maintaining your natural stone surfaces

Most marble is  generally a very soft material. Placing strategic entry mats or runners in high traffic areas goes a long way in preserving your floor. Removing shoes in the home is a very helpful step. Tiny abrasives, even a grain of sand stuck on the bottom of your shoe can cause scratching and increase the wear rate. Traffic patterns, debris and pivotal points start to wear first.

The term "marble" is very broad. I like to define it as a calcium based material. Calcium is susceptible to acidic products and can etch very easily. Etching is a term used for a chemical reaction with the calcium in the stone and an acidic product. This can include improper cleaners that are acidic in nature, spills from the pickle jar, drips from a lime and so on. An etch may look like a stain but it is not and can be repaired professionally. When selecting a cleaner, read the label. Often it will say "not for use on marble". Always look for the word "Neutral". Never overuse, follow mixing instructions and this will help reduce the chance of residue and streaks.

Grout lines are very porous by nature and can act like a spounge to collect soiling and debris. You want to avoid acidic products if/when cleaning your grout and a soft bristle brush with the right cleaner goes a long way. If you do choose to clean your grout yourself, we recommend a nylon V-shaped grout brush on a pole. Simply mop or spray the grout so it is amply wet, scrub to aggitate and loosen the soiling. Then mop or microfiber with a neautral cleaner. The longer it has soiled, the more work it will take. Surface stains can be removed. Deep penetrated stains cannot.

Every home or business is different and will have a variation of needs and frequency. These maintenance practices apply to all facilities.

• We recommend dry mopping with a microfiber pad or vacuuming on a frequent basis. Daily if  you can. This can also include a robot or soft bristle vacuum that will not scratch the floor.
• As needed, mop the floor with a clean, wet microfiber pad or mop. Be sure you are using a neutral cleaner. Many are available but MUST be neutral! Only mop when needed. Rainy and snowy days may require more frequency from tracking in the elements. There is no right or wrong frequency, if you see it needs it then it probably does.

I'm not a promoter of any particular product. There are many good products available locally or online. On the professional side, we use M3 Technologies as our go-to for restoration products. They offer very specific and safe maintenance products for different applications. Below are some to consider and you can visit their website at https://m3techinc.com/cleaners/ .

Natural stone showers can be such a beautiful surface for your bathroom. It does however sustain some of the most use and abuse simply due to the constant water and hygiene products that are used in this area. Etching and/or soap scum build-up are not uncommon even if you work hard to keep your shower clean. This is normal. We recommend the following maintenance if possible:

• Squeegee walls dry after each use.
• Don't leave any standing water if possible on inserts.
• Weekly scrub and rinse with an appropriate cleaner (see below).
• Yearly re-seal the surface with a penetrating sealant.

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