Natural Stone Care in New Braunfels: Info From Your Pro

If you want to clean your marble tile yourself, be aware that there is a lot of misinformation out there.

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Professional Marble Cleaning Protects Your Stone

If you hire a professional marble cleaning service in New Braunfels, you not only will be cleaning your stone surfaces, you will be protecting them from any unintentional damage.

Natural stone care isn't as easy as you might think it is.  For example, if you use any harsh chemicals such as ammonia or bleach on your marble, you run the risk of damaging or even dissolving it.  Why?  Well, all stone within the calcium carbonate family which includes travertine, marble, and limestone are deceptive in a way.  They're stone, they are hard, but they have a critical weakness. They are chemically reactive to anything acidic.  

Something as simple as spilling red wine, coffee, or even orange juice on a marble surface may be enough to start eating away at your stone.  Bleach is an acid.  Most people don't realize that.  As for ammonia, it is a solvent, however, there is one problem.  Some stone has resin fillers to fill any gaps in the stone surface.  The  chemical bonds of these resin fillers start to break down the moment anything like ammonia is applied.  We have had more than a few customers buy a store bought product designed for cleaning marble.  At least, that's what the label reads.  Then we usually get a call from a frantic homeowner who is watching their stone foam up and start to dissolve.

Stone Cleaning in New Braunfels

So what went wrong? Well, the customers in many cases didn't read the warning label or, even more importantly,  the list of ingredients. One of the ingredients in the solution was either ammonia, bleach, or something else corrosive.  That's why it is a better idea to call a professional service to clean your stone.  

First off, they're not going to use just any old product or guaranteed remedy to clean your marble.  They're going to use professional grade products to not only clean your stone, but seal it to protect it from damage.  

There is a lot of misinformation out there regarding stone cleaning.  For example, one "cleaning expert" states to clean your marble, use lemon juice and tap water.  Slight problem.  Lemon juice is acidic, and tap water contains trace amounts of chlorine.  

So be smart.  Hire a stone cleaning service instead.  

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4019 Stahl Rd, Suite 202
San Antonio TX 78217
(210) 637-5050
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San Antonio Saltillo Cleaning and Restoration: What You Should Know (Conclusion)

Instead of trying to clean your saltillo tile yourself, you're probably better off hiring a professional service instead.

Saltillo Tile Restoration in San Antonio | (210) 637-5050

Professional Saltillo Tile Restoration in San Antonio

As we covered previously, if you want to restore your saltillo floor, you might be better off calling a service. Why? Well, hiring a professional saltillo tile restoration service saves you both money and time. That's the best reason to hire a service. If you're like a lot of people, you don't have an abundance of time. A saltillo restoration service in San Antonio would be a great company to hire to save yourself both some time and some money.

Most people either lack knowledge of how to clean saltillo, they lack experience, they lack access to the professional equipment and cleaning solutions,  and most of all, they lack the money to buy all of it.  So which is better?  Clean your saltillo yourself, or hire a professional service.  

Hire a Service to Clean Your Saltillo

Hire a service to clean your saltillo instead of trying to do it yourself.  First off a professional saltillo tile restoration service in San Antonio will not only have the equipment necessary for the job, including stripping machines and impregnating sealer, they will come to your project with years if not decades of experience.  Renting a stripping machine from a janitorial or floor supply company might, and we stress the word might, save you money, but one wrong setting and instead of stripping your floor properly, you could end up damaging your floor.  You can even make it worse by using the wrong product.

Saltillo cleaning requires someone to learn fast.  You don't have the option to practice on another floor before you do yours .  You're going to have to hit the ground running in order to get it done fast.  Otherwise, you are going to pay a late fee on your machine rental, and after a while, those add up to way more than you would have spent if you just hired a professional saltillo restoration service.  The same holds true if you end up damaging your floor.  

So it all depends on how you want to spend your money.  Would you rather spend potentially thousands of dollars replacing your saltillo, or having a major renovation?  Or would you rather spend a small amount, and have your saltillo floor cleaned by a professional saltillo restoration service instead?  

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4019 Stahl Rd, Suite 202
San Antonio TX 78217
(210) 637-5050
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San Antonio Saltillo Cleaning and Restoration: What You Should Know (contd.)

One of the reasons to hire a professional saltillo tile restoration service is that they know how to strip and refinish saltillo tile.

