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Expert Advice For Professional Janitorial Floor Cleaning Or Residential Floor Cleaning
The Dobmeier Professional Floor Cleaning Guide Provides Answers To Your Most Important Questions About Cleaning Floors

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The Dobmeier Professional Floor Cleaning Guide

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SECTION 3. - CLEANING STONE FLOORS

Stone Floors can be made from a variety of naturally occurring or man-made stone materials:
3.1. Natural Stone Floors including Marble, Granite, Travertine, Flagstone, Slate...
3.2. Man-Made Stone Floors including Ceramic Tiles, Clay Bricks & Tiles, Quarry Tiles, Terrazzo, Concrete...

The best way to clean Your Sealed & Finished Stone Floor depends upon the specific type of stone and also the size of the floor and the amount of use it gets:
3.3. Cleaning Residential Stone Floors
3.4. Janitorial Cleaning Recommendations For Stone Floors
3.5. Green Cleaning Supplies For Stone Floors
Download the Recommended Diversey Floor Cleaning Supplies Summary Table (PDF)

3.1 NATURAL STONE TILED FLOORS

Premium Natural Stone Floor Products typically provide very beautiful and durable flooring that we normally associate with a luxury lifestyle. Some Natural Stone Floor types are excellently suited to use in bathrooms, kitchens and high-traffic areas such as halls, foyers, etc. They may be sub-categorized by their specific type of stone, although colors, patterning, porosity, and other properties can also vary considerably, depending upon their particular geographic origin.

The most popularly available Natural Stone Floor Products are:

Natural Marble Floor Tiles - for relatively Hard stone floors
Natural Granite Floor Tiles - for relatively Hard stone floors
Natural Travertine Floor Tiles - for relatively Hard stone floors
Natural Flagstone Floor Tiles - for relatively Soft stone floors with increased porosity and surface texture
Natural Slate Floor Tiles - for relatively Soft stone floors with increased porosity and surface texture

The cleaning requirements of these different types of natural stone floors vary with their surface state and texture. Sealed Natural Stone Floors Are Very Much Easier To Clean And Maintain Than Unsealed. Additionally, some natural stone colors and patterns show dirt and marks more easily than others.

Flagstone, Slate, Marble, Granite, Travertine, And Other Natural Stone Flooring

Natural Flagstone and Natural Slate Floor Tiles are usually installed with grouted joints, and are naturally rough and porous across their entire surface. These natural stone flooring products must be properly sealed and waxed before use.

Natural Hard Stone Floor Tiles are popularly used in flooring and are available with matt or polished surfaces. Matt floor tiles have a rougher surface, but even polished hard stone floor tiles are naturally porous, (as is any grout that may be installed at the tile seams). So both these matt and polished natural hard stone flooring products should also be properly sealed with an impregnating sealer, and then waxed in order to protect the sealed surface and maintain a clean appearance.

For Easy Care You Must Seal & Finish Your Natural Stone Floor!

Solvent-Based floor tile waxes are usually considered superior in durability, but some may discolor certain natural stone types - so test a small amount in an inconspicuous area before applying these products to your entire floor. Water-Based Finishes tend to build up and require occasional stripping, but these are usually considered less likely to discolor your natural stone floor.