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No
other floor covering can surpass the beauty of stone
flooring whether it is made
from marble, granite, limestone, slate or the artificially made
terrazzo. They all have a natural beauty that exudes richness.
The
alternatives such as carpets, linoleum, laminates, wood and
ceramic tiles are often cheaper and most people know how to care
for them and maintain them. However they eventually wear out or
otherwise become damaged and have to be replaced. Natural stone
flooring should last for several lifetimes if properly cared for
and maintained and provides you with that luxury feeling.
However few people know how to care for their natural stone
surfaces in order to get the best out of them. The stone seller
will give advice and the builder or tiler who lays your flooring
will quite often know very little about the product. Some natural
stone wholesalers will also lay the stones for you and if you can
get one of these firms then you are in a better position, as these
know how to treat the product they are installing for you.
Never use a chemical product to produce a shine on the stone. If
you want to cover your stone in a polish then you are better of
getting a man made product. Stone produces its own shine by being
ground down until it is perfectly flat. Once the crystals in the
stone are flat they reflect the maximum amount of light uniformly
producing the high gloss finish associated with marble
and
granites. It is not an
artificially applied polish that can periodically be buffed to
restore the shine.
What removes the shine from the stone? Most stones except granite
are relatively soft and can be easily scratched by small particles
of dirt. The more the dirt builds up the more they scratch as they
are walked over. These scratches disturb the flat surface of the
stone and light reflection ceases to be uniform so the shine
gradually disappears. The only way of restoring it is to have the
stone reground flat a straightforward but time consuming
process.
By following a good care and maintenance programme this situation
can be delayed for many years. Dust mopping the floor regularly
rather than vacuuming it. How regular this is done depends on the
no of people going over the floor. In high usage entrances to
buildings it should be done two or three times a day. In a domestic
lounge once per week may be sufficient. It should also be wet
mopped every so often using a neutral soap solution, stone soap
being the best. Never use detergents of other chemical cleaners on
the stone. The stone soap will help to maintain and enhance the
natural colours of the stone.
Every two
or three years, again depending upon usage have the stones
repolished. If this is done as the shine just begins to fade then
regrinding becomes unnecessary. The repolishing can be done quite
quickly and relatively cheaply.
If the flooring
has
spillage marks or deep scratches then get these attended to as
quickly as possible. Regular maintenance using the correct
techniques and products will ultimately preserve your flooring and
reduce need for very costly refurbishment. |
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