver a service that is as environmentally neutral as possible. Floor seals used to be a difficult aspect of this.
Ecoprotec are a range of cleaners and sealers that benefit from the most advanced research in eco-friendly, water-based technology. As such, they support our mission to provide an outstanding cleaning service with genuine green cleaning credentials.
We used Ecoprotec colour enhancing stone sealer for this project.
This water-based impregnating sealer provides an enhanced natural finish which allows surface to breathe. This is important on a historic floor because it is uncertain that there is a damp proof course. This seal strongly repels water, oil & grease and helps protect against staining.
When we apply the seal, it initially looks glossy.
The seal took less than an hour to dry. Once it has dried, it leaves the floor looking natural with no enhanced reflectivity, but noticeably enhanced colours…
Final thoughts
When you consider how to go about improving & protecting the appearance of a historic floor (or any stone floor), it makes sense to specify a method that will bring the floor to its best potential condition. Once this is achieved, it is equally important to choose a seal that will deliver long lasting protection. If this can be done without toxic/harmful chemicals, then it benefits everyone who has to live in that interior.
We really enjoyed this clean. It was a privilege to be able to bring life & warmth back to the town hall floor.
If you have any questions or would like to book a free survey, please use our contact form or give us a call.
Thanks for reading!
