Travertine is a warm and beautiful stone with unique colour and pattern characteristics which will compliment any home. Although travertine is a stone, it is, in its way delicate, being sensitive to acidic substances which may dull the polish easily. The care of travertine is important in keeping this wonderful enhancement to your home in the best possible condition.
The care of travertine is comparable to marble and limestone as they are of a similar composition in chemical and physical characteristics.
Travertine is an ancient mined stoned building material which is used today for indoor and outdoor travertine flooring, paving and building cladding. Care of travertine is not time consuming and depending on which travertine you choose being filled or unfilled, tumbled or polished once your travertine is sealed, maintenance should be relatively easy.
Special attention needs to be placed on the care and maintenance of your travertine tiles floor. Although travertine is a more hard-wearing floor material than most, it is still susceptible to damage if not treated properly. Acid based liquids such as wine and fruit juices can score the travertine’s surface if left to stand after spilling. If this occurs, rubbing the area with a fine grade emery paper will remove the damaged surface, allowing it to be resealed.
When caring for your travertine, it is best to vacuum, sweep, or dust mop your floor every few days to pick up dust and outside debris that can get ground into the surface which may dull the surface. Caring for your travertine floor this way will reduce the frequency you need to wash your floor as it will keep dirt and dust to a minimum.
A once a month wet wash should be included in the care for your travertine floor. After sweeping your travertine floor, you should wet wash using a mild ph soap solution, or a recommended cleaning solution (never use acidic or abrasive cleaners). This should be dissolved in warm water using a well wrung-out flat mop (a sponge, microfiber or chamois mop are gentle and can be easily wrung out to nearly dry and are more effective that traditional mops at gathering small dirt particles).
When caring for your travertine flooring, in time, you may begin to notice that the water doesn’t bead on the surface and may immediately soak into the stone. If this happens, it is then time to re-seal the floor with a penetrating stone sealer recommended for stone floors. As natural stone is porous to some degree it will be necessary for your floor to be sealed with a stone sealer which will help prevent spilt liquids penetrating the stone. Over time, the wax sealer will wear so in caring for your travertine floor it will periodically be necessary to re-seal your floor. Re-sealing of stone flooring in the home environment will be required every 5 to 7 years, depending on the amount of foot traffic and wear and tear.
A travertine floor is a thing of beauty, and with the right care and maintenance will give you many years of use. Travertine floor care goes a long way to getting the best from your floor. As with most valued possessions, your travertine floor should be treated with respect and, although not high maintenance, with a degree of tender loving care it will repay you back with a floor that will enhance your home, and look stunning for years to come.
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