Your San Antonio Tile Cleaning Expert

Friday, January 2, 2015

Finding the Best Marble Care (Contd.)

Marble care is about following marble cleaning tips.

: Call in a professional for Marble cleaning in San Antonio | (210) 637-5050

Marble Cleaning: Keeping the Qualities of Marble

For marble to keep its qualities, you just have to pay attention to these simple marble cleaning tips:

Dust your furniture and marble floors frequently. Dusting helps to keep grit from damaging your stone. Always clean surfaces with a sponge soaked in water with detergent. Don't ever wet mop marble. Rinse well and dry. Avoid frequent use of lemon and vinegar. Both of these compounds can damage your stone. On that note, don't use abrasive cleaners either. Harsh chemicals such as bleach or ammonia should be avoided as well. In addition to damaging your floor, if you mix bleach and ammonia together it is a toxic mix as well as potentially explosive.

If you have spilled wine, orange juice, coffee, or anything acidic or citrus based, clean up the stain immediately, and wipe it down with soap and water, and then finally, blot it dry. As we covered previously, marble is vulnerable to anything acidic. To help keep grit from damaging your marble, put mats or floor rugs at the entrance of each room that has marble in it. These floor coverings can trap sand, dirt and other forms of grit out. Make sure you sweep your marble with a soft cotton dust mop every now and then and sweep the dirt out of the home.

If the marble has been burned by a cigarette or other form of heat, the stain will not come out. The only solution is to polish the surface until the mark disappears completely. You want to get a professional marble cleaning service for this however, because they're the only ones with the know-how to properly do marble polishing.

The best tool for cleaning marble is a brush. A sponge is only useful in the case of surface stains. If the sponge and brush have failed to completely remove the stain

Marble Maintenance

If your kitchen marble has lost its luster, its appearance can be improved by pouring a handful of salt and then rubbed with a damp cloth. Finally, rinse with water and dry with a cloth. If you want a great looking floor, however, your best bet is to call a marble cleaning service. Not only will they clean your marble, they'll seal it too, which will help to keep up it's appearance between visits.

So remember. Marble cleaning isn't that hard. Know what to do. If you don't, call in a marble cleaning service.

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

Friday, December 26, 2014

Finding the Best Marble Care

Marble care is all about knowing what to do with this remarkable stone.

Get Marble Cleaning in San Antonio | (210) 637-5050

Why Get Professional Marble Care?

Why get professional marble care? Well, marble, like travertine, can be damaged if you don't know what you're doing.

Marble is a favorite stone for construction and decoration. It is a noble material that gives a distinguished touch to your environments and lasts for several generations. But for that, you must keep it clean with techniques to keep for years. As a porous material, marble easily absorbs stains. The good news is that these stains can be removed successfully if you act fast. The longer, more liquid is absorbed and the harder it is to remove from the stone.

How to clean marble is very simple; simply pass a sponge or cloth soaked in a mixture of soap and water. Of course, if the spots are deeper, you will have to apply other techniques. If there is a mark of rust or rust on the floor from the action of some furniture, we recommend using water and lemon (juice). You can also add a little salt. When vinegar or lemon is used to remove a stain, keep in mind that are corrosive to the stone, so it should be used with care. Otherwise, you can ruin the marble permanently. To prevent this from happening, apply the mixture to the stain, rub gently for a few minutes and immediately it with water and soap. If the stain persists, clean it again, taking care not to let it set more than a few minutes on the stone. It's a good idea to clean your marble in sections, so that only a small portion of floor is vulnerable at a time.

Marble Cleaning and Sealing

One thing that a lot of people do wrong with marble cleaning is to apply wax to it to make it shine. While wax can give your floor a temporary shine, wax has a tendency to build up to the point that it can attract dirt and make your floor look dingy and worn out. What's surprising about marble is that you can actually hone it with the right sort of abrasive pads and powder to get that shine. The shine level of your marble depends on the finish you're looking for. Full gloss, for example, is where marble literally looks like a mirror, and you can even see your face in the floor.

Ultimately, regardless of how you do it, you want to take care of your marble. One of the best ways is to call a marble cleaning service.

Read more about marble care...

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

Friday, December 19, 2014

Professional Travertine Cleaning in San Antonio, TX: What You Should Know (Contd.)

Travertine cleaning is more than just the tile, it's the grout that lies between them and under them.

: Get Professional Travertine Cleaning in Cibolo TX | Call Us Today (210) 637-5050

Travertine Care and Your Grout

Travertine is a stone that is in the calcium carbonate family of stones that include travertine, marble, and limestone. Each of these stones despite looking very different than each other require remarkably similar care. For example, part of a proper travertine care regimen includes avoiding exposure to anything acidic or any harsh chemicals. Another thing that you have to be aware of, is you want to make sure that the grout that is between your tiles is in good condition as well as the grout that is underneath the tiles as well.

