Restore the Luster of Stone Flooring with These Essential Tips

Your home is the most coveted place, as it is where you head to after a long toiling day. Hence, it is imperative to add style to it. However, if you think shelling out tons of cash is the only way to spruce it up, then think again. You can inject comfort and style into your home by changing the flooring design. You can opt for the aesthetically appealing stones to adorn your floor. Here are steps to retain the luster of your stone decor.

Seal the stone surface:

It is essential to properly seal a natural stone with the best quality sealant. A regular maintenance and proper care will help reduce your exposure to the common issues as well as keep restore their luster now, then and forever. Marble, granite, limestone, travertine and other natural stones need different kinds of sealers. Take for instance, sealers used for a granite countertop won’t be highly effective on limestone or travertine surfaces. Remember, the stone sealer can’t afford a skip or a miss if you want to protect your floor from stains.

Use mild and natural stone cleaners:

While shopping for floor cleaning solutions, always make sure to pick herbal and mild stone cleaning products. Whether you want to clean marble, granite or quartz countertops, you should always head for eco-friendly, non-toxic and PH balanced cleaners. These products are always better for the environment and your health.

Remove stains as soon as possible:

Stone is somewhat porous even when sealed and it can stain if spills are not cleaned when there is still time. Make sure to remove a spill as soon as possible, as the longer the spill is in the marble, granite or any other stone surface, the harder it’s to eradicate the stain. A very common mistake that majority of people tend to make is blotting up spills instead of wiping them. It could end up distributing the spilled materials over a larger portion leading stain to spread. After any liquid has been removed, rely on a PH balanced granite cleaner which will also condition marble, granite, quartz and limestone countertops.

Tips for cleaning porous stones:

Walls, floors , stone countertops, etc. add natural elegance to your home. The natural luster of stones can turn into the cynosure of all eyes. However, in order to protect the color, finish and shine of these stones you should take a special care of them. Therefore, it is imperative to learn the tricks of cleaning these stones.
Polish stone or marble floor:
Polishing aids decrease the absorbency rate of the stone or marble floors. Plus, it also helps in bringing out the shine and color of the stone. Since, polishing tends to wear out, it should be done once in a while.

Learn the tricks of keeping bottles, glass and can:

You should treat your stone floors and countertops with the uttermost care. Make sure to put coasters under bottles, glass or cans. Such a simple care will help you clean it with ease. Bottles or glasses generally contain acidic substances which can damage the stone surface very easily. Bottle or glass coasters prevent the marble surface from damage. Use a decorative tray to store your toiletry items.

Ultimately, it’s your efforts and dedication that decide the longevity of your stone or marble floor. Follow these simple steps and restore the beauty of your floor for years to come.

How To Clean The Granite Floor Tiles At Your Home Easily

Undoubtedly, the stone floor tiles of your kitchen get worn out with time, lose its sheen and the grout can get discolored, while demanding a deep clean and reseal. So, it’s good to know that the majority of stones are easier to take care and maintain for keeping it clean.

Let’s take a look which are the best ways to clean your granite counter tops. First of all, to clean the counter tops and retain its glossy shine, you won’t need any special cleaner.

If you are dealing with other types of stones like travertine (for marble or limestone), just ensure that you are purchasing the best stone cleaning products.

Things you should do while cleaning granite:

Dos:

1. Ensure that your granite counter top is sealed. Generally, the granite stones have very hard surface, less pores than marble. If you keep these granite stones unsealed or weakly sealed, the granite stones soak up oils, spills and stains.

2. How can you check that the granite is sealed? Leave some drops of water on the surface of the granite to check if it’s sealed. If it beads up, the granite is securely sealed. And in case, the water gets soaked into the granite, reseal the stone.

3. Remove the spills from your stone surface as soon as they come to your notice.
Otherwise, these spills might leave some stains upon your counter tops or stone floors.

4. Rely upon the high quality granite cleaning products to keep your stone floor tiles look glossy. Choose warm water, mild dish soap (optional), and a rough washcloth for daily wipe downs.

