How can I keep my travertine looking its best?

About Travertine…

Travertine is a sedimentary stone formed in and around freshwater hot springs. It occurs when calcite (calcium carbonate) settles in water and then compresses over time to form a solidified structure. Travertine almost always has holes and channels through which water and hot gases escape during formation. In most cases, these holes are “filled” during fabrication with cementitious products (such as grout) or resin (such as epoxy) to form a smooth, flat surface.

Travertine is one of the softest flooring materials, registering 2.5 to 3.5 on the Mohs hardness scale of 1 to 10. Because of its softness, it is easily scratched and abraded by materials of a harder composition, such as dirt and debris carried in from outside, bare furniture legs and posts, metal, and hard plastics. Like its very close cousins, limestone and marble, it is also highly reactive to all acids, even mild ones like orange juice.

Elements that affect the appearance and serviceability of travertine

The following items will affect the appearance and life of your travertine:

• The quality of the stone itself.
• Improper maintenance routine
• Chemical exposure
• Exposure to excess water.
• Exposure to abrasives
• Compression

stone quality

The quality of travertine varies as much as the places where it is found. In general, higher quality stones will have a tighter (compacted) structure, fewer “fill” areas (especially wide, shallow areas where the “fill” has very little to adhere to), will be filled on both sides ( to avoid “perforations”). through” high heels, furniture legs, etc.), and will exhibit a quality builder’s finish (no saw marks, blemishes, or rough areas).

Unfortunately, poor quality travertine will give itself out very quickly once it is installed. Rapid infill loss, punctures, pitting, and discoloration will occur at an accelerated rate. However, the maintenance tips that we will explore later in this document will help keep misbehavior to a minimum.

Improper maintenance routine

Improper routine maintenance is the main cause of travertine degradation. More travertine is damaged by improper care and maintenance than any other influential factor, including the quality of the stone. These maintenance oversights include:

wet mopping – Wet mopping is the single leading cause of loss of “fill”, spalling (physical deterioration and pitting of stone caused by water) and microbial growth (dark discoloration in holes, cracks and grout lines). Travertine floors should NEVER be wet mopped with a string mop (or any other type for that matter), they should be thoroughly swept and damp mopped with a sponge or microfiber mop only.

Failure to keep surfaces properly impregnated (sealed) – Failure to keep travertine properly impregnated (sealed) is the second leading cause of travertine deterioration, and is even more important if surfaces are damp mopped. Proper impregnation keeps water, oil, and other contaminants out of the stone and helps stop filler loss, chipping, microbial growth, and staining.

Anytime moisture penetrates the surface of your travertine, it has both a physical and chemical effect on the stone; both are negative. Wet stone expands, dry stone contracts. Multiple cycles of expansion and contraction weaken both the stone and fill areas, resulting in pitting and loss of fill. Remember when your teacher called water the “universal solvent”? Enough talk.

Use of inappropriate cleaning chemicals – I never cease to be amazed at the variety of types and amounts of cleaning chemicals that people (and their professional cleaning crews) use on their travertine floors. I’ve seen everything from vinegar and water (“that’s what my grandma used”), to heavy-duty stone cleaners (“the guy at the tile store said this was the strongest they had”), and pretty much everything else in between.

Rather than provide you with a list of things not to use on your travertine (it’s a very long list), for the sake of brevity, I’m giving you the only solution you should use to routinely clean your travertine: a neutral pH (- 7), a non-chelating cleaner designed specifically for natural stone. Nothing else. Ever. Period. (Yes, “nothing else” includes Swifters and Windex!) For those of you unfamiliar with chelates (pronounced kee’-lates), they are chemicals added to detergents and cleaners (including many stone cleaners). routine) to “soften” the water. sequestering “hard water” minerals (such as calcium) from the detergent so it can clean more effectively. Sounds good right? Mistaken! Remember what your travertine is primarily made up of: calcium! Floors cleaned with chelated products look dull, drab, and lifeless.

Not keeping floors properly swept or vacuumed – Earlier in the paper we mentioned the Mohs hardness scale and determined that the travertine fell between 2.5 and 3.5, out of a 10 point rating. Unfortunately, sand and fine gravel built up on his floors from the external register 6 to 7 on the Mohs scale – they are twice as hard as your travertine. If they are not routinely removed, they act like sandpaper on the floor. Every time someone walks on them, they are wearing down and scratching the surface.

Failure to replace missing padding – When your travertine loses fill, the area immediately around the hole is no longer supported and becomes much more susceptible to further damage. Also, the hole left by the missing filler will absorb water, cleaning solution, dirt, or anything else that falls into it. This will eventually result in spalling, microbial growth, and internal damage to the stone.

Chemical exposure – Your travertine should not knowingly be exposed to any chemical agent other than the neutral, unchelated stone cleaner and impregnator mentioned earlier in this document. The use of high intensity alkaline cleaners is acceptable to deep clean surfaces prior to sealing (impregnation), but only then, and certainly not routinely.

However, life happens, and sooner or later something will spill out. How you respond to the spill will depend on whether the spilled substance is water based or oil based, alkaline or acidic. If your surfaces are properly impregnated (sealed), you have nothing to worry about oil and non-acid, water-based spills as long as you clean them up in a reasonable amount of time. If your surfaces aren’t properly soaked, you’ll get a stain, especially if the spill is oil-based.

Acidic spills (orange juice, lemon juice, wine, vinegar, Margarita mix, certain cosmetics, “tile cleaners”, etc.) are a whole different animal. They will etch the surface immediately, whether it is properly impregnated or not. Etchings appear on your travertine as blemishes or areas that are much duller than the surrounding stone and do not improve with normal cleaning techniques.

You should do everything possible to ensure that these items (and others like them) do not come in contact with your floor. If they do, immediately remove them from the surface by rubbing them inwards to prevent them from spreading to uncontaminated areas. The good news is that you can remove small engravings and watermarks yourself without any tools or special expertise. The bad news is that serious etchings need to be removed by a professional. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

compression damage – Compression damage to travertine manifests itself in two ways: “punched” holes in areas where the “fill” or surface is weak, and by scratches that compact the stone (the technical term is “stunning”) to the point of a conspicuous mark. remains, even after physically removing the scratch.

Significant drilled holes (under normal use) are generally indicative of poor quality stone, workmanship, or both. If the stone or filler often breaks down under normal use or foot traffic, it’s time to talk to the people who sold it to you. However, it is not unusual for even good quality travertine to have the occasional hole from a high heel or a heavy object concentrating its weight on a small area (pointed table leg, sofa leg, etc.) . In either case, you should replace the missing padding as soon as possible to prevent further damage.

Stunning occurs when a heavy object or drug is dropped on the surface, causing a mark or scratch. Upon impact, the travertine compresses, leaving a physical scratch or mark and a scar. Even after the physical scratch is removed, the scar will still be visible because the underlying calculus is now much denser than the surrounding uncompressed areas. There is no simple solution to this problem once it occurs, so the best course of action is to place felt pads on all heavy items (chair legs, table legs, etc.) to prevent scratching. by compression.