Granite and Marble

It’s a rock, I shouldn’t need to do anything to it.

Hey I agree with you, it is a rock, and it’s been around from the beginning of creation, what could I possibly do to improve on it? You are right I can’t Improve on it. However, there are certain properties inherent in stone that can cause particular problems. The main thing is that natural stone is not really a solid surface. In fact, there are a lot of very small holes in it. That poses a problem when you are preparing food on this surface. If any liquids from the food you are preparing on a natural stone come in contact with the stone surface, they can be absorbed into it. In other words, the stone can harbor bacteria that can cause illness. So we recommend that all natural stone surfaces that are going to come in contact with food should be sealed to keep bacteria from being absorbed into the stone surface. Gold Standard uses the best grout and tile sealers to keep your stone floor free of all food-borne bacteria. Keeping it safe and beautiful.

Travertine cleaning. What you need to know.

Travertine is a type of limestone that is found near hot springs. It is very soft and extremely porous.  If fact travertine in its natural state looks quite a bit like swiss cheese.  It is full of holes, this is due to the water from the hot springs bubbling up through the stone to the surface.  As a result, there are two types of travertine available for purchase as flooring.  Unfilled and filled.  Unfilled travertine will have many holes in the stone (like swiss cheese). Filled travertine, on the other hand, will have its holes filled with an epoxy product designed to match the color of the stone itself. The filled travertine is much more common in homes today. However, keep in mind that the filler can sometimes come loose and will need to be repaired. If that is the case with your travertine please let us know and we can help you with the repairs before we clean your travertine.

Travertine cleaning first do no harm.

The first thing to know about travertine cleaning is that this stone can be damaged very easily by the wrong type of cleaning product. In fact, you may have noticed that if you happen to spill a drink like lemon or orange juice on your floor it will leave a dull spot. That is damage left due to the acid content in the drink. It is a permanent condition that can only be repaired using diamond polishing machinery so be careful when you spill and clean it right away.

This can happen as well when an inexperienced cleaner attempts to clean travertine using typical tile cleaning products. many of these products are acidic and will do permanent damage within seconds of there use. So it is critical that your cleaning professional is experienced with travertine cleaning.

Do you need to seal travertine?

Remember travertine is a soft porous stone. As a result, it will soak up liquids like a sponge. These liquids can be your spills from daily use of cleaning products use to try to clean the stone. These things will enter the pours of the stone and get lodged inside the sone causing staining that may not come out. So it is critical that travertine is sealed with a high-quality sealer at the time of each cleaning to prevent staining from occurring.

Gold Standard Floor Care has been performing travertine cleaning in Fresno for many years and is well qualified and certified to clean and seal your travertine floors properly.