Upkeep for your flooring
Whether you are considering the purchase or you already have it, proper stone floor care will help keep your flooring selection beautiful and protected. The better you protect it the longer it will last. Depending on the amount of traffic, the type of stone floor, as well as the area in which you live, there are a variety of options for you to take into consideration. |
In some cases, taking care of these floors is difficult. In others, it is quite simple. But, regardless of what you need to do, doing it will allow your stone floors to last a lifetime and longer. It will help you in keeping the beautiful look of your flooring for a little longer. If you are just considering to make the installation of the stone tile flooring for the some of the additional places in your home like the washrooms, porcelain or in the area of the ceramic tiles on the floors, then you must need to make sure to use some effective usage of the cleaning the tidy areas in the slabs. The use of the rock, ceramic tiles is the best options to use on the floors. It is easy to maintain and very durable.
Installation Right First
The first step in caring for stone floors is ensuring proper installation. When it is laid properly, it will look beautiful, but more importantly, it will be less likely to crack, slip, or become uneven. It is always wise to have a professional do the work. But if you are willing to do it on your own, make sure you have the basic guidelines and required tools. A handy person with basic knowledge can do it with the proper tools for the stone tile flooring. There are many online tutorials available to guide you. But, remember that this type of flooring is quite expensive, so you may not want too many wasted pieces! If you are just considering to put the natural types of the stone floor tiles in your home, you just need to make a plan to make use of more than 10% of the budget allocated to make the levels.
Stone Sealers
When you think of a stone, you think of a porous material. The problem with most stone flooring is that it is susceptible to staining. Some spots can be removed easily and some stay for a long time. In porous stones like marble, you will find that even a little bit of water can cause the floor to spot. Other very porous flooring choices for the stone tile flooring includes limestone and sandstone. Slate is a porous stone, but more water resistant than the previously mentioned flooring materials. Granite is a very hard, non-porous surface, good for flooring; it’s still wise to seal it so that it doesn’t stain.
But, there are ways that you can protect the flooring from these stains. Most individuals will use a stone sealer on the floor. Sealers range of differences depending on the type of floor, the texture of the flooring as well as in quality. When properly sealed, they can help to protect the stone tile flooring from easily staining. But, even with them applied, your stone flooring can become stained if a spill, especially those with acids in them, is left on the floor for very long. Anytime something is spilled, it should be cleaned up as soon as possible. This can prevent the permanent discoloration and protect your floor from getting spoilt.
Regular Care of Stone Flooring
When it comes to stone flooring cleaning, there are some basic things to remember.
- The first course of action is the dust mop. A dry mop that removes debris gently is needed. This is necessary because dirt, for example, left on the stone flooring can be abrasive to the flooring material and therefore damage it. To help in this type of prevention, use a carpet near the entrance to help trap these particles before they even get into the room.
- When cleaning stone flooring, excess water should not be used. Take a mop and wring it out, then wipe the floor. You should not use any chemicals on stone floors, especially those with acid in them. Any hard substance should be avoided for such kind of floors. Once the floor is clean, those who have a marble surface should take a dry towel to immediately dry the flooring. Most other types of flooring do not require this attention.
- Removing stains from grout will be necessary at times.
- Regular polishing may be necessary for high traffic areas. Have a professional polisher come in to do the work and ensure that the stone flooring is not damaged.
- Lastly, stone flooring care will require that you reapply sealers to the flooring Marble should be more frequent, like every nine months.
Taking care of your stone flooring will keep it looking beautiful. Your home is your castle. And as with European castles that often have stone floors, taking care of them will let them last a long time. This will help you to maintain the beautiful outlook of your designed floors for a very long time.
I have Hebron Stone floors (It’s a limestone that is found in the middle east) My housekeeper used a mop incorrectly and managed to put lots of scratches on it. It can’t be re-polished as the corners are rounded & there is a wide grout. If I have it sanded/polished down, I will loose the edges of the stone which really sets off the beautiful large stones.