Don’ts:

1. Using abrasive cleaners and sponges, or acidic cleaners such as vinegar, lime, or any other chemical containing ammonia or bleach.

2. Frequent usage of chemicals for cleaning your granite stones, will take away the glossy outlook and over time the sealant will be weakened.

3. You might think the harsher cleaner you choose, the cleaner your stones will be. But that’s a wrong concept since using harsher cleaners will break down your sealant more quickly.

Things you need particularly to clean the Granite stones at home:

1. A Bucket with warm water

2. Various scrubbing brushes and cloths

3. A clean microfiber cloth (opt for soft terry cloths or mops if you wish)

4. High quality products for your floor

5. Mild dish soap (for counter tops specially)

6. Rubber gloves

Here comes the procedure of cleaning and disinfecting your granite floor tiles:

1. Before you start, take warm and soapy water to wet the dish cloth. To ease the procedure, fill the entire sink with a mild dish soap and warm water. Now you can easily wet your clean dish cloth.

2. Rub the granite floor tiles or kitchen counter tops. Wipe away any spill you notice on the surface.

3. Choose the microfiber cloths to discard the risk of streaking. Once the surface is cleaned, it’s time to dry and shine it thoroughly using a microfiber cloth. You might opt for soft terry cloth towels also.

Now enjoy a hygienic and clean atmosphere at your home. If you find it difficult to complete the task on your own, hire the professionals from reputed cleaning services!

Protect Your Marble & Granite Floor from External Deleterious Sources

A spick-and-span marble and granite flooring provides a home interior with an outstanding

panoramic view. No wonder, your pocket pinching will be more hurting if you consider adorning your home with marble or granite floor. If you have shelled out a huge amount of money on installing granite or marble as flooring and for any decorative structure at your house , it’s a mandatory to pay special attention to maintaining the lustre of these stones.

Just like any other valuable essentials, marble and granite floors too require some precautions and special care. Below are listed a few deleterious sources which can impact the lustre of these precious stones —

– High acidic foods and liquid :- Foods or liquid containing acid, when spilled on granite/marble floors, end up causing it to etch or leave unremovable marks on its surfaces. Seemingly trivial, even a teeny-tiny coin size stain could spread out over several other tiles. Thus a single droplet of acidic food or liquid is capable enough to screw up the sheen of a marble or granite floor.

Therefore, if you have managed to drop any carbonated beverages or frui juice, wine or tea on a granite or marble surface, consider rubbing the affected area with a clean and soft cloth dipped in a cleansing solution. For a rewarding result, pour a few drops of ammonia into the solution; and gently rub the affected area until it retains its lost shine.

– Harsh chemical based detergents :- One of the terrible sources of dull stains and etch marks are those detergents that contain harsh chemicals and acids. Many people tend to rely on these harsh chemical based granite and marble cleaning products to clean their marble/ granite floors. Most surprisingly, even vinegar is also a big no to use for cleaning a marble and granite floor.

Both marble and granite are extremely delicate and hence should be cleaned with gentle cleansers , PH naturals and the likes. So,, it’s better not to pick cleaners from cheap brands. Poor quality cleaners might result permanent loss of its natural shining.

– Marble are porous & needs extra care:- Despite being profusely durable, both marble and granite are porous by nature. It means, liquids that spill on a marble or granite surface end up getting absorbed underneath its surface in an instance.

Moreover, marble floor tiles are prone to discoloration by spills from liquor, meals, metal furniture legs, oil, ink, water damage and the likes. Greasy products such as cooking oils , etc. can stain a granite or marble floor quite easily. So, in order to keep the stains at bay, you require cleaning your floor regularly with premiere quality marble and granite cleaning products so that they shine forever.

Lastly, when cleaning a marble or granite floor, you require keeping eye on a few techniques that will help you fetch the desired results always. Take for instance, thumb up to regular cleaning and dusting. A regular cleaning works wonders in making a marble/granite floor look absolutely new. Do not scrub a marble or granite surface with cleaners; instead apply smooth polishings to make it shining and glittering. It’s advisable to wet granite or marble top with lukewarm water when cleaning it.

Follow these above-mentioned guidelines and fetch the best results.