FINISHES & AFTERCARE CLEANS OF TH Robert Merry is a member of the Technical Committee of the Stone Federation of Great Britain and
All commercial contracts will have an operation and maintenance (O+M) manual and all good O+M manuals will contain the proper name of the material, the type of adhesive and grout used, including the colour. They will also detail what it has been sealed with and some guidance on how to keep it looking good through ongoing maintenance.
Floors in particular take a hammering in certain conditions. Restaurant and reception floors are probably two of the most used and abused. All that spilt food and wine on one, wet feet with the grime of the street on the other.
Caring for floors in-situ takes time and consideration, and looking after stone floors adds a little extra dimension.
Sealing a stone surface using ‘impregnators’ is part of the solution, but not all. These products, particularly solvent-based solutions, are good at forming barriers but they won’t resist all stains. Spillages need to be removed from floors quickly. Food and drink containing acid, for instance, will burnish the face of limestones and marbles. You sometimes see glass or bottle ring marks on work surfaces, caused by the acidic liquid on the inside of a glass running down the outside and gathering on the base. Wines, juices, sauces and plenty of fruits contain acids that are harmful to limestone and marble floors.
The key to protecting stone floors as effectively as possible is regular cleaning. This should be done using stone soaps or preparatory cleaners developed especially
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for stone. These contain mild surfactants – soaps with emulsifiers that break down dirt on the surface without stripping the polish from the face.
As well as the cleaning solution, you must be aware of the cleaning equipment itself. If your floor is not big enough to invest in a floor scrubber, make sure that the mop is clean and the dirty water is changed in the bucket. Otherwise, you end up moving the dirt across the surface without taking it away. The beauty of floor scrubbers is they vacuum away the dirty water as they go, removing the dirt with it.
Of course, there are more traditional ways of ensuring stone surfaces keep their looks. One method for calcium-rich stones, such as limestone and marble, is to vitrify the floor.
Vitrification is either applied as a wet or dry system. A dry system is quicker and does not involve extensive drying times and small localised areas can be worked on. The wet method cleans the stone more thoroughly. Both methods involve the use of powders activating the calcium in the stone with a wire wool polishing head. This creates friction and heat, leaving the floor polished. But beware – it may turn the joints black. This is often caused where the wire wool head deposits the residual of the powders in the joints.
Diamond cutting of stone floors is only usually carried out if the floor is very poorly installed with lips between tiles or slabs. Although it is highly effective in levelling a floor
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