Old Mosaic tiled floor - how to maintain?

[NotanOtter]

I have a mosaic tiled floor which i have just given a good clean following the exit of the builders - the house is 1875 and the floor is original

I cleaned it with soda crystals and was both horrified and amazed at the result...

but what now?

should i put something on them to enrich the colour like oil??

or just leave

I know this is a bit specialised but was hoping someone may know!

bumping for floor fetishists!!

mosaic fetishist here.

what is the mosaic made of, ceramic?

from here

What sort of finish should I give a tiled floor? The traditional treatment for a Victorian tiled floor after cleaning was to apply warmed linseed oil followed by a coat of wax polish. This gave a stunning, lustrous finish to the floor, but is so labour-intensive to apply and maintain that it is inappropriate in most modern situations. Modern cold wax polishes, for example HG Golvpolish are perfectly adequate. On no account should tiled floors be sealed or varnished with any kind of resin-based or polyurethane finish. Besides their unpleasant plasticky appearance, these may cause long-term problems by sealing in damp under the floor. When you should you apply the sealer? For a new tile surface or re-grout, nearly all grout manufacturers advise that you wait at least 48 hours after grouting before aaplying sealers so the grout has time to finish setting. For maintanence of existing tilling, you should re-apply every year or two.

Victorian Tile Care: Sweep or vacum your Victorian tile floors often. Dirt collecting carpet mats should be placed in frequently used entrances and shaked out weekly. Floors will only need an occasional mop over every 2 weeks or so use HG Superfloor maintenance cleaner in your washing water, or just plain water. We do not recommend the use of floor waxes as they can be difficult to remove from ceramic tile floors. As long as your floor is properly sealed and maintained, you should find no need for these products.

your welcome

oooh dragon butter thanks so much for that!!

The mosaic is tiles ( obviously) like reds browns green ( a bit) white

i love mosaics.
look at my pics for what i do.

doesn't always have to be tiles though. i use stained glass and mirror alot.

seriously, i know you were joking, but i'm a mosaic fetish, i bloody love them.

just read your whole post dragon - fab

was getting exited at prospect of waxing it (!) until i read that i should not be doing anything to it!!

do you ever use mosaics in a garden dragon?

My dad did a thing with melted wax & linseed oil

He re-did it every 4-5 years or so

This was 'encaustic' tiles (very victorian)

was it hard work Katymac?

i've made a paving slab.
and i've made a house sign so that had to be weatherproof.
mirrors look good in garden imho.

wow that website is dreamy

It was hard work 'doing' but relatively easy in between times iyswim

thanks katymac - i am tempted!!

I'll ask him tomorrow evening & see what he remembers

oooh Katy thanks for that

I would be really interested in what he says !

Apparently I got it all wrong - mind you it was twenty something years ago

He just used a wax polish & did it every six months

So I made up a lot.....I wonder where I got the idea from?

ok well still interesting i wonder what he waxed it with

'floor polish' apparently

Men just don't get it do they

lol katymac

will ask in hardware store tomorrow!