SDSC TIPS: FLOORS – SHOWERS – COUNTERS

• Dust mop your floors on a daily or at the very least once a week – If you finish becomes dull have SDSC re-finish your floors – traffic areas about every two years
• Put mats at outside & inside of all entrances – occasionally shake out these mats.
• Only clean your travetine with a Neutral pH Stone Cleaner. (Do not use vinegar -lemon juice – or other tile & grout cleaners that contain acid – this will dull your travertine)
• Clean traffic & heavily used areas on a weakly basis – IE. Kitchen Floors & Showers
• Use felt pads on the bottom of furniture to prevent scratching floor.
• Try lifting furniture as you slide across floor to prevent scratching.
• All acidic liquids and foods will “etch” (dull) your travertine finish immediately (Penetrating sealers do not prevent etching & topical sealers are not recommended for polished natural stones)
• Travertine counters & furniture – always us coasters or place mats for drinks and food items.
• Squeegee excess water off shower walls – leave shower door open & ceiling fan on for 30 minutes AFTER  using the shower. (Will assist with preventing mold & mildew)
• Have you floors and showers professionally cleaned approximately every two years – In most cases this may be a good time to re-seal these areas – especially showers.

There are  Four Areas of Typical Maintenance in Caring for your Travetine Stone: Cleanng, Filling Holes, Re-Finishing & Sealing.

#1 Cleaning Your Travertine Stone:

SDSC TIP: If you are looking to add travertine to your home I would recommend reading ab0ut travertine in our “Surfaces Section”… as this material may not be the best choice for some applications…IE active counter area – kitchens.

Cleaning is the first & foremost important area of caring for your travertine floors, showers & counter-tops and is a step that you can perform on a regular basis, although, I would also recommend, especially for floor traffic areas, & showers,  that you have these areas cleaned by a specialist in stone care & maintenance…usually about every two years. If your travertine was “properly sealed” right after installation or right after a restoration cleaning (best time to re-seal)… then the only type of cleaner that you will need, as well as is recommended, is a neutral pH natural stone cleaner.(Please contact SDSC for recommendations and where to purchase this cleaner) Some people are very fearful to use any cleaners on their natural stone; travertine – marble – granite  limestone  and thus only clean their floors with water. Let me assure you…you will do absolutely no damage to any of your natural stones or grouts when using a neutral stone cleaner & it is far better than plan water. Why? The cleaner is going to loosen the dirt far better than plan water especially in the grout joints, which quite frankly, is the part of your installation that collects more dirt than the travertine itself. In addition – a neutral cleaner is going to also do a better job of removing soap residuefrom your shower walls. (Some of these cleaners are also disinfectants which means they kill bacteria chemically, however, a thorough and regular cleaning will also assist with keeping area disinfected…Not all disinfectants are safe for natural stone either)

Floors: Now this may surprise you when I say that cleaning your floors with a “neutral cleaner” made especially for natural stone is important, however, your #1 best friend in caring for your travertine floors is…A quality dust mop – broom – or soft vacuum attachment. (Personally I like a quality dust mop because it is fast & efficient…which means I will use it more often) Why is this #1? Because travetine  is a relatively soft stone that can loose its satin – high polish finish from the dirt that can be tracked into your home on the bottom of your shoes. Basically,  even with the most minute of particles under your feet, this can have the same effect as if you would attach sand paper to the bottom of your shoes. And, if you catch even a small stone under your shoe you may actually cause a scratch in your travertine, in which, you will need your stone care specialist to remove this. Now will this dulling happen overnight…absolutely not! However, if you avoid this basic maintenance practice your travertine will over time begin to loose its factory finish – especially in your traffic areas. So what else can you do to keep your floor free of outside particles – Walk off Mats. Most of us probably have mats at our front door but what about the other entrance to our stone floors: Garage entrance & sliding doors. And although most of us probable will not put an additional mat on the “inside” of these entrances it definitely is helpful.

SDSC TIPS: FLOORS – SHOWERS – COUNTERS

• Dust mop your floors on a daily or at the very least once a week – If you finish becomes dull have SDSC re-finish your floors – traffic areas about every two years
• Put mats at outside & inside of all entrances – occasionally shake out these mats.
• Only clean your travetine with a Neutral pH Stone Cleaner. (Do not use vinegar -lemon juice – or other tile & grout cleaners that contain acid – this will dull your travertine)
• Clean traffic & heavily used areas on a weakly basis – IE. Kitchen Floors & Showers
• Use felt pads on the bottom of furniture to prevent scratching floor.
• Try lifting furniture as you slide across floor to prevent scratching.
• All acidic liquids and foods will “etch” (dull) your travertine finish immediately (Penetrating sealers do not prevent etching & topical sealers are not recommended for polished natural stones)
• Travertine counters & furniture – always us coasters or place mats for drinks and food items.
• Squeegee excess water off shower walls – leave shower door open & ceiling fan on for 30 minutes AFTER  using the shower. (Will assist with preventing mold & mildew)
• Have you floors and showers professionally cleaned approximately every two years – In most cases this may be a good time to re-seal these areas – especially showers.