We know what you're thinking. Without a high powered ultrasound machine or X Ray device, how can you know if the grout that is underneath your tile is good? Well, the grout that is between the tiles is a key indicator. If it is good, it's likely that the grout under the tiles is good too. And you want to make sure that when you're thinking of travertine care that your grout is good too because grout helps to strengthen as well as protect the stone. Each and every day, you have the weight of an adult or two, plus maybe some kids as well. If there is sufficient grout under the tile this isn't a problem. However, if the grout's damaged, then sooner or later you're going to hear a sound that you don't want to hear, namely, the sound of a travertine tile cracking. A cracked tile can sometimes be repaired, but most of the time, you end up having to replace it. That's why you want grout cleaning and care done on your travertine. A service that does both stone and grout is the best one to pick as that way everything is done all in one visit.

Travertine Cleaning: Call a Pro

A travertine cleaning professional knows the difference between slate, marble, travertine, limestone, granite, or whatever other type of stone you have in your home and/or office, and more importantly knows what can and can't be done to each of the stones in question. Travertine is a fairly hard stone, but it is surprisingly vulnerable to anything acidic.

So remember, it is easier to clean something than replace it. With that in mind, make sure you get a stone cleaning service in to clean and protect your travertine.

Friday, December 12, 2014

Professional Travertine Cleaning in San Antonio, TX: What You Should Know

How easy is it to clean travertine? Is there anything I should be careful of doing with my travertine floor?

Call in a professional for travertine cleaning in San Antonio | (210) 637-5050

Travertine Cleaning San Antonio: Watch Out

How easy is it to clean travertine? That depends on what you consider easy. Travertine is a natural stone that has been used as a building material for centuries. Travertine adds beauty to your home. One thing that you must be careful of however, is how to clean your travertine.

Is there anything I should be careful of doing with my travertine floor? First off, you never want to wet mop travertine. While water itself is harmless, what may be in your water is not, particularly any chlorine. Anything acidic put on travertine can eat away at the stone. And you'd be surprised at what can cause damage to travertine. Bleach, of course, is a given, but did you know that something as simple as spilling a cup of coffee or a glass or wine or orange juice on your travertine floor can damage it too. In addition, certain species of bacteria can also eat away at the stone and these bacteria are often found in municipal water sources. Another problem with using anything acidic is that travertine is usually not one piece, it has gaps and voids that form in it naturally and these are usually filled with resin or other filling material that is as vulnerable, if not more than the stone itself.

Call a Stone Cleaning Service

Although travertine is extremely durable, it can lose its glossy appearance with wear and tear. That's why its important for you to contact a professional who can restore its original appearance, preferably one who specializes in stone cleaning. They know what can be used on your stone as well as how to bring back it's lovely luster and shine. One thing that a professional stone care service will likely recommend is to seal your stone. This is a good idea from so many angles. Stone is naturally porous, and a stone sealer sinks into the pores and makes it more resistant to stains as well as damage.

Ultimately, you want to make sure that one of two things occurs where your travertine floor is concerned. Either you know exactly what to do at all times in regards to cleaning it and taking care of it, or you get on the phone and call a stone cleaning service in San Antonio, Texas.

Friday, December 5, 2014

Natural Stone Care: Tips, Tricks, and What to Avoid (Contd.)

Natural stone care is all about knowledge as we covered previously...

: Get stone sealing in San Antonio, TX | (210) 637-5050

Natural Stone Cleaning

Stone care includes things like stone cleaning. But how do you safely clean natural stone? One major step to take in ensuring that your stone surface is in a perfect condition is by using warm water and a neutral cleaner while always ensuring that you use a clean rag mop on your floor and soft clothes for cleaning the other surfaces.

Excessive use of the cleaner may leave a film on your stone surface thereby needing one to be very keen with the manufacturer recommendations while others opt for an easy way out by hiring a tile cleaning service. Thorough rinsing of the floor after using soap during cleaning is also vital with one required to make sure that he or she dries up the floor thereafter. Mild bleach is always the best way to go when dealing with wet surfaces as it is very good in removing algae and moss. When cleaning you are not allowed to mix ammonia and bleach because the combination causes a lethal gas and for this you are highly encouraged to get a professional help to do the cleaning whenever there is chemicals involved. You also want to protect your stone after you have cleaned it, and one of the best ways to do it is to seal your stone.

Stone Sealing

This is a common form of precaution used against staining of the stones. Although most of the stones do not required sealing, people still use the sealing products to make their stones resistant to stains.

