Comments on: How To Remove Sealer and Sealing Residues? http://www.tileandstoneblog.co.uk/sealing/how-to-remove-sealer-and-sealing-residues/ Tile and Stone Maintenance Fri, 27 Jan 2012 14:49:57 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: Ian Taylor http://www.tileandstoneblog.co.uk/sealing/how-to-remove-sealer-and-sealing-residues/comment-page-1/#comment-593 Ian Taylor Mon, 08 Aug 2011 11:23:00 +0000 http://www.tileandstoneblog.co.uk/problem-solving/how-to-remove-sealer-and-sealing-residues/#comment-593 Hi Bethan, I cannot be 100% sure but this sounds like surface deposits to me; the sealer has kept the water drops at the surface, the water then sits there, and slowly evaporates. The problem is that most water is not 100% pure, there are usually some trace minerals in it (water treatment chemicals and other impurities) if you hapen to live in a hard-water area then the water will be loaded with soluble caclium (limescale). So, somthing in the water that is splashed ontot he floor, is left behind as a residue once the water has gone. I would try a mild cream cleaner, something like nanoscrub woulbe be great if you can get it. It is my opinion that whatever it is, is on top of the sealer and sould come off with the right approach.. Try the cream cleaner, if you have no luck, try a slightly acidic cleaner, (not a strong brick acid) this should not damage most sealers. Rinse and then dry withg a towel. Best of luck Ian Hi Bethan,

I cannot be 100% sure but this sounds like surface deposits to me; the sealer has kept the water drops at the surface, the water then sits there, and slowly evaporates. The problem is that most water is not 100% pure, there are usually some trace minerals in it (water treatment chemicals and other impurities) if you hapen to live in a hard-water area then the water will be loaded with soluble caclium (limescale).

So, somthing in the water that is splashed ontot he floor, is left behind as a residue once the water has gone. I would try a mild cream cleaner, something like nanoscrub woulbe be great if you can get it. It is my opinion that whatever it is, is on top of the sealer and sould come off with the right approach.. Try the cream cleaner, if you have no luck, try a slightly acidic cleaner, (not a strong brick acid) this should not damage most sealers. Rinse and then dry withg a towel.

Best of luck

Ian

]]> By: bethan pugh http://www.tileandstoneblog.co.uk/sealing/how-to-remove-sealer-and-sealing-residues/comment-page-1/#comment-591 bethan pugh Sat, 06 Aug 2011 13:13:59 +0000 http://www.tileandstoneblog.co.uk/problem-solving/how-to-remove-sealer-and-sealing-residues/#comment-591 hi hope you can give me some advice. we have a slate tiled floor in the bathroom which has been sealed but water marks have appeared on the floor by the basin. the water marks are very noticable and have a white rim to them, i have tried to clean them off but once the floor is dry they appear again. how can i get rid of these marks? do i need to strip the sealent and if so how? thanks hi hope you can give me some advice. we have a slate tiled floor in the bathroom which has been sealed but water marks have appeared on the floor by the basin. the water marks are very noticable and have a white rim to them, i have tried to clean them off but once the floor is dry they appear again. how can i get rid of these marks?
do i need to strip the sealent and if so how?
thanks

]]> By: Ian Taylor http://www.tileandstoneblog.co.uk/sealing/how-to-remove-sealer-and-sealing-residues/comment-page-1/#comment-535 Ian Taylor Fri, 24 Jun 2011 10:24:48 +0000 http://www.tileandstoneblog.co.uk/problem-solving/how-to-remove-sealer-and-sealing-residues/#comment-535 Hi Theresa, As you are stateside, I think you are referring to a kind of sandstone (in the UK bluestone means something else) either way, I am not sure what type of sealer you used, but as coating sealers are intended to be left on the surface, I am assuming you have used some kind of impregnating sealer. Your success is going to depend on whit type of sealer, how much residue you have, and how long it has been down for). As with everything, I always try the least aggressive way first. I would try a dilute alkaline cleaner, left on to dwell for about 15 minutes, keeping it wet with fresh solution as you go. Then scrub with a scrubbing brush or a rotary machine, wet vac the solution then rinse with water. Let it dry and see how it looks. If no success, try adding a safe cream cleaner like Nanoscrub by Aqua Mix (you can still get that in the US) add this to the detergent on the floor just before you scrub. You will have more rinsing to do as a result. If none of this works you are going to have to resort to a solvent type stripper - there are plenty of sealant strippers available- follow the on bottle instructions. Yo will need to check the integrity of the sealer when you are done, and maybe reapply, or at least top it up. Hope this helps Ian Hi Theresa,

As you are stateside, I think you are referring to a kind of sandstone (in the UK bluestone means something else) either way, I am not sure what type of sealer you used, but as coating sealers are intended to be left on the surface, I am assuming you have used some kind of impregnating sealer.

Your success is going to depend on whit type of sealer, how much residue you have, and how long it has been down for). As with everything, I always try the least aggressive way first. I would try a dilute alkaline cleaner, left on to dwell for about 15 minutes, keeping it wet with fresh solution as you go. Then scrub with a scrubbing brush or a rotary machine, wet vac the solution then rinse with water. Let it dry and see how it looks.

If no success, try adding a safe cream cleaner like Nanoscrub by Aqua Mix (you can still get that in the US) add this to the detergent on the floor just before you scrub. You will have more rinsing to do as a result.

If none of this works you are going to have to resort to a solvent type stripper – there are plenty of sealant strippers available- follow the on bottle instructions. Yo will need to check the integrity of the sealer when you are done, and maybe reapply, or at least top it up.

Hope this helps

Ian

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