Product Care
Maintaining your natural stone tiles
In a way, Mother Nature has taken care of your natural stone flooring for millions of years. Now it’s your turn. Here’s what you need to know about caring for your beautiful natural stone today and maintaining its timeless look for many tomorrows. Plus, knowing what’s expected of you regarding upkeep can be a determining factor in which type of natural flooring you choose to buy. Get to know exactly how to take care of your natural stone investment and it will reward you and your home for many years to come. Time spent caring for your stone floors will help maintain its classic beauty and unique personality for years to come.
To ensure that your new natural stone tiles always look their best, we recommend that you use our sealants, as almost all natural stones will stain if left untreated. Once done, you can be confident that you’ll enjoy years of good looks and easy maintenance. We have prepared a comprehensive guide below to help you get the most out of your natural stone floorinf.
- Reseal at least once every 3 years and every 2 years for Limestone depending on the level of foot traffic.
- Stains should be removed immediately using our MGT 24 cleaner.
- Use walk-off mats or area rugs on either side of exterior entrances. Be preventative! This will help collect loose dirt before it reaches your stone floor.
- Choose a mat with a non slip backing. Certain rubber backed mats can stain or discolor your stone.
- Mats need to be kept clean. So shake, shake, shake! Otherwise, the dirt doesn’t get removed and will make it’s way inside to scratch your floors.
- Sand, dirt and grit do the most damage to natural stone surfaces. This is due to their abrasiveness.
- Floors should be dust mopped frequently. Using a clean, non-treated dry dust mop or broom is the best method.
- Damp mop your natural stone floor. This will help keep it looking beautiful for life. Since one of the advantages of this type of floor is low maintenance, there is no need for heavy mopping.
- Do not use any acids with vinegar or household cleaners. Cleaners that are not specifically designed for stone can permanently damage the stone.
- Do not use products that contain lemon juice, vinegar or other acids. These products should not be used on marble, limestone or travertine. These products can permanently etch the stone.
- Don’t mix bleach and ammonia. This combination creates a toxic and lethal gas.
- Rinse the floor thoroughly and dry the surface with a soft, clean cloth. Too much cleaner or soap may leave a film and cause streaks. Change your rinse water frequently. Dirty water also contains sand that can get in your mop and scratch the floor each time you move it across the floor.
- Always blot spills immediately.
- Vacuum cleaner attachments are also useful for hard to reach areas.
- To remove algae or moss from your stone in outdoor pool, patio or hot tub areas, flush with clear water and use a mild bleach solution.
- It is your responsibility to properly maintain caulking in heavy water-use areas. This will prevent damage once your natural stone is installed.
- Take care when moving heavy objects across your stone floor. This is to avoid scratching or chipping. Once a stone floor is chipped, it is permanently damaged.
- Cover furniture and table legs with protectors to guard your floor against damage. Rolling chairs with wheels should be periodically cleaned so they do not scratch or damage your new floor.
- Each stone has different levels of susceptibility to staining. Each stone has its own level of porosity that makes some stone floors more susceptible to staining than others.
- Sealing your stone is a must. Based upon your lifestyle and the type of stone you choose, we can supply the appropriate stone sealer which will protect your floor from wear and staining. Stone does not have a fired surface like ceramic and porcelain tile which do not need to be sealed.
- If you accidentally damage or stain your floor, we supply products that will resolve your problem. Also, we highly recommend that enough material is purchased so that if a repair is necessary in the future you will have stone from your original order to use.