Travertine Floor Cleaning Service
Travertine is a soft, porous limestone rock. It looks great when used for flooring and providing good care is taken it can stand the test of time. That said, it can be vulnerable to damage if not cared for properly. If you need some help maintaining yours, why not call Tile & Stone Medic today and ask about our travertine floor cleaning and restoration service?
Common issues
We encounter a range of common issues when conducting our travertine floor cleaning and restoration service, but most are quite easily handled by an experienced professional.
Etching is one of the most common forms of damage to travertine floor tiles. Travertine is easily marked by spillages of common household items like tomato sauce, vinegar, wine, lemon juice and similar liquids. Etching refers to light or pale marks on the surface of the tile which are left behind after such a spillage. Etching can be a small patch of discolouration, or can cover several tiles depending on the size of the spill.
Travertine tiling should always be sealed and will usually be polished to some extent, whether that’s a visible shine or a matt finish. Whatever the case, with regular footfall, occasional moisture and general wear and tear the finishing of the tile will wear down over time. If you’ve noticed your flooring becoming generally dull it may need to be repolished to bring it back to life.
Resealing is another essential part of our travertine floor cleaning and restoration service. Sealant is essentially a barrier against day to day wear and as such will gradually wear down in the course of repelling day to day impacts and abrasions. Wearing down of the sealant may leave the travertine tiles looking dull, but it will also leave it far more susceptible to staining, so it’s vital to ensure the sealer is topped up.
If the foundation underneath the travertine tiles has not been laid properly it can become distorted from day to day weight distribution on the tiles. Movement in the subfloor can, over time, result in loosening of the tiles. If unchecked the tiles may go on to chip, or create a tripping hazard. Similarly, wear and degradation of the grouting between the tiles will happen over time and can lead to similar issue. If light coloured grouting has been used it will also show dirt quite readily, this dirt can be trodden into the tiles too and create marks.
How we maintain travertine tile flooring
We employ a range of professional treatments to repair worn or damaged travertine floors. In the case of etching we would need to assess the scale of the damage first. Generally our travertine floor cleaning and restoration service involves using a specialist polish solution to buff out the visible damage, before applying a finishing polish and a reseal.
For travertine floor tiling which has become dull, a simple finishing polish might be all that is necessary to bring life back to the tiles. This polishing can be tailored to your specification depending on your desired finish, for example tiles could be left matt or taken to a higher level of sheen. We’d strongly recommend finishing with a sealer to help guard against staining from minor spillages and general abrasive damage. The sealer should be topped up once a year to maintain this protection.
In the case of chipped, cracked or seriously damaged tiles we we would need to make a thorough assessment of the damage to the travertine before we decide on a treatment. It may be the case that a tile needs to be entirely replaced, in which case we can help with sourcing replacement stone.
Will repairing my travertine tiles cause disruption?
We always try to fit our travertine floor cleaning and restoration service around your schedule with an absolute minimum of inconvenience to you and your environment. Repair of travertine floor which has suffered staining or damage from wear and tear can generally be completed in a few hours. The repairs don’t usually involve large or loud pieces of machinery and the strongest chemicals used would be mild alkalis which shouldn’t present any significant hazard. You can rest assured the job will be completed as safely and efficiently as possible so you can get back to enjoying your space with its newly refreshed tiling.
If your travertine floor tiles need some care and attention then don’t hesitate to get in touch with Tile & Stone Medic today for all your maintenance and repair needs!
FAQs
Whilst we may use specialist chemicals in the course of our work, we can assure you that by the time we leave all residues will be gone and your tile or stone flooring will be perfectly safe for everyone to use. We work to extremely high standards of health and safety, conducting proper risk assessments where appropriate and never putting you or anyone else in danger.
We always work in the most considerate way possible. Work will be tailored to your needs and will fit around your schedule where possible. We avoid bringing loud or bulky machinery into your home and when a job is complete we thoroughly clean up after ourselves to leave your space looking as tidy as it did when we arrived.