Also it was resealed, but the company did not wash/clean it first and just sealed over the dirt!! I’m in the process of hand cleaning the scratches until they are white and then resealing the stone — stone by stone. A really big job for a large agrea.
Do you have any better suggestions? To be honest, I’m using scouring powder (I know it’s a no, no) rinsing it well and then resealing. It was the only way I could get the scratches and dirt that was sealed in out.
I don’t have a better suggestion. I’m going to throw a few ideas at you, but since you know the situation best you can accept or reject them as appropriate.
* small hand sander
* a chemical stripper for the sealant, though I don’t like what that can do to your air quality and your health
Good luck. What a big mess. I hope it turns out well for you.
My honed marble floor in my master bath is less than a year old, but almost from the beginning we noticed dull spots appearing. They show shoe prints from our cleaning lady, they seem to come from the rubberized bottom of our shower rug. Our contractor sealed the floor, but I am wondering if he did it correctly. I know it is time to seal again, but I am worried about sealing over the marks and dull spots. Can I remove these dull spots and marks before resealing? Will the sealing itself fix the dulled spots and marks?
I’m increasingly hearing to avoid rubber-backed rugs. It seems to me they react to modern floor finishes, though that’s my guess only.
What are you cleaning the floor with? That could account for some of the problem(s). Don’t do any sealing until you figure out what’s causing the dulling and marks and get them removed. Then you may want to consider stripping the original sealer and start again with something different and you may decide to stay with the brand you have but to change cleaning materials.
I’m a huge fan of natural cleaners. They are cheaper (better for your budget) and they are better for the environment and you.
I have stone floor tiles up against a small brick wall at my foyer. I have an older dog that has started to have accidents in the house. He recently had an accident on the tile while we were out and it was not cleaned up right away. When found, I cleaned it up with paper towels and then cleaned the area with a small amount of mild dish soap and water, rinsed and wiped dry. I have concerns that it has seeped into the tile and grout. I can still smell the urine odor. What is the best way to clean brick tile and grout without leaving a film. I’m reluctant to use cleaners that will leave a film or discoloration but I want this Clean and fresh smelling! Help!
Both vinegar and baking soda are good ingredients for cleaning up after this kind of accident. Since it seems the urine has seeped into the tile/brick and/or grout, use vinegar water to clean the surface. After it’s dried completely, apply baking soda to the area, rub it in lightly, and let it sit for awhile before vacuuming it up. See if that works. If not, buy a commercial product that’s specially formulated to remove urine smells.
Help please!!! I live un a rented apartment, with what I think are marble tiles – they are white and extremely porous. We have spilled red wine on them, and depsite immediately rushing to absorb the wine (with kitchen towel and salt), they left an instant purple stain. What can I do to remove the stain? Please help!
Thanks, Desperate
I’d recommend trying StainSolver would be better than OxyClean because it’s got more leaching action. You could also try Enviro-One It’s been good for stain removal in general. It sounds like the floor needs to be resealed since the wine soaked in so easily and quickly. When marble is used in a kitchen and/or dining area, it will probably need to be cleaned and sealed every 9-12 months.
Any spills containing acid like wine can easy etch and produce stains on your marble. Even if it was sealed, any types of sealer provide limited protection. It is important to understand when time for maintaining of natural stone. Make sure the selected stone sealer can be used on the your kind of stone.
We have limestone floors in our bathrooms. Is there anything we can use to clean up urine drops around the toilet?
Take a look at AquaMix products. I don’t know if anybody carries them in your area, but at least this will help you to get an idea of the kind of products you might need. You’re going to need something to get rid of discoloration (I presume) and then you need to seal it really, really well so you don’t have these problems again.
Looking for pros and cons of limestone, granite and slate, also micromarble for fire-surrounds. How do you care for them? Which is most resistent to chipping and staining?
Can you advise?
Regards Diane
Thanks for your response about the urine drops. I don’t have discoloration — just little spots which are shiny on the otherwise matte limestone. Is the solution still the same? And, more importantly, can I do it myself or do I need a tile repair firm?
