Six Handy Tips for Cleaning and Maintenance of Natural Stone Surface

Natural stone floors are known for their ageless beauty and extreme durability. These stone floors offer best endurance against heavy traffic also. Although natural stone floors are mostly known for their use in the kitchen, bathroom, portico etc., but there are several instances where natural stone floors are used in living room, bedroom, study etc.

It is rightly said that natural stone adds a wonderful earthly flavour to a home ambiance. It adds to natural beauty of a home interior if the floor is well maintained. Natural stone maintenance is not at all hectic if you know the right approach.

Use proper cleaner

By texture, natural stones are mostly porous. If any harsh chemical is used on porous natural stone surface, there is high chance that these chemicals can spoil the surface of the stone. As the immediate result of this cleaning spree the stone surface will turn into rough and uneven plain. It is always safe to use recommended stone floor cleaner.

Sweep the floor regularly

Dust and dirt are the worst enemies for stone floor and its regular surface. Once dust and dirt sit on the surface, it makes the floor uneven with scratch and splits. Initially these scratches do not look unsightly, but gradually the floor starts losing its natural shine. You can delay this deterioration by sweeping the floor with a broom at regular basis. Brooms made with natural bristles are most useful for keeping natural stone made floor clean.

Use warm water for mopping

It is always recommended to mop the stone floor with lukewarm water and a clean cotton mop.  Nylon mops are strictly not to be used for stone floor because its synthetic fibre can make the entire floor scratchy. Once floor starts becoming scratchy, it attracts more debris on it and at the same time start looking dull and unimpressive. And if you notice scratches on the stone surface, immediately consult with a stone repair & restoration specialist like The Marble Man who will guide you what to do. You can also take a snapshot of the damaged surface and send it to the stone care team.

Steam cleaning

Steam cleaning is an efficient way to remove the loose layer of dirt and grease that gets tangled with the stone surface and stays long. Steam cleaning helps in removing stubborn dust and dirt from stone surface. However, steam cleaning is not an easy job and may not be appropriate to get it done by DYI method. Rather, it is wise to hire a professional natural stone restoration specialist to steam clean a natural stone floor. 

Attempt deep cleaning with a natural stone cleaner

Sometimes natural stone floor becomes clumsy with accumulated heavy grease, stain, dirt, etc. Common sweeping or mopping cannot restore its original glamour. In such case, you can use heavy duty natural stone cleaning products. However, it is mandatory that you use cotton mop or nonabrasive sponge to smear the stone cleaner on the floor, or else it may affect the smoothness of the natural stone surface.

Scrubbing grout

Sometimes natural stone floor attracts grout to get accumulated on its surface. Regular mopping and sweeping cannot remove the grout completely. In this situation, the best move is to call a professional natural stone restoration service provider to restore the lost sheen and shine of the floor.

Natural stone is easy to maintain and it offers a long service life. If you have natural stone floor in your house, you should take proper care to maintain its elegance and natural beauty. In every 6 months to 1 year interval, you should call the natural stone care and maintenance service to inspect the stone and do periodical cleaning and maintenance.  For further info, you can talk to The Marble Man stone restoration specialists on 1300 627 626.

When Should You Call a Stone Care Professional?

Natural stone floor tiles or a stone countertop look excellent no doubt, but you need to take care of it daily to maintain its sheen and shine. There are situations when despite your best efforts, you fail to upkeep the glamour and sparkling cleanliness of natural stone surfaces. This is high time when you should call a stone care professional for a complete stone restoration work. 

Here are a few specific cases when you need professional stone restoration:

When the stone tiles look dull

All of a sudden, you may notice that the natural stone tiles in your home have lost its glamour and despite best cleaning effort, the stony surface is not looking shiny. You may have tried the best cleaner available in market but you are not getting any visible improvement. This is the time you need the professional cleaning assistance of an ace stone restoration company on the Gold Coast, Sydney or any other place to restore its lost gleam.

When the stone surface looks worn out

There are instances when you may find that your stone surface is looking absolutely worn out. In fact, there are many reasons behind this unsightly look. However, the most common reason is accumulation of stubborn dirt on the surface. Sometimes the collection of unwanted wax on the stone floor makes it shadowy. These worn out stone surfaces can be restored only by professional stone care treatment.      

