Travertine is a beautiful and characterful natural stone however like all natural stone it does need maintaining and this Kitchen floor in Dursley was no exception. The tiles were installed twenty years ago, and it had been some time since it was last cleaned and sealed. The sealer had now worn off and dirt had become lodged in the pores of the stone turning some of the natural pits black and unsightly.
I’m based in Dusley, so it wasn’t long before I was able to pay the owner of the house a visit and survey the floor. I’ve maintained numerous Travertine floors over the years, so I quickly recognised the problems and was able to come up with a plan to deep clean the stone, restore its appearance and renew the sealer.
After taking measurements, I was able to calculate the quantiles of products needed to do the work and provided the owner with a detailed quote for the renovation work which was accepted.
Deep Cleaning a Travertine Tiled Kitchen Floor in Dursley
Before starting I applied masking film and tape to the kitchen units to protect them during the cleaning process. MDF is well known for absorbing moisture and can be ruined so I always take time to do this.
The floor was then burnished using a set of burnishing pads of different grits. I covered this in detail in other posts on my website by essentially this involves applying diamond encrusted pads to the stone. The process starts with a coarse 400-grit, and you move up through the grits to 800 and 1500. Only water is used to lubricate the process and the slurry generated is rinsed off and extracted afterwards with a wet vacuum.
The grout lines were then cleaned with Tile Doctor Remove and Go scrubbed in with a stiff brush. Once I was happy the grout was as clean as it could be the soiling was extracted with the wet vacuum, and I left the floor to dry out overnight. The owners still needed access to the kitchen so I left dust sheets over the floor so they could move around as normal.
Sealing Travertine Kitchen Floor Dursley
On my return the next day I applied the last of the burnishing pads which is an extra fine 3500-grit pad really bring up the polish on the stone. This pad is applied dry with a little water sprayed onto the stone using a method we call a Spray Burnish.
The owners wanted a natural look to the Travertine so they floor was then sealed with two coats of Tile Doctor Ultra-Seal. This is an almost invisible sealer that will prevent dirt from becoming lodged in the pores of the stone thereby keeping it on the surface where it can be easily removed with regular cleaning. The floor was left to dry and then buffed with a soft white buffing pad to bring up the finish.
My clients were very pleased with their renovated Travertine floor, it looked so much cleaner and healthier. For aftercare I advised them to use Tile Doctor Stone Soap, it’s a gentle but effective stone cleaner that won’t impact the sealer which can be the problem with stronger supermarket cleaners.
Never use a steam cleaner or strong cleaning product on sealed tile or stone as this will reduce the life of the sealer. We recommend using a specialist tile cleaning product such as Tile Doctor Neutral Tile Cleaner or Stone Soap for the regular cleaning of sealed surfaces. if you do use another product always read the label first, most supermarket tile cleaners are only suitable for use on Ceramic and Vinyl tiles.