Joan, I heard about Enviro-one on another page of this site, and it might work for your stains. I have bought used it for other sorts of cleaning and have been mostly pleased with it. I don’t have limestone so don’t know how it will work for you, but it’s environmentally friendly, and that’s worth a lot to me.
Hi Diane,
They all are good choices, so long as they are installed correctly. Big thing is to seal them first, before laying them. Makes the grout easier to clean off. Any of them will look wonderful so long as they’re sealed well (don’t be skimpy!!) afterwards.
You can use the search function in the upper right hand corner to read about the different stones and how to take care of them.
Good luck making a choice – I don’t envy you! ;~) You’re going to have a tough decision to make!
Hi Joan,
I’d give Enviro-one a shot. I use it too and I am pleased with it. Did you check out the AquaMix site?
Is it possible to get a bad batch of travertine? If so, what are the signs? We had travertine laid in our LR/kitchen and are now noticing small holes and pits in the tile. I am certain that all of these holes/pits were not there when the tile was laid 4 months ago (they can be up to 1/8 inch in diameter). I have been filling them in with grout. I am wondering if the tile wasn’t sealed properly (it was sealed, but perhaps not generouslly enough?) or if the tile is defective. What would you suggest? Also, what would you suggest for a sealer to add over the existing sealer? (Your site references AquaMix Enrich N’ Seal but the product description says it should not be used over other sealers).
Yes, it’s possible to get bad stone batches. It’s also possible to not have them sealed adequately. The first question I have about it though is what you are using to clean them.
My guess is that you have a lower quality travertine, it didn’t get sealed adequately, and you are using a cleaner on it that’s dissolving parts of the stone. You could try sealing it more with the product that was used initially, or you could find a more durable sealant that would go over the present surface.
If you have an installer who did the work, get them involved in the process. If you did it all yourself, talk to the store that sold you the travertine to see what they have to say.
Good luck. And if you will, let us know what you have done and what the results are.
Ugh! If what you suspect is true that is the worst possible option, because everyone has some culpability. As a result I fear that each party will blame the actions of the other and all will refuse to take any corrective action (“it’s not my fault because . . .”).
The store the tile was purchased from insists it sells only high quality, installer insists installed according to specifications and used ample quanity of sealer, cleaning service insists haven’t used any acids/vinegar. However, at least one of these statements cannot be true for us to have the current outcome. I do suspect that the cleaning service may have used vinegar to clean the floor (how else could it get these holes/pits?) and they used vinegar on the old flooring. Or perhaps they are using the mop from the prior house and it still has vinegar in it? In addition, I suspect the travertine may not be high quality and/or sealing issues – I dropped a fork from the kitchen table yesterday and it created a small chip in the floor. I’m assuming this shouldn’t happen.
What do you suggest given that I have circled with everyone and they all insist it couldn’t be due to anything on their end?
Also, what is the most durable sealer you recommend if I wanted to try putting another sealer on the floor? Would a really durable sealer solve these problems (creating a hard barrier like on a hard wood floor so that there wouldn’t be chips/pits)? Or if it is low quality travertine will we continue to expereince these issues for the rest of our lives?
Yeah, I still think it sounds like a bad batch of stone – especially since it chipped when a fork was dropped on it! I would call the company the stone came from and tell them of your dilemma and how you are not happy.
You need to find out what the stone has been cleaned with as well as what sealer was used as well as how many coats. It is possible that you may be able to use more of that sealer or even use the AquaMix over it – it’s just going to depend on the sealer. AquaMix has a toll free number listed on their website.
I’ve got a feeling you’re going to have a long haul as far as getting satisfaction from the travertine manufacturer, but it is ridiculous for them to expect you to put up with a floor that is already pitting and chips from the least little thing.
Even if a vinegar/water solution was used on the stone to clean it, it still shouldn’t have pitted it if it were sealed well. There’s something else going on I think.
On a side note, the store you bought it from may only carry high quality materials, but even that’s not going to guarantee that a bad batch of stone won’t sneak in. After all, how are they going to know it’s a bad batch just by looking at it?