First, let’s distinguish the difference between stone restoration and stone maintenance.
The Marble Institute of America (now the Natural Stone Institute) defines maintenance as “Cleaning done on a scheduled basis: daily, weekly, etc. in order to remove dirt, dust and other contaminants that degrade the stone surface and reduce the stone’s polish. Scheduled maintenance is an essential part of stone care.”
It defines restoration: “Remedial action taken to restore a structure or area of stone to its original or acceptable “near original” condition. Generally applies to historic structures, but the word restoration is also used to re-surface damaged stone surfaces with grinding and other abrasive methods.”
Ok, now that we have that out of the way, I want to discuss easy ways for you to care for and maintain your stone.
Here are some quick tips for my homeowner friends:
- No matter what stone you have. Clean with neutral stone cleaners and avoid acid-based products. I recommend Lavenet or Lavenet Green for stone and tile floors.
- I recommend Akemi Crystal Clean for non-floors such as showers and countertops. This particular cleaner helps reduce calcium deposits when used regularly.
- I also recommend NABC (Non-Acid Bowl Cleaner) to clean and disinfect toilet bowls that are surrounded by marble, travertine, limestone and terrazzo floors.
Marble, limestone, travertine and terrazzo react (etch) when they come in contact with acid. (Think tomato sauce, orange juice and vinegar.) I know we all love our marble kitchens, but it’s almost inevitable to completely avoid acid etch marks on these surfaces. That’s when restoration comes in. We can re-polish or re-hone your marble tops and floors and remove etch marks and fine scratches. Depending on how much you cook or your level of OCD, homeowners typically call us every couple of years to restore high traffic areas such as kitchen and bathroom stone surfaces.
Tips for Property Managers:
I highly recommend damp mopping the stone floors nightly with Lavenet neutral cleaner. You can also use Lavenet Green if your building is VOC compliant.
If your building has been recently restored or is new, I recommend having us come in and maintain (polish or hone) your traffic areas. In my experience, commercial high traffic areas are:
- Elevator cab floors
- Thresholds into the elevators
- The stone floor between turnstiles
- Eating areas
- Wall corners (people tend to cut corners when they walk)
International Stoneworks can come in on a routine basis and address these high traffic areas, thus postponing the need to have a full stone floor restoration. Not to mention, your floors look good all the time!
Do you have any other stone care and maintenance questions? Don’t hesitate to contact us and we will do our best to answer your specific questions.
