5 Common Myths About Natural Stone Maintenance

First and foremost, natural stone is a durable and long-lasting investment. Yet, to fully enjoy it, you will need proper maintenance. Because, without the proper care, and by making all the common mistakes, you will risk damaging the beauty of your interior design.

The main idea here is that natural stone is durable, yet not indestructible. So, you should be cautious, and stay away from cleaning mistakes, as your main priority.

Here are the 5 common practices that will damage your natural stone tiles in time, plus some of the worst consequences, that will cost you a huge amount of money.

Any of those mistakes will result in an expensive bill to be paid for your stone surfaces!

1. Wash it with vinegar 

The use of proper detergents is essential here. Whether you clean yourself, or contract domain experts, use only natural stone-specific cleaners.

If you have an unpolished granite, slate, or sandstone surface, you are allowed to use acidic solutions. Yet not for limestone (marble, travertine, calcite) though, since the limestone does not get well with the acids.

Vinegar has an acid pH; it will react with the calcium carbonate from the limestone, thus leading to an irreversible honed surface. Besides vinegar, bleaches do not offer the prospect of a convenient cleaning either, as they too can "burn" the stone.

The restoration of a chemically damaged surface is completed exclusively mechanically. For the stones not impacted by acid solutions, keep in mind that vinegar will break the already sealed surfaces. Thus, comes a need to seal them more often.

2. Remove scratches with abrasive tools

The attempts to remove scratches and specific stains, often corrosive, by rubbing them with abrasive tools, will only make the problems worse, rather than solve them. Especially when an effort is put into scrubbing.  

According to the Mohs scale on hardness, the travertine and marble are easier to scratch, compared to granite. This info gets to be useful during the installation process, but also afterward, when you need to install furniture or transport heavy objects on the flooring surface.

If a microfiber cloth is recommended for daily maintenance, if you want to remove the scratches and stains, you should work with a stone expert, for a surface polishing procedure, if necessary.

3. Let the dust settle on the surface

Dust particles and small grains of sand, brought in by the shoe soles are not visible. Yet, those do exist and will impact the natural stone surfaces. The most common effect is the wear-and-tear, which leads to a honed surface. The resulting dull, boring look attacks one of the stone’s main features: charisma. The loss of gloss is also responsible for the dirty look of an otherwise clean floor.

Consistent surface maintenance, with a vacuum cleaner and a mop, at least twice a week, plus weekly washing with a neutral detergent, will protect and maintain the beauty of your interior.

4. Don't protect high-traffic areas

You've seen what happens if you let the dust settle on stone surfaces. In public areas, as well as heavy traffic residential spaces, dust and sand contamination gets worse. In these areas, the look deteriorates quickly, and the shine disappears. Thus, you’ll have a mixed finished surface, at times shiny, sometimes dull, without any sense of purpose.

By placing a carpet in the high-traffic areas, you will protect the surface. In hallways, entryways, offices, and kitchens, install dust barriers, ideal for stone protection.

5. Do not waterproof the stone regularly

When contamination of natural stone surfaces occurs, it is essential to remove staining agents at once. Later, it is important to seal the surface, to prevent further damage.

Protection is achieved by surface sealing. Yet, this will not seal it forever. Depending on specific factors, such as the type of stone, finish, environment, type of weather, and installation, the surface protection needs to be reapplied regularly.

Sometimes, the protection will last for 3 years, sometimes this time is as low as a couple of months. For a proper procedure, always work with experts, and if you decide to do it by yourself, just study the procedure thoroughly.

Carefully care for natural stone surfaces, so that you’ll be able to enjoy their features and beauty for many years. Ask PIATRAONLINE experts if you want the find out the best solutions so that your stone remains as the day you bought it.

photo sources: PIATRAONLINE