The first procedure in removing a stain from a stone surface is being able to tell the type of stain which later determines how you are going to get rid of the stain. An oil-based stain for example must be chemically dissolved before using mineral spirits to completely get rid of the stain. Organic stains on a stone surface on the other hand are removed by use of hydrogen peroxide and a few drops of ammonia while metal stains can only be removed with a poultice. Ammonia, hydrogen peroxide or bleach is used to get rid of a biological stain with other stains such as the ink stain also being removed by the same procedure. Call a tile cleaning service if you have any questions

Friday, November 28, 2014

Natural Stone Care: Tips, Tricks, and What to Avoid

Natural stone care is all about knowledge. How much should you know before you do any work on your floor? Well, how much do you want to keep your floor?

: Get Natural Stone Care in San Antonio, TX | (210) 637-5050

Natural Stone Care Tips

What type of stone do you have? Getting to know the geological classification and composition of your stone is one of the most important steps when taking care of your tiles. This type of information may be considered irrelevant by many homeowners but it is actually very important as it assists one in choosing the best cleaning products and methods to use in taking care of the natural stone. Natural stones are categorized into three depending on the process of formation it undertook. Metamorphic, igneous and sedimentary types of stones sum up the formation category with each of them either being calcareous or siliceous. Calcareous stone is made up of calcium carbonate which reacts with acid and therefore one is highly recommended to use non-acidic cleaners. Siliceous stone on the hand comprises of silicates that are resistant to acid solutions but one is still advised to be keen when using acidic cleaners as the stone might contain minerals that are sensitive to the acid. This entire process of knowing your stone and choosing the right cleaning products may be too much for you to handle so in order to avoid making a mess no your tiles you are highly advised to hire a tile cleaning service to do the job for you.

For you to achieve a long lasting and preserved beauty of your natural stone you need to make sure that you use coasters with those that contain citrus juices or alcohol being the most recommended. Despite the fact that almost all stones withstand heat, you are highly advised to make use of trivets and mats.

Weekly Stone Care

Make sure that you use a non-treated dry dust mop to regularly clean the interior floors while also ensuring that you place a rug at the entrance of your house to prevent sand or rather any dirt that may cause scratches on the floor. A vacuum cleaner is another important part of natural stone care that one should use but with a lot of keenness because the moment the metal or plastic that is attached to the wheel of the cleaner gets worn out it can cause scratches to some stone surfaces when being used. In case of a spill, you are not supposed to wipe the area immediately but rather take a paper towel and blot the spill to prevent it from spreading after which you will be required to wash the area with a mild soap and a soft cloth.

When you have questions, make sure you ask. You can call a tile store, or visit a home improvement center. And don't forget another good source of information: your local stone cleaning service.

Friday, November 21, 2014

Why a Tile Cleaning Service May Save You Some Money (Contd.)

Tile cleaning that's done by a service may actually end up caving you far more than it costs to hire them. It is because they handle things that you might easily overlook, such as the grout.

In our last article, we covered this cost versus gain scenario, but let's expand on it.

: Get Tile Cleaning Done | (210) 637-5050

Tile Cleaning: It Includes the Grout Too

Grout isn't easy to clean. In fact it is the most tiring part of tile cleaning. It can easily get damaged when cleaned using harsh cleaning methods. If not cleaned properly, the grout can be very dangerous as it becomes a breeding ground for mold and bacteria. This can render your family vulnerable to illnesses and to avoid this, they must be kept clean at all times. But in real life situations, this is an unavoidable part of living and therefore you should watch them closely before they spread into the bathroom floor and kitchen tiles. You should consider having a professional tile cleaning service coming over and cleaning these parts for you.

Another great benefit of hiring professional cleaning companies is that you won't need to equip yourself with materials necessary for cleaning. The tile and grout cleaning companies will be equipped with the right kinds of equipment and cleaners. Most cleaning service companies use specialized cleaning solutions that focus on the extraction and purification of your carpet and tiles, without causing too much stress on the material that may cause them to break. However, there are even more reasons to hire a tile cleaning service.

The Other Services of a Professional Tile Cleaning Service

When you hire professional tile cleaning services, they may offer additional tile services such as hardwood floor cleaning and natural stone care. The best part of using the service of such service providers is that the work will be done professionally without causing any damages to the carpets, floors and other accessories.

The cleaning service you choose will depend primarily on the type of tiles you have since there are specific cleaning methods for each type of tile. After they have been cleaned the technician will give you tips so that you can keep your tiles clean till when the next cleaning is due.

Maintaining your tile and grout can be a difficult to endeavor, and damage can be frustrating to repair yourself and therefore professional and ethical tile cleaning service can help you keep your tile looking amazing for years and years to come.

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