Call a professional stone restoration service provider and they will select the best suitable process of stone restoration between grinding, honing, polishing, sealing or combo of any of these repair processes.

Stone resurfacing service for scratch removal

Although stone floors are durable enough, sometimes due to heavy traffic the smooth shine surface attracts scratches, wear patterns and lippage. In these instances, you should call a stone restoration expert because professional resurfacing service can only restore the smoothness and natural shine of the stone floor.

When polishing is required

Despite your best effort to keep the natural polish on your stone floor unharmed, after one or two years the floor can lose its natural sparkle by its own. In these cases, the only way to restore factory shine of the stone surface is to call and hire a professional stone care service provider for polishing the floor.

Stone sealing requirement

At the time of installation of stone floor or benchtop, stones are set with proper sealing. Proper sealing is a prerequisite for kitchen and bathroom area, and the sealer can get withered by natural reason. If you find any discrepancy in sealing or broken seal on your stone floor, you need to call a stone restoration specialist for restoring the sealing.

Selection of right cleaning products

Even a new stone surface may look dull and unimpressive. One of the reasons behind this dull look is use of improper cleaner on the stone surface. This is the time to call and consult a natural store restoration expert for remedial measures and proper guidance. Regular use of right cleaner on the stone surface will help you to maintain its freshness and natural luster for long.

Different types of stone cleaners are available in the market. Only a professional stone restoration service provider can suggest you the right cleaner for your particular natural stone.

The Marble Man- your trusted stone restoration, repair & cleaning specialist

These are some of the primary reasons for calling a stone restoration service provider. However, even if you have not found any visible defect on your stone floor, it is better to hire an expert stone restoration company on a periodical basis to clean and maintain the floor tiles in professional manner. The Marble Man who has been in the stone restoration field for over 20 years is your best choice as their guaranteed and dedicated service is available at many places in the Queensland and NSW regions.  

The Marble Man Tips for Natural Stone Care & Maintenance- Removing Granite Stains & Dull Spots

Granite is one of the most widely sought after natural stones used in the kitchen and floors of your home. It is durable and tougher than marble. However, like everything else, it is important for you to ensure granite is taken care of.

There is a common misconception that stains and dull spots do not appear on granite surfaces. This is wrong. Just like marble, your granite countertop or floor also has the tendency to get stained and lose its shine.

The Marble Man- a leading marble and natural stone maintenance, restoration and repairing company on the Gold Coast servicing most part of QLD and NSW- gives you some insights about the granite stone and how you effectively can keep away stains and dull surfaces at bay. Let us take a look at them below-

Granite – How to Keep Stains & Dull Surfaces at Bay:

• Though granite is a tough stone, it has the tendency to suffer from scratches. When you find a scratch on your granite stone, it is recommended to contact a professional to have it repaired.
• It is advised to use coasters under all your glass items to stop stains and dull spots on your granite surfaces.
• If you have a granite countertop at home, it is very important for you to avoid having citrus and other alcoholic products sitting on the surface. This leads to etching and subsequent dullness.
• It is very important for you to keep hot items away and off the granite surface. In case you need to place something hot on the granite countertop or surface, use a trivet or a hot pad. This will protect the granite surface from stains and dull spots.
• It is important for you to reseal the granite countertop in order to preserve and maintain its sheen. It is important for you to do this after an interval of every two years or as advised by a stone care specialist.
• If you wish to clean the granite countertop on your own, you can make your own cleaner. This is a pH balanced cleaner and you can mix one part water with one part alcohol to get the best effects. If you wish you may use less alcohol and more water.
• If you have a floor made of granite, you should clean it with the help of granite cleaner. You may call in a professional to do the stone cleaning for you. If you want to clean the granite stone on a regular basis, you may do so with regular dusting and sweeping.

It is thus evident that the task to keep stains and dull spots on granite at bay is an easy one. You just have to be little more careful and ensure the tips above are followed. If you are based in the QLD and NSW region and looking for skilled and experienced experts to take professional care of your granite stone, feel free to call in the friendly professionals at The Marble Man.