Cleaning terracotta tiles

[Chardie]

Does anyone have any suggestions how to remove really bad stains ie rust stains (or could be blood!) which have soaked into an unsealed terracotta tiled floor. We have already spent 5 days scrubbing the tiles with the acid cleaner sold in 3M and Mr bricolage. This has removed most of the cement/ plaster residue on the floor, however we would like to try and improve on this even more. (Long story but new floor put down but then house left empty after plastering done for several years so all the mess just left on the tiles and allowed to soak in.)

[Ewa]

Chances are you won't be able to get all the stains out I'm afraid. I work for Fired Earth Interiors in the UK so we deal with these products every day. We sell something called HG Remover, which sounds as if its similar to the stuff you've been using, which is a floor renovator. We've had people who have had similar situations to you and even with many goes with these acid type cleaners not all stains will come out of the 'pores' of the terracotta tile. Two options really: 1, remove the worst tiles and replace with new (that is if you can get replacements of the same type of tile) or 2, accept the remaining stains as part of the nature of a rustic floor, which is what terracotta is and don't get too hung up about it.

Whatever you do, once clean, make sure you seal the tiles thoroughly with boiled linseed (diluted 50:50 with white spirit) - apply thin coats, leave each coat to dry for 20 minutes and recoat if required. Don't leave any residue on top of the tiles as you'll then need to start renovating you floor again (it goes hard and then attracts dirt in a sticky fashion). Traditional way is to finish with a floor wax but this needs buffing to give a nice shine - there are alternatives which are wipe on clear fluids which don't need buffing. Linseed and wax gives the nicest finish, improving with age, but alternatives to wax (such as Rapidcotto) are good too although not as hard wearing. Don't forget to reapply the wax/rapidcotto as required, i.e. when the sheen starts to disappear.

Good luck!