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How to Strip and Reseal a Saltillo Tile Floor

According to the site DOITYOURSELF.COM:

"A saltillo tile floor is made of elegant Saltillo tiles that are molded by hand. Saltillo tile is a type of terracotta originating from Mexico and can be bought in various colors ranging from hues of yellow, orange and red. A Saltillo tile is unglazed and is vulnerable to water-staining because of its porous nature. Installing a Saltillo tile floor can be a bit challenging since Saltillo tiles absorb the water from grout, thin-set mortar and grease pencils. Sealing a Saltillo tile floor is mandatory. Instead of replacing your old Saltillo tile floor with new Saltillo tiles you can refinish the Saltillo tile to bring back its beauty and save money as well. Below are the materials that you need along with the instructions on how to refinish a Saltillo tile.
Step 1-Prepare the Saltillo Flooring
Remove all the furniture located in your working area. Ask somebody to help you lift heavy furniture. Clean the Saltillo flooring of any dirt, dusts and debris by using a vacuum cleaner. Mix a solution of water and vinegar and apply the mixture on your Saltillo floor using a mop. Wipe the excess water using an old towel.
Step 2-Apply Chemical Stripper
The next step is to apply chemical stripper to remove the existing finish of your Saltillo tile floor. Removing the existing finish is necessary to allow the stain you will apply later to sink into the Saltillo tiles. Read the manufacturer’s instruction of your chemical stripper as to how long the chemical stripper should be applied on the Saltillo tile floor. With a damp brush, remove the layer of sealant on the Saltillo tile floor.
Step 3-Mop the Saltillo Floor
After removing the existing finish on your Saltillo tile floor, mop the floor using the same vinegar and water mixture you concocted on step one. Dry the floor with an old towel after.
Step 4-Apply the Stain
Staining your Saltillo flooring is like applying a protective layer on your Saltillo to minimize the effect of water damage, wear and tear and prevent mold and mildew infestation.
Apply the stain using a large sponge. Wipe the Saltillo floor tile with the stain in small circular motion. Cover the entire Saltillo tile floor with the stain and allow the floor to dry. Add 2 or more coatings of stain on your Saltillo floor according to your preference. Always allow each coating to completely dry before adding another coat.
Step 5-Apply Sealant
Purchase a sealant that is specially made for Saltillo tiles. Any neutral penetrating sealant or film forming sealant would do. You can choose between a matte or glossy sealant for your Saltillo tile floor."

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If you want to restore your saltillo floor, you might be better off calling a service.

Hiring a Professional Saltillo Tile Restoration Service Saves You Both Money and Time

That's the best reason to hire a service.  If you're like a lot of people, you don't have an abundance of time.  A saltillo restoration service in San Antonio would be a great company to hire to save you both time and money.

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Lone Star Tile and Grout Cleaning
4019 Stahl Rd, Suite 202
San Antonio TX 78217
(210) 637-5050
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San Antonio Saltillo Cleaning and Restoration: What You Should Know

San Antonio saltillo cleaning and restoration is necessary for this remarkable, yet vulnerable floor surface.

Saltillo Tile Restoration

Saltillo Tile Restoration brings the beauty of your floor back. (210) 637-5050

If you live in the San Antonio area, you're probably well aware of the the rich cultural heritage that our great city has.  One of the Southwestern touches that makes any home a beautiful showpiece is saltillo tile.  Saltillo tile varies in shades of brown to rich deep red.  This makes a lot of sense when you know what saltillo tile is made of, why it is so vulnerable, and why saltillo tile restoration is a requirement. 

Saltillo is essentially made of sliced bricks.  Big deal, you say?  Bricks are tough, why do I need to restore them?  Well, your saltillo tile is extremely porous.  In Mexico, where a great deal of saltillo is made, workers can't even touch the tile without gloves as even the oil of their hands can stain the tile. That's why when you hire a saltillo tile cleaning service, you want to make sure they have a strategy to not only clean your saltillo, but protect it from further stains or damage.

How Do I Restore Saltillo?

Saltillo is best restored by a professional company.  Most likely, aver they clean the saltillo, they will seal it with an impregnating sealer right after.  The cleaning will bring back the former color of the saltillo, and the sealing will preserve that color for years.  Why do you need professional saltillo restoration?  Well, what you don't know can hurt your saltillo.  For example, some harsh chemicals can crumble the saltillo and make it brittle, which leads to further erosion.  In addition, a great many cleaning solutions are dangerous in the hands of a novice.  A lot of people are injured by splashes from bleach and other chemicals, particularly in cases of eye contact.  

A professional saltillo tile cleaning service will also have access to the best saltillo sealing products around.  When your saltillo is sealed, it not only protects your floor from damage, it also protects it from stains.  The sealer penetrates the pores of the saltillo and gives it a high gloss shine. 

You have an investment in your saltillo floor.  Like all investments, it needs a bit of care.  One of the best things that you can do for your saltillo is simple.  Call a professional saltillo restoration service in San Antonio.

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