Definitely seal your new granite!This process may already have been done by the fabricator…then again maybe not. But here is the great news! If you buy your granite slabfrom certain stone yards IE: Dal Tile, Arizona Tile,  and I believe Emser Tile, (there may be others)…these companies are offering anywhere from 10-15 year warranties against staining if you have their recommended sealer applied by one of their certified applicators. Check with each stone yard for details as some are even offering these warranties as “transferable” if you sell your home. In addition, if a stain should occur & they cannot get the stain out…they will replace the entire affected area labor & material! San Diego Stone Care is an approved certified applicator for some of these companies call for details and I will put you in contact with the right person.

If I may let me give just a brief overview about the proper sealer to use with granite counter tops, as well as, with many other polished stones such as travertines & marbles. The type of sealer that is recommended for these materials is called a “penetrating sealer” some call themselves impregnating but here is how they all work. (and by the way not all penetrating sealers are created equal as not all offer the best stain resistant protection) When properly applied to the stone these sealers penetrate inside the stone, lock into the stones open pores and protect just below the stones surface…there is no nor should there be …any sealer left on top of the stone. After allowing the sealer to absorb anywhere from 5 – 30 minutes, depending on which sealer you are using, the excess is then buffed “completely off the surface” and yes you can set things back on your counter after buffing off excess, however, allow the sealer at least 24 hours to fully cure prior to any food prep or spills.

Now lets save you some money with exposing some “marketing ploys” that some companies may engage you with in the regularity of sealing your granite counters. Yes…you may run into the odd granite that may need the yearly re-application of sealer, yet this is not the norm by any means. Most granites, as noted by warranties being offered by stone yards, if ”properly sealed”with the “right sealer” and the right ”applicator” do not need to be sealed every year…you will simply be wasting your money. Once the sealer is properly applied and the right cleaners and cleaning methods are use ( ph neutral stone cleaner & everyday is completely fine) …you will not be weakening your sealer…it is below the stones surface and you will not affect it.

As I mentioned this is just a brief overview, however, if you would like more details please feel free to reply here and I will surely respond to you question. Also, I will be adding this information with greater detailed to pages of my website since questions about this and all sealers come up everyday.

This is most likely going to be one of my favorite sections of the re-designing of our website. One of my main objectives in re-designing the site was to be able to have more one on one interaction with all of San Diego Stone Care customers; Homeowners, General & Tile Contractors, Designers, Stone Suppliers and Others. Over the years we have accumulated a vast amount of knowledge and experience from attending numerous seminars, hands on classes, manufacturers and industry educational programs. In addition, with a previous company, I had the opportunity to travel all over the country and network with the cream of the crop, as it were, of the Stone Care & Restoration Industry. These opportunities and relationships have been and continue to be one of the areas that separates us above the rest with the quality of service we offer. Yet…one of the things that I enjoy most about this industry and trade is the being able to “pay it forward” as the movie stated…sharing the same valuable information that has been passed on to me from others.

So that being said this blog is going to be a main avenue to accomplish sharing this information, as well, I will be adding a lot of this information to the permanent pages of my website. So please, feel free to leave a comment on any post, ask as many questions as you would like, suggest a topic you would like to be posted and I will do my best to get you the most accurate up to date information available.

Thank you for your time,

Tim Connelly – Owner of San Diego Stone Care

What others are saying about San Diego Stone Care:

#1 – Cleaning Travetine Floors – Polishing Marble Counter, Tub & Shower – This counter is highlighted in our gallery’s first page. 

Tim,

I have been meaning to tell you how delighted I am with the results of your
Stone Care in my home!  As a professional interior designer I work with subs
all the time and I have exceptionally high standards; you, however, exceeded
those standards with the quality of your work.  My husband and I comment
daily on how our onyx looks like brand new!

Please feel free to use me as a referral for your future clients.

