Just discovered Victorian tiles in our hallway, how do I clean them up, please?

[Asinine]

They were under some lino, so have some old adhesive stuck on, and they are generally dirty looking but otherwise lovely condition. I think they're encaustic, so square and patterned like snow flakes, not mosaic. I'm very excited and have tried to clean a patch of them so far with fairy liquid mixed with bio washing gel and a scrubbing brush. it has had some effect, but still looks dirty.
I've tried to read about it on the net, and there is varying and conflicting advice eg
Use HG products
don't use HG products
Use a scourer pad
Use tile doctor products
Use brick acid
So i'm thinking mumsnet will have the answer
thanks for reading all this

No idea, but had to say at tiled hallway.

Sorry to make you
I really, really wanted one because I knew it would suit the house but I knew it would be ridiculously expensive. So opted for the sensible option which was a karndean parquet. If we handn't come back at the right time, the workmen would have poured self levelling compound all over it!

I've restored an Edwardian geometric tile floor (didn't have encaustic patterns), which had been painted over with dark brown gloss paint (as you do).
First I used Nitromors pain stripper to get the paint off, then the relevant HG products to clean and seal. I think you do need something acidic/alkaline (depending on the system you're using - Tile Doctor is different to HG) to get the grime and old layers of polish out. Fairy liquid won't do it.

It tends to be a 3 step thing.

1. Deep acid/alkali clean, scrubbing with a decent scrubbing brush (or hire a scrubbing machine), rinse with lots of clean water. Repeat with different concentrations as necessary - I ended up using it neat. Allow to dry for several days, keep covered with dustsheets (not newspaper) to stop more grime being trodden in - do not stop at this point or your hard work will be in vain!!!
2. Seal. This can be a bugger - you MUST remove excess sealant remaining on the surface of the tiles after the specified time, otherwise it goes sticky and attracts guess what - grime!
3. Apply a polish. Think you need 2 coats at right angles to each other. You can get different sheen levels.

Then you need to use a mild "maintenance cleaner" to keep clean on a weekly basis (this doesn't remove the seal). You may need to repeat the whole process every few years, depending on how much traffic.

Yes it's a faff but worth it for the envy you will generate!

Thank you for that nitnat, I will get out and buy the HG products tomorrow.
It's amazing how fashion could make people paint over and refloor over these beautiful tiles.

Good luck! Put some before and after photos on your profile!

Will do. Have got before photos but have not uploaded them yet.

Brick acid will do the job quickly and cheaply, you can buy this liquid in 1 litre containers in most good hardware stores or builders merchants. DO follow the instructions to the letter and wear protective gloves and safety glasses. You should also be aware that if your hallway floor is a solid floor then it is very unlikely to have a DPC seeing as your house is victorian, it was common pratice to lay tiles on sand or mortar back then without any proper damp proofing which your lino would have concealed so maybe worth a closer inspection before you carry out any major cleaning.

Thanks conculainey
So what would we do if there was damp? Sorry if that's a silly question. Am certain there is no damp proof course because of age of house.

It would depend if the floor beneath the tiles is a good deep solid one in which case a silicon dpc could be injected via a few small holes between the tiles, though sometimes the tiles were just bedded into a thin layer of mortar or sometimes soil or sand in which case the floor would need to be removed to install a proper dpc, your lino has been preventing any damp comming through thus far but your floor could also be very dry and not cause any problem , it would all depend on whats under the tiles and how close to the water table you are. A good indicator of damp is dry/wet rot around any skirting boards or door frames in the area of the floor.

No problem with the skirting, all looks dry and we are on a hill with the front path sloping up towards front door if that makes any difference, or indeed makes any sense? Am totally ignorant as to how to judge where the water table might be.

You could well have no problems with damp being on higher ground so I would just clean the tiles as best possible, brick acid does work very well though do be careful when using it and I would seal the tiles after they are clean with a few coats of floor tile sealant which preserves them and makes for much easier cleaning.

Thank you conculainey. I really appreciate you and nitnats time. Mumsnet is amazing, definitely makes the world a better place.

Another at beautiful Victorian tiles in your hallway. You'd better post those photos when you've finished cleaning them.

The adhesive is rock hard in places, and will not shift? Any ideas please.

Try mayonnaise rub in and leave, this should loosen the glue, you will need lots of applying, use a ice scraper to lift the glue after each app. To clean the tiles use bicarbonate of soda and warm water, made into a paste and rub in. I saw this on the TV. Hope this helps and works. :)

brick acid removes mortar. If the tiles are set in mortar (or more likely lime) the acid will dissolve it.

That might not be what you want....

zombie thread alert

This is from April 2011 - I think the OP has either given up or solved the problems :)

Yes but now I need to know what she did and did it work?!!!!!

Ooh, I hope she hasn't given up! :)

I didn't give up, and sorry for vanishing.

Turned out the adhesive layer was in fact cement in a thick layer, which obv wouldn't respond to any chemicals including brick acid. So I spent a few hours a day for a month chipping away with a mallet and chisel, until it was nearly all off. Then I got 'tile doctor' tfranchise to finish off cleaning and sealing them. They charged £200 for two days work, but left me with a lot of chemicals which will last for ages.

I would love to post a picture, but can't work out how to get them from photos in my iPad to mumsnet?

I get photos from iPad to MN using a Picasa web album and the "web albums" app. Works well for me :)

I am very jealous.

I wonder if it was a layer of levelling screed? grey like cement but no visible grit or sand in it?