Maintaining Natural Stone Tiles

Natural stone floors are beautiful and add a lot of character to a room. Caring for stone floors is different than caring for ceramic tile floors because natural stone is more porous. Due to the porous surface of natural stone it can stain more easily and require different cleaners than other flooring. Different types of stone require care specific to the material. Here are some basic care tips for maintaining natural stone tiles.

General Cleaning and Maintenance

-Sweep regularly, once a week at the very least more if you have a high traffic area

-Vacuum with a hard floor attachment

-Absorb spills as soon as they happen, always blot never rub

-Use a soft cotton mop with a solution of warm water and mild dish soap or stone soap, make sure to change the water often

-Don’t clean with solvents or household products that contain acid such as: lemon and vinegar

-Don’t use abrasive cleaners with large particles made for scrubbing

-Avoid calcium, lime, and rust removers they contain hydrofluoric acid which is harmful to stone

– Use bleach very sparingly on outdoor stone to remove moss and mildew buildup as it can discolor stone

Stain Removal

-Oil based stains can darken stone, to clean them use mineral spirits, acetone, or liquid dish soap and a clean soft cloth

-Coffee, tea, and wine will cause a pinkish-brown stain on stone tiles. Use a 12% hydrogen peroxide to clean.

-Ink stains can be cleaned with bleach or hydrogen peroxide,if you have dark stone floors you can also try mineral spirits or acetone.

-Paint can be scraped away with a razor blade or blotted up with mineral spirits.

-For hard water stains use a dry very fine piece of steel wool to buff out.

Sealing

-It is very important to seal stone floors. To test to see if your floors have been sealed take a small amount of water and pour on an unseen area. Wipe up the water and if a dark spot remains the floor has not been sealed.

-Stone floors need to be re-sealed on a regular basis as the sealant wears off over time. Stone floors should be professionally sealed once a year.

-It is important to remember that sealing a tile floor does not make it stain proof but stain resistant.

Professional Cleaning

-To keep your tile looking its best for years and years it is best to have regular annual professional cleanings.

-Professional Cleaning not only gets tiles looking new but grout as well.

All Kleen has a team of trained pros able to care for your stone floors from cleaning to sealing to help you keep them looking beautiful. Make an appointment online for a cleaning today.