LANDSCAPE SERVICES
TILE MAINTENANCE ADVICE
BY LEIGH PRICE, MANAGING DIRECTOR OF REAL STONE AND TILE Leigh Price, managing director of Real Stone and Tile gives an expert insight into the cleaning and maintenance of flooring. With tiles in any environment, cleaning and ongoing maintenance to them is paramount to ensure you keep a fresh appearance to the flooring and allow the home owner to prolong the life of their investment.
Identification The key consideration before any cleaning or maintenance is the identification of the surface type which is crucial to ensuring that the correct treatment is received.
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Whether the tiles are ceramic, natural stone, porcelain or slate etc the cleaning and maintenance needs to be slightly adapted to suit. For example, limestone alone varies greatly in porosity dependent on age, shape and size, therefore the absorbency of any natural stone surface will need to be established. This can be tested simply by placing a teaspoon of water on a clean, completely dry tile and timing how long the water takes to be absorbed. If the water is absorbed into the tile within the five minutes, the level of porosity is high. An absorbency time within fifteen minutes indicates a medium porosity and water taking within one hour or longer to be absorbed shows a low level of porosity.
Sealing When considering the amount of traffic passing over the flooring, it is necessary that the area is protected using a suitable sealant to reduce the risk of any damage and to also help towards the ease of maintenance. However, before a sealing product can be used it is vital that the surface is free from any dirt or grime and is completely dry. Failure to correctly prepare the flooring can result in the effectiveness of the sealant being compromised. The variety of sealants on the market is large, whether you want to leave a glossy finish, matte finish or enhance the colour of the flooring Follow us @ludmagazine
