Discover the best products for care and cleaning your natural stone surfaces

Published: Do it yourself // Published 20.01.2021

The aftercare of your natural stone surfaces is necessary for enjoying its beauty, while ensuring durability and protection against corrosive agents. Protection of stone cladding is essential, being a natural element, it looks as just been quarried, therefore subjected to every aggressive environmental factors. Based on the complexity of a decoration project, the natural stone used and its finish, there are many aggressive agents that might damage claddings. Here's how natural stone claddings in wet spaces can be influenced by external factors:

1. Bathroom claddings – usually affected by water but also organic stains (tobacco, urine), fats (grouts, cosmetic products), stains occurred from placing metallic objects on surfaces, biological stains (mold, mushrooms), paint, efflorescence, corrosive stains (cosmetics, acid detergents, stripping solutions). A special category includes surfaces affected by dust and scratches (usually public restrooms).

2. Kitchen claddings – stains from water, organic stains (tobacco, foods, sorts of fruits, coffee, tea, white wine), fats (cooking oil, milk), stains from metallic objects placed on countertops, such as brass/copper mugs, flooring stains, biological stains (algae, mold, mushrooms) and stains from ink, paint, smoke or soot, efflorescence, corrosive spots (acid detergents, stripping agents, vinegar, red wine, ketchup, lemon, fruit juices). Dust and scratches also modify the surfaces of natural stone but there are also surfaces modified by the same types of agents.

3. Cladding from external wet spaces (terraces, pools) – those are modified by the alredy mentioned agents, abrasives and corrosives and besides ultraviolet radiation, freeze-thaw cycle, animal droopings and poo, leaf debris, shells, tars, mineral oils, lichens, moss, flaws from stone chipping.

Most of these factors cannot be avoided, therefore it is necessary a treatment that diminishes or cancel the effects. Basically, you need to follow the steps:

1. Surface cleaning – carried out in 2 phases: dust cleaning with vacuum cleaner and cleaning -stripping surface with special detergents.

2. Stain removal – with suitable solutions for each type of stain. Besides the already mentioned stains, generated from the exterior (residue stains common after installation, such as adhesives and grouts, removed in the cleaning stage, but also limestone deposits) besides efflorescence and stains rust, from beneath the surface. Stain removal procedures depend on type of stone and finish. You can rely on LTP professional solutions for most of stain problems.

3. Waterproofing – procedure for sealing natural stone pores with solutions (waterproofing agents) for rejecting dust, water and corrosive agents. Waterproofing is beneath the surface level and for choosing your waterproofing agent consider the type of stone and its finish. The more polished the stone, the smaller the pores, therefore honed, flamed and tumbled surfaces are more subjected to environmental agents, compared to polished ones. Marble, travertine, limestone are more sensitive than granite and slate. Considering these facts about wet spaces, usually marble and travertine claddings with honed or tumbled finish require waterproofing.

4. Surface sealing – finishing surfaces by pores surface sealing, meant for protection against dust and water, part of the aftercare procedure (sealing). Color enhancing belongs to the same category. Aftercare is essential after these procedure, but alwys with professional solutions.

For more details, just give us a call at +40318.222.33 or email: export@piatraonline.com. We are always ready to help with your decoration projects.