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Stone and tile flooring are some of the most aesthetically pleasing décor you can use to accentuate your home. Most of these tiling materials are durable and pretty but still require certain types of maintenance and upkeep so it can continue to add a relaxing atmosphere for years to come. When cleaning and maintaining your floors there are a lot of different mistakes that one can make if they don't have the proper knowledge. For example, certain natural stones can be quite porous and can be easily ruined by common household items such as coffee, lemon juice, oil, soda and wine. These liquids can easily stain or mark your tiling. When a spill does occur, a lot of the different common cleaning products can also harm your surface. Cleaners that contain certain acids, alkaline, bleach or vinegar must be avoided when cleaning your stone and tiling. There are specific cleaners that are made to be used on different types of flooring. Besides proper cleaning another factor into protecting your floors is sealing the tiling and grout which is important for protecting your floors against scratching, staining and with the added benefits of making clean up easier. Some stone materials like granite are more resistant than others to staining and scratches but others would benefit greatly to being sealed. Maintenance of Ceramic/Porcelain Tile Avoid steam cleaning, mopping with bleach, vinegar, ammonia and other harsh cleaners. These methods and types of cleaners will diminish the life of the grout. A neutral pH cleaner will not damage the protection. Depending on how dirty the grout is, change the cleaning solution every 100 to 500 square feet. Maintenance frequency depends on foot traffic and soil conditions. Only use a pH neutral cleaner for daily/monthly cleaning of all stone, tile and grout. These cleaners are the only type that will ensure safe and effective cleaning. A pH neutral cleaner contains additives that are neither acidic nor alkaline in nature, and therefore will not harm your natural stone or grout finish. If you use the proper cleaner, it will be actually reinforce the sealer every time you clean. Maintenance of Natural Stone Tiling Sealing your stone and using the proper cleaner are two of the most important components necessary for long-term protection. Sealing your stone, tile and grout is an essential part of helping protect it against etching and staining. All sealers are stain-resistant, not stain-proof, meaning they will only resist a stain for so long, before damage results. This means that even though your stone is sealed, you must clean spills up as quickly as possible. You should avoid steam cleaning, mopping with bleach, vinegar, ammonia and other harsh cleaners. These methods and types of cleaners will diminish the life of the sealer protection and harm your stone. A neutral pH cleaner will not damage the sealer protection and is safe for natural stone. Depending on how dirty the stone is, change cleaning solution every 100 to 500 square feet. Maintenance frequency depends on traffic and soil conditions. Adam Stone is a landscape gardener and consultant for stonetrader.co.uk in Leeds, West Yorkshire. Visit today for our FREE tile calculator and creative inspiration blog. Adam has over 15 years experience with natural stone tiles and writes for several blogs and papers. Visit his blog for more information.
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natural stone, stone tiling, natural stone tiling,
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