Blog Stone Maintenance Tips & Information

Floor Care Guidlines

Now that your floor is in perfect shape - how can you keep it looking as good as possible for as long as possible. The guide below with help you with that.

1. It is important not to let water stand on the floor. When water or any liquid spills do what you can to wipe it up immediately. Also making sure that the surface is streak free after cleaning. This will help ensure that the floor will continue to look good for a long time.
2. Though sealed the sealer does not protect the surface from etching. The sealer inhibits penetrating agents. Meaning that if when something is spilled on it you will have enough time to wipe it up without leaving a stain. No matter how well or how often a stone is sealed if a staining agent (coffee, oil, wine, coke etc) is left on the surface for a long period of time you are likely to get a true stain. This, however, is not something I would worry too much about. You have had the floors for many years withlittle or noprofessional servicing and there were no true stains so it is unlikely, with proper care, that you will ever get a true stain.
3. Only use non-corrosive PH neutral cleaners. I have a couple of suggestions.
   1. There is a product at HomeDepot called OrangeOxy. It is fortified with Hydrogen Peroxide and makes a great cleaner
   2. The other is available atwww.easystonecare.comand is called EasyOxy. Like orange oxy is it fortified with Hydrogen Peroxide but it is less diluted and a more effective cleaner
   3. Another fantastic floor cleaner is fromwww.easystonecare.com. It is called Reflect. OrangeOxy and EasyOxy are primarily for countertops and walls so Reflect may be a better option for your floors. It is a concentrate to it must be diluted.
4. For daily care is it best to dry dust mop the floor to extract soils. Sweeping tiles and grout lines regularly is also recommended.
5. Avoid traditional wet mopping techniques. This tends to flood the floor and then turns any remaining soils to mud that eventually stains grout and damages the finish on the floor.
6. When you do wet clean the floor use one of the above recommended cleaner and a micro fiber dust mop applicator you have set aside specifically for damp cleaning.
7. Whichever cleaner you choose, when you clean spray a small amount of the product directly on the surface then wipe the area clean with the dust mop. This should be damp but not wet. Once the area is clean use a clean dry towel buff off any excess. Keeping the surface as streak free as possible improves the longevity of the finish.
8. DO NOT use abrasive scrub pads, such as scotch bright pads, on the surface. These will act as sand paper and abrade the surface and ruin the finish. Rather if there is some stubborn dry food or soils on the floor spray the cleaner directly on the area and allow it to dwell until the spot is soft enough to scrub off with a soft towel.
9. The most common question we get is how long will it last. The answer is that it is up to you. I always tell our customers that you should expect it to last as long as it did the first time. It will over time develop etching and scratching and while you can minimize this it cannot be 100% prevented. Eventually you will have to have it resurfaced and hone again. That said, with as good a care as you take, I have every reason to expect it to look good for a long time.

By Josh Huseby 8-11-2017