MARBLE FLOOR CLEANING AND SEALING ADVICE

Marble, the ultimate choice in luxury stone tiles, durable & beautiful, marble tiles can be used in both classical or modern settings to instil an air of elegance.

Marble is much denser and harder than its close relatives travertine and limestone. Due to its durability along with glorious surface detail, marble tiles are used in many boutique hotels and other glamorous locations. Different types of marble present very different characteristics. There's the fine crystalline structure of Ibiza Bianco and the more typical veined marble used for centuries like the ever-popular Bianco Carrara Marble and all its variations like Statuario & Calacatta.

The advice below will help you maintain Marble to great standard however please note Marble is a sedimentary stone as such it’s generally very porous and acid sensitive and can be damaged through the use of even mildly acidic soaps, shampoos and body washes. So if you don't know how to take care of Marble properly, it can be hard to maintain it's beautiful look and you might have to call in professional marble cleaners.

First to deep clean, remove acid stains and polish tiles you will need:

1. Rotary machine
2. Wet vacuum
3. Diamond burnishing pads400, 800, 1500 and 3000 grits

Our marble tile cleaners recommend slower speed rotary machine, as it makes much less mess then the high speed one and is easier to work with in general. It's a bit trickier with walls as the machines are normally high speed but the system remains same.

To restore the honed finish by burnishing the floor using the diamond pads system, first you need to start off with 400 grit burnishing pad to take off the old sealer and any ingrained dirt. Water is needed as a lubricant to use the pads, so add some water to the area and then go over each tile with the pad 3 or 4 times, this will be followed by removing the dirty water using a wet vacuum and then floor needs to be rinsed.

Next take off the coarse 400 grit pad and apply a medium 800 grit and repeat the process followed by the fine 1500 grit. Again remove the water with a Wet Vax machine. After the third pad grout lines need cleaning. Use a weak non acidic stone cleaner to get the dirt softened and then scrubthe grout joints with grout brush, followed by removing the soiled water again.
After grout cleaning leave the Marble floor to fully dry and then complete by applying a Very Fine 3000 grit pad and polish with a squirt of water. It's important to polish thoroughly and not leave any water marks on the floor. When fully polished protect the floor by applying a sealer as per instructions below.

Marble needs to be sealed with impregnating sealer -It's matt sealer which will penetrate in the surface and allows it to breathe. Impregnating sealer Performs well in wet areas including bathrooms, wetrooms and swimming pool surrounds. It's also suitable on floors that have no damp proof course.

When the Marble Tiles are fully dry apply colour enhancing impregnating sealer to enhance the natural colours of darker Marble’s. If however you are sealing a white or off-white Marble and you not wish to darken the stone, apply a clear impregnating sealer which gives no visual effect to the stone.
It's best if you apply 2-3 coats if tiles have never been sealed before and 1-2 coats if they have been sealed previously.
Also make sure to wipe off any sealer that didn't absorb into the stone surface

For regular cleaning use a sealer friendly non acidic cleaning product that's meant for natural stone surfaces. Make sure you don't use anything strong on the floor as after the burnishing it's fairly easy to clean the floor.

To keep the shine, you need to buff the floor with the last 3000 grit pad after every 3-6 months, depending on a wear.
This process will improve surface tension (which is not to be confused with the amount of sealer residing in the stone), thereby tightening the pores in the stone to improve the overall appearance and finish of the floor.If you are not able to do the maintenance then our Marble cleaners offer maintenance plans to keep your floor in pristine condition.

To see marble cleaning examples go to: https://www.qualitytilecare.co.uk/work-history and type in the search "Marble"

To enquire about your Marble floor from our marble cleaners, get in touch by filling in the fo rm below or call us on 07598 913 581.

Tags: Marble , Home Service, Commercial, Natural Stone , Marble Tiles Cleaning , Polishing , Honing , Burnishing