Marble Floors And How To Maintain Them
For honed Marble used as traffic surfaces, care should be taken
to prevent accumulations of liquids or other materials that result in
safety hazards and staining. Regular daily mopping should be performed.
Floor Marble is any honed finish that disused as a traffic surface.
These surfaces should be mopped and scrubbed in a manner that will not
leave a hazardous slippery film.
Again, wet with hot, clean water and then lightly sprinkle
an abrasive cleaner (i.e., chlorine bleaching type household scouring
cleanser) over the wet stone, or put 1-2 handfuls into pail of 2-3 gallons
of hot clean water.
Using a scrubbing motion, mop the Marble surfaces with this
solution (or with hot clean water if you are sprinkling the cleaner
directly on the stone). Rinse with clean hot water and dry with mop
or cloths. Power scrubbers can also be used for the procedure.
Often it is also desirable to protect special interior areas
and to enhance the coloration of Honed Marble in areas where polished
finish is not practical. In such cases sealers
may be applied after the Marble has been cleaned. This minimizes maintenance
and prevents staining - especially around toilet sand urinals in restrooms
or in food preparation areas and busy building entrances.
Sealers should only be applied to clean interior Marble. Always
follow the manufacturer's directions for proper application .Terrazzo
sealers are excellent for this purpose. So are silicone based stone
sealers.
In all cases sealers should be made of a clear, hard finish
type suitable for traffic surfaces and definitely non-yellowing. Do
not use soft finish waxes, paste wax or resins. These coating scan collect
dirt and grit. Some acrylic-base liquid floor waxes can be used in place
of permanent sealers, but may give limited life.
Limestone Maintenance and Cleaning
Limestone is one of the most porous natural stones in nature.This
high porosity makes it more susceptible to absorption of oils, dirt
and grime than other natural stones. You would find it absorbing stains
very easily. Most of the times it even absorbs stain from the dye in
many grouts.
So, before you grout the stone, an appropriate Impregnator must be used
as a release.This allows you to have the best possible construction
site protection. Application of impregnators does’t change the natural
look of the stone. What the impregnator does is that it resists grout
dye absorption, quickens up the removal of grout residue and during
construction it also protects the limestone from stains.
Liquid poultice can be used to clean the surface.
Generally, poultice available in the markets are safe for almost all
type of Marble floors. You can make use of a Marble Floor Machine, ab
rush and a wet vacuum to clean up the floor. If the area that you have
to clean is very small, you can achieve your purpose with a hand brush
otherwise you need an automatic scrubber for larger areas. If you find
that your Marble gets exposed to oil sand greases, you would surely
need an added protection. You will find a chemical generally termed
as Pre Treat that is applied to the limestone surface after grout removal.
The use of this added protector before using impregnator makes the porous
surface of the limestone much more resistant to staining materials,especially
oils.
About the author:
Edward Green owns and operates the highly successful Marble Master Ltd
Company. Marble Master specializes in Restoration and Refinishing of
all types of natural stone and consultancy services to Architects, Restoration
Companies and Interior Designers.http://www.Marblemasteruk.com