KZ

#2 – Customer replaced grout “four times” we solved situation with upgrade color staing her grout - This floor is highlighted in our gallery’s first page

I hope you and your wife are doing great. Thank you so much once again for accepting to do this project for our family. I couldn’t be any happier to do business with a great contractor like you. I have been in the real estate business for a while now. I have met and dealt with many types of specialized contractors. Some are just good but are not quite ethical. Trust me!! It’s not always easy to find a good contractor. Part of the problem is bad contractors often look and sound like good ones at the start of a job but reveal their true nature once the work is underway. Bad contractors are usually very like-able and promise you lots of good things at very reasonable prices. Unfortunately, they can’t usually follow through on their promises and will not be around to be responsible for any imperfections that they have done or any troubles that they may have caused to you. From my own  experience of the grout color at my house, I already have spent a fortune on a very unique commercial grade of porcelain tiles… over 2,700 sq ft .  I ended up having to change my grout color four times… due to the wrong information that I had received from my “supposedly knowledgeable contractor.

I can’t feel lucky enough for Tim for stepping into my life (please do not laugh but I truly felt this way). I first met Tim as a specialist… and requested him to come estimate the project at my house. He had offered all the extra help and had been through all the major problems that was not even his business to deal with. Even more surprisingly, he did not yet even receive any promise from me to hire him to do the project. I would have to say that his ethic in doing business is way beyond any normal business persons. What an extraordinary gentlemen that I had just met!!!! Who would refuse to hire a person like this. And of course, you would be able to tell how knowledgeable he is just by asking him questions that most of other contractors would not be able to answer precisely as how he did. I probably don’t have to mention anymore how gorgeous my house looks right now. Do not hesitate to do business with Tim. If you wanna choose a reputable, honest contractor, HE IS THE ONE!!!

#3 – Granite & Marble servicing of showroom

 Tim:

 I wanted to send you A GREAT BIG THANK YOU !! Our floors look fabulous!!!  The crew here a UGMC Escondido knows that your our #1 referral when our customers ask for stone care needs.  We thank you for making our stone look great.  I have several jobs coming your way shortly. 

Thanks again

#4 – Travertine floors that …even the housekeeper gave a testimonial:

I think the workmanship of San Diego Stone Care was best summed-up by our housekeeper Maria.  When she arrived the day after the floors were finished her quote was, “They made the floors new again!”  My floors are 20 years old.  I could not be happier. 

#5 – Interesting story – Our friends requested the builder fix their floors – the builder hired us & neither our friends or us knew this until after work was completed

 Thank you so much for our beautiful floors!  They look FANTASTIC! 

We didn’t think it was possible to make travertine look that good.  It has really exceeded our expectations; it is more beautiful than we imagined it would be!  We had a certain style in mind, but San Diego Stone Care made the floors look even better.  We would like to thank you all for your quality workmanship in the polishing of our natural stone flooring.  We have received so many compliments and we would wholeheartedly recommend your company to anyone.  Thank you again for such a beautiful floor and quality service.  It is a step above and beyond and greatly appreciated.  

#6 – Travertine & Slate Floors

Dear Tim:

 Ned and I just want to reiterate how lucky we were to have your introduction. We have lived with our Travertine floors for six years and no one ever told us to follow a routine maintenance. Your quick response, positive attitude and timely completion thrilled us. And, since you finished the job, we have returned to enjoying our patio – seeing all the beautiful colors in the slate, as well as appreciating our galleria with its travertine gleefully calling our attention to it’s subtle nuances and rich patina. Our bathrooms also are sparkling with clean tile and grouting.

 We thank you so much for bringing us back to a point that we truly appreciate our floors, and realize our design decisions had actually been correct, we just didn’t understand our responsibilities for maintaining our surfaces. We feel well educated and well nourished.

#7 – Comments from industry peers for Stone, Tile & Grout

I have known and worked with Tim Connelly for over 10 years.  During that time, Tim proved to be a hard working, ethical, self-motivated, outgoing, and respected individual.  He is not afraid to be challenged nor to seek the answers for questions being asked of him.  He shared his experience, knowledge and expertise of the tile industry with others within Custom Building Products as well as with industry groups such as contractor associations, governing bodies and with our customer base.  Needless to say, his participation helped to improve and promote the standards of the tile industry.

 Baron Arakawa, CTC

Director of Research and Development Testing

Custom Building Products 

In the past few years I had had many opportunities to work with Tim and to observe that behind the smiley and sunshiny optimistic personality lies a realistic perfectionist. Tim is not a dreamer, Tim knows reality, knows what can be done and then insists that it be done perfectly.

