Natural Stone Care and Types of Stone Part 1

Natural stone care is a way of protecting your investment. After all, regardless of what type of natural stone you have, it is an investment...

Natural Stone Care and Calcium Based Stone

What do travertine, marble, and limestone have in common? Well, other than the fact that they're natural stone, they're also all calcium based stone. As such, they require different care than stone such as slate. How different? Well, did you know that if you pour anything acidic on calcium based stone such as orange juice, coffee, vinegar, or wine it can eat away at the stone? It's true. What's more, it can stain.

Marble is elegant, beautiful, but surprisingly prone to damage from acid, travertine is too. Look at Rome for example. The city had to spend millions in refurbishing the many fine works of marble that had eroded due to acid rain. A stone restoration service in San Antonio would be able to bring back your stone to whatever polish level you want, even sometimes in the event of a spill.

Natural Stone Care: Know What Your Stone Needs First

Slate and sandstone are different from each other and thus require very different care from each other. Terracotta and terrazzo sound very similar to each other, but also require different levels of attention. Slate and sandstone for example do well by grinding, but if you tried that on terracotta and terrazzo, you would end up damaging your floor. It's also not the best idea to mop sandstone, because it would be likely to retain any stains from dirty mop water. Sandstone is incredibly porous. A stone cleaning service would be able to clean your sandstone and seal it against spills as well. As you see, stone types are very different from one another. Make sure you know what you're doing, or you could run the risk of damaging your stone. There is however, a better strategy. You may wish to think about calling in a natural stone care service instead.

Lone Star Tile and Grout Cleaning
4019 Stahl Rd, Suite 202
San Antonio TX 78217
(210) 637-5050

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Natural Stone Care and Types of Stone Part 1
Natural Stone Care and Types of Stone Part 2

Grout Color Sealing: What it Is and Why You Should Get It Part 2

Part two of our article on color sealing explores more reasons for getting it done as well as some decorating ideas...

Grout Color Sealing: Where It Can Be Done

Grout Color Sealing in San Antonio |
Call Us Today | (210) 637-5050

 As we discussed in our last article on color sealing, sealing grout protects it, while at the same time giving it a more uniform appearance. Most people assume it is only for the floor, however, that's only one place that can benefit. Grout color sealing can be done to most tile surfaces, including counter-tops, floors, and bathrooms. An important thing to note, is that only certain types of tile benefit from grout color sealing. As a rule the tile in question should be ceramic or porcelain and the grout needs to be sand-based for the sealer to bond properly. It makes sense if you think about it. You wouldn't want to color seal an expensive natural stone tile such as marble or travertine. As to the colors you can pick, that depends.

Color Sealing-A Full Palette of Colors

There are several different grout manufacturers out there, each with their own menu of color choices. Manufacturers such as Tec, Laticrete, and Mapei are the ones most used out there. Grout color sealing can match the colors of the major manufacturers, and complement them. So if you have River Rock from Laticrete, or Raven from Tec, you can match the color and restore your grout back to its original color. Color sealing can be matched to the existing color of your grout, and most companies can match the manufacturer's color palate. If your grout is taken care of, it can last anywhere between five and ten years before any touch-up work is needed. One of the most important steps of the process is grout preparation. A professional grout cleaning company has the proper tools, training, and experience to achieve top-notch results. Once the grout has been prepared, the sealant is applied with meticulous detail. Even so, it takes surprisingly very little time complete a grout color sealing project.

Lone Star Tile and Grout Cleaning
4019 Stahl Rd, Suite 202
San Antonio TX 78217
(210) 637-5050
http://www.lonestartileandgroutcleaning.com  

Grout Color Sealing: What it Is and Why You Should Get It Part 1
Grout Color Sealing: What it Is and Why You Should Get It Part 2