Slippery Rock Gazette

Bob Murrell 

Stone Restoration

This month  I present some basic maintenance advice for natural stone, terrazzo, ceramic tile, and polished concrete. These simple procedures are the most important part of caring for and extending the life of most any hard surface. My motto is: spend a little, save a lot.

The maintenance of these surfaces is basically the same with a few exceptions. As we know from previous discussions, polished surfaces will normally show wear faster than honed or textured surfaces. That is because the polished surfaces are not naturally occurring in nature – they are strictly man-made – whereas honed and textured surfaces are much closer to naturally occurring finishes. 

The abrasive effects of foot traffic can be equated to between a 200 grit and 400 grit level. A polished surface is normally in excess of an 1,800 grit level. So foot traffic will naturally tend to hone down or dull a polished surface. Improper maintenance will contribute to an increased need for re-polishing as well.

The rate at which polished surfaces are abraded is increased in sandy areas like beach fronts and deserts. Think east coast, west coast, Nevada, Texas, and you get the point. Foot traffic carries the sand and soil in, abrading the polished surfaces prematurely. Darker materials show the wear faster, just like a dark-colored car shows dirt and imperfections faster than a lighter colored car. Softer stones also wear at faster rates than do harder stones – i.e. marble verses granite on the hardness scale.

So to extend the life of polished surfaces, dust mopping is essential. Many casinos and commercial lobbies are dust mopped several times per day. The idea here is that keeping sand and grit off the floor will help extend the life of a polished surface. This of course, reduces overall maintenance costs by reducing the frequency of having to re-polish traffic lanes.   

Walk-off mats and systems are also excellent ways to help prevent sand, dirt, and grit from being tracked in, and basically kept off of the flooring surface. It is said that a good walk-off system can eliminate 80% or more of the outside contaminants from being tracked in. They also help reduce issues like slips and falls from wet shoes. There are basic rules to follow, like it takes at least 7 or more steps to remove most of the contaminants from shoes. 

We have covered some parts of maintenance in previous issues but now we will cover a proactive schedule. Remember, it is better to invest in implementing a proactive maintenance program than to spend later on restoration. Therefore let’s look at a standard maintenance cycle for floors:

Daily Maintenance

1) Dust mop or vacuum – as often as required to reduce soiling and grit contamination.

2) Damp mop or auto-scrub with either a stone soap or a quality neutral cleaner. Stone soaps tend to work better on materials like honed marble, limestone, textured granite and slate, polished terrazzo, and polished concrete. Neutral cleaners with optical brighteners work better on many polished and darker colored materials as well ceramic tiles. 

Quarterly Maintenance (or as required, based on traffic wear and degree of soiling)

1) Clean grout lines (on stone applications) using a deep cleaning stripper or stone & grout intensive cleaner and a non-abrasive scrub brush. This is also helpful for textured stones like flamed granite and slate. Ceramic tile may require and dilute solution of acidic cleaner. 

2) For polished surfaces, evaluate and re-polish traffic lanes. For marble and terrazzo, either a 5X or stone polishing compound are typically used. Spray crystallizers are also sometimes used. Granites require specific granite powders or compounds. For polished concrete and terrazzo, diamond impregnated pads are commonly used to cost-effectively improve gloss in traffic lanes. Pivot points and bottlenecks wear the fastest and require the most polish maintenance.

Annual Maintenance

1) Evaluate and assess wear patterns. Determine if light honing is necessary before polishing or to refresh honed surfaces. Use of diamonds may be necessary to achieve the desired clarity (flat and scratch-free surface). Feathering out with successive finer grits is typically used, depending on severity of lippage. Polish after honing per normal quarterly routine. Once dry, now is the time to reseal/impregnate if the surface and grout no longer beads water satisfactorily.

There is no doubt that a quality proactive maintenance system requires investment. However, the reactive approach is certainly much more costly. It also takes more dedication to maintain hard surfaces properly. 

When floors are cleaned, mop buckets must be refreshed with new solution about every 500 to 1,000 square feet to avoid redistribution of soiling. Mops and pads must be replaced periodically as they become worn and soiled. They are consumables after all. 

I suggest that everyone acquire a copy of the ISSA 447 Cleaning Times reference book. This gives many helpful statistics such as labor times for specific procedures and applications. It also gives coverages of various solutions and metric conversions. This easy to use and helpful manual is essential for bidding purposes. They are available online ( www.issa.com) for about $10. 

Of course there are many products for different applications like countertops and vertical surfaces. These include products for specific applications like mold or mildew removal, stain removal, soap scum removal, and anti-slip protection. As always, this is where it is important to partner with a reputable distributor like Braxton-Bragg who can help guide you toward the correct products and help with their applications.

Bob Murrell has worked as a supplier of products and technical support to the natural stone industry for over 35 years. He has written numerous articles for various trade publications and has also trained thousands of contractors over the last 25 years.