 George Marcina

General Comments:

My first contact with Tim was an inquiry to see if he performed the type of work we needed. Unfortunately he does not currently do this. We’ve had an on-going issue and have been unable to find anyone to properly resolve it. When asked, he did not hesitate to give me information about options for doing the work properly.and provided referrals.
It was necessary to make a follow-up call and I again found him to be as pleasant and helpful as he was before.
Pleasant and helpful is nice but he is also competent. How nice to find someone who, even when he knows you’re not his customer, gives the same type of outstanding customer service as if you were.
Very hard to find!

But the real value of this page, in my opinion, is the “Ask a Question”…which by the way you can do at the bottom of this page or go to the SDSC blog page. The real value of “Ask a Question” is you will be receiving specific information about your specific question & project. And as I have often said…”I’m probably not the first person with this question or situation”…which is why I will be posting your questions either on this page or my blog or both so others can benefit too.

One of the main areas of the Stone Care Business I enjoy is sharing whatever information I have learned along the way with others, DIY – Homeowners, Contractors, Designers, Stone & Tile Showrooms. And if I may say I take great pride in making sure that the information I pass on is as accurate as is available. I will not simply shoot back a “stock answer” because I realize if you have taken the time to ask a question it must be very important information to you.

So …Please scroll to the bottom of this page and ask away.

I will look forward to hearing from you.

Tim Connelly – Owner – San Diego Stone Care

Is it really that important to seal my new Travertine, Marble, Granite, Limestone, Slate Tile & Grout?

Answer: Quite honestly…YES! Most, if not all of these materials will absorb liquids, some more than others, and dark liquids can leave a stain without having the proper sealer applied. True story: new home – tumbled travertine floor which we cleaned & sealed one afternoon - homeowner had a party that night & someone dropped a bottle of red wine and the stain sat on floor all night. Long story short if we had not sealed this floor that stain would have been much more difficult for us to remove and, possibly, could have permanently stained the stone. So a good sealer properly applied will allow your material to be “stain resistant”…not stain proof. In addition a properly sealed floor will make your regular cleaning maintenance program much more effective allowing for fewer “professional cleanings”. Now how often should I re-seal is another question in it self…I address this very common question below.

Is it really worth the price it cost to seal my Granite, Travertine, Limestone, Marble, Tile & Grout?

Answer: Most definitely! You have just spent somewhere between $5.00 – $20.00 or much more per square foot for your stone or tile to be installed. Is it not worth the .75 – $1.00 per square foot to protect it? Would you ever consider putting in a brand new beautiful oak wood floor and not put some type of protective stain or finish on it…absolutely you would! However, I must add…not all sealers are created equal nor are all applications being done properly to allow them to perform to their optimal level. If you are not satisfied with how your sealer is performing, most likely, an inexpensive product has been used and or has been improperly applied by an inexperienced applicator. The technology available today had resulted in some excellent protective sealers that, when looking at a per gallon cost, seems high…but when you break it down by the square foot cost of the whole job it is extremely economical and effective to protect you valuable investment.

How often should I re-seal my natural stone, tile or grout?

Answer: This is a great and often ask question, and yet the answer is not simple. There are a few things to consider when answering this question: What type of sealer was first applied, was it applied properly, how much walking traffic does the area have, how often is the shower used, what type of cleaner is used & how often is the area being cleaned. (This is an important question to really consider with showers) Briefly: there are basically two types of sealers one is, generically call, a “topical sealer” which is really a coating for it sits on top of stone or tile like paint sits on drywall. Second type is a “penetrating sealer” which as the name implies penetrates inside your stone or grout & protects just below the surface, nothing is left on top. Not all, but most polished natural stones: marble, travertines, granites, etc. it is recommended to use a “penetrating sealer” and NOT a “topical”. In addition when using a topical sealer with a proper natural stone such a slate, I personally, would never use this in a wet area such a shower for you will make this a maintenance nightmare. If you want a wet look to your slate please call for we have a method that is far better to accomplish this than using a topical sealer.  So how often should one re-seal? As you can see it really can vary for sure & the best way to determine if your sealer is still being effective is to have SDSC do a free inspection & consultation. However, here is some basic…GUIDELINES. Granite counter tops 5-10 years, Marble counter tops could be about the same as granite depending on the marble, however marble as another maintenance consideration that is very often mistaked as a stain, etch marks. And, although there are always new products hitting the market I have yet to test a ”sealer” that prevents etching, as well as, leaving the marble as natural looking as possible.  Softer floor stones that are more porous ; limestone, travertine & cement grouts: Traffic areas 1- 2 years ( kitchen, entries, main walk areas) non-traffic areas 2-5 years. Heavily used showers should be inspected every year and re- sealed at least every 2 years of sooner.

Do you have a question for SD Stone Care? Ask us by using the form below: