Cleaning & Maintaining Stone Floors
The first point to make here is that a good stone floor should be easy to look after.
You will however need to choose a natural stone which is suitable for the task and make sure it is installed correctly. There are plenty of stone tiles that would perform well on a bathroom wall but have no place in a busy kitchen. Check with the supplier that they are happy with the intended use of the stone.
Similarly any stone flooring or stone tiles need to be installed correctly. Choice of adhesives and grout, observation of correct drying times and proper sealing are all very important to ensuring your stone floor is suitable for the purpose and correctly installed.
If you are considering having natural stone floor or stone tiles in your house make sure you have it installed by someone with experience or if you plan to do this yourself make sure you take good advice and read up on the subject first. There is detailed information elsewhere on this site – Installing Natural stone tiles
Cleaning your Stone floor or tiles
Stone floors should only be cared for with specialist products. Regular floor cleaners can contain fine abrasives and or ammonia, both of which will adversely affect the finish of your stone floor and it will lose its luster and become flat and lifeless.
The correct product for day to day stone floor cleaning is a ‘stone soap’. There are many stone floor soaps on the market but we recommend Lithofin Easy care which is a neutral ph and has a pleasant aroma.
Stone soaps not only clean but actually help protect the face of the stone and in the long run enhance both the natural colour of the stone and increase its resistance to staining.
How does this work? Well, stone tile sealers are ‘impregnators ‘meaning they are absorbed into the face of the stone rather than sitting on the surface. During the sealing process any residual sealer is specifically removed as when left on the surface it looks patch and unsightly. The soap is in fact the first line of defence!
After cleaning your stone floor with stone soap do not rinse the floor. This leaves a slight layer of soap on the stone floor or stone tile. This provides a temporary wear layer – it will dissipate as you walk on the stone floor and replenished each time the floor is washed. Household dirt is trapped in the soap and washed away when you clean the stone floor.
Correct Method of Cleaning your stone floor or stone tiles
- First sweep or vacuum to remove grit and excess dust.
- Add a few squirts of the stone soap into a bucket of warm water and using a well wrung out mop apply the soap to the floor.
- Rinse the mop in a separate bucket of fresh water or under the tap before putting it back into the soap mix and continuing the cleaning.
- Rinsing the mop between applications of soap means you won’t spread dirty water around the stone floor. A flat bottomed mop is best for this task.
A correctly maintained stone floor will prove to be resistant to stain due to the surface layer of stone soap which acts as a barrier to stains and your stone floor or stone tiles will maintain an enhanced natural colour and lustre.
If your stone floors or stone tiles are excessively dirty Lithofin Easy Care may prove to be insufficient to move the grime or marks. To remove stubborn stains you will need some stronger action such as Lithofin Power Clean this is great for all stone tiles and stone floors and can be used diluted or concentrated depending upon the condition and degree of dirt to be removed and will not break down the sealer in the floor. It will however remove any residue of the soap but all you have to do is apply the stone soap after you have cleaned the stone to restore its protective layer, colour and lustre.
Maintaining your stone floor is easy when you use the correct material and follow our simple guidelines, if you require any advice please check out our ancillaries page
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