Marble Floor Cleaning | Marble Floor Polishing
Alot of people cannot understand why marble floors cost so much to restore. There are also alot of people attempting to clean and polish marble floors without the right knowledge or the right equipment. Most achieve poor results and they transform a beautiful natural stone floor into a cheap looking super glossy floor that will stay shiny for about 1 week. Find out why marble floor cleaning and polishing is so expensive and why it has to be done regularly. Also, learn facts about marble maintenance and how to extend the periods between repolishing.
Marble Floor Cleaning | Marble Floor Polishing | What is a marble floor?
Marble is a natural stone extracted from quarries all over the world. The most popular and the most sought after type of marble is of course Italian marble. Italian marble has been used in the most prestigious buildings all over the world for thousands of years. Marble is a very compact type of natural stone that can be repolished to a mirror-like finish many times over. Some old buildings, including the Vatican, have beautiful marble floors for hundreds of years. Marble floors are available in a wide range of colors, sizes and thickness. The fancier and rarer the marble the more expensive it will be. The main benefits of a marble floor is its durability, its natural beauty and the special feeling that comes with it. So in other words, a marble floor is a hard natural stone that can be cut in all types of sizes and forms to suit all requirements. There are marble floors, marble worktops, marble sills, marble pillars, marble statues, marble fountains, etc.
Marble Floor Cleaning | Marble Floor Polishing | How do you polish marble floors?
There is no point having marble floors if the floors are not polished and kept in pristine condition. A marble floor can look like any cheap ceramic tile if left unsealed and if neglected for years. Being a natural stone, marble is likely to scratch, stain & become absorbent. This is the main reason that marble needs to be polished. A highly polished marble floor will show all the veins that cross the tile and it also becomes so sealed that all the top pores are blocked and the absorption of dirt is reduced to close to zero.
To remove scratches from a marble floor, a marble polishing contractor will have to use a number of diamond polishing pads. The marble polishing diamond pads start from grit 30 and can go up to 12000 grit. To safely remove scratches and dull patches on a marble floor, the contractor will basically sand the top of the marble floor with the diamond floor polishing pads. Depending on the condition of the floor, the contractor can start from grit 30 to 400. Those aggressive grit diamond pads will remove the top coat of the marble floor and will leave the floor scratch free, patch free but 100% matt. From this point on the contractor will have to decide on the system used to polish the marble. The contractor can move up on the grit up to 12 000 to achieve that super glossy finish or he/she can use marble polishing powders to speed up the process.
Diamond Pad Polishing :
A heavy duty low speed floor buffer will be used on “wet” to remove the scratches. Starting with grit 30, then moving to grit 120, then moving to grit 400, then grit 600, then grit 800, then grit 1600, then grit 3500. Up to this point the floor was scrubbed with diamond pads on a wet surface. From grit 3500 up, the marble floor can be polished on “dry”. Dry polishing with diamond floor polishing pads means that the floor is spotless, all scratches are gone & there is a good sheen on it already. The next polishing pads will only increase the sheen.
Marble Polishing Powders:
Pretty much the same process as above up to grit 3500. From here a contractor can use a marble polishing powder instead of using a number of fine grit diamond pads. The results are pretty much the same. A marble polishing powder will crystalize on the floor and it will create a special natural looking finish. Then the whole floor has to be buffed nicely with a high speed floor buffer and a white floor pad.
Amateurs or contractors with little experience or tools might try to use universal water based floor polishes to create the gloss on marble floors. This is just a DIY job that will do no justice to the marble floor. Because the marble floor is so compact, it can’t really absorb the standard sealers so it is very likely that the floor will look over glazed and artificial. The water based floor sealer not being able to penetrate the stone in full, means that the top of the floor can be easily scratched.
Marble Floor Cleaning | Marble Floor Polishing | Why is marble polishing so expensive?
Well, if you read all the information listed above, you will notice that any marble contractor has to own a number of heavy duty industrial floor scrubbers, wet vacs, high speed polishers, diamond pads, flat mops, proper marble cleaners, high quality marble polishing powders, etc. It is estimated that a marble polishing company needs at least 30k to be able to start polishing marble at an entry level.
Besides all this expensive marble polishing equipment and marble polishing chemicals, polishing marble takes a lot of time. The marble polishing specialist has to work 8 hours to polish a 20-30 sq meter marble floor. If the same contractor is planning to polish a vinyl or a lino floor, he/she can polish 200 sq meters of floor in 8 hours. So marble polishing is a time consuming operation.
Marble Floor Cleaning | Marble Floor Polishing | How long does it last?
This is like asking a car washing company, how long will my car stay clean after a wash? It is entirely up to yourself if you maintain the marble floor right or if you decide to wash it with bleach the next day. No marble polishing company can guarantee you long lasting results. But on average, a newly polished marble floor that is maintained with proper marble floor cleaning products (Faber Neugel or Faber Soap) and buffed once in a while with a high speed floor buffer, should not require another polishing for 5 years. While some people can stretch that period up to 10 years, others might have to have their floors re-polished every year or every second year.
Tips for extending your marble sheen for many years:
Use PH neutral marble floor cleaning products. Faber Neugel is the ideal marble floor cleaner. This product is natural, residue free and it enhances the finish of the floor. Faber Soap is another premium detergent for marble & natural stone floors. This product is very expensive but also very concentrated and very long lasting. By using a proper marble floor cleaner and maintainer you avoid creating porosity on the stone or marking the sheen with residue. All Faber marble floor cleaners and maintainers are suitable for commercial and residential use.
Invest in a high speed burnisher. If you have just spent thousands of euros having your floors restored, you should consider investing in a used high speed floor buffer and a 3500 diamond marble floor polishing pad. By buffing the floor once or twice per month, you increase and maintain the sheen and you also level up any dull patches that could appear over time.
Install protective covers on your chairs, table & sofas. These items of furniture cause the most damage on marble floors. A set of covers cost close to nothing but it can save you thousands in the long run.
Avoid putting rugs over the marble floors. The rugs can create a high level of humidity in particular areas and over time the shape of the rug will imprint in the marble finish.
Do not use too much water when washing the marble floor. We recommend that you use a flat mopping system to avoid over soaking the floor and the grout lines. The excess water on the floor will create streaks and markings.
Pay the fair price for marble polishing. Trying to pay as little as possible for such a fancy job will end up costing you more in the long run. Not all marble cleaning & marble floor polishing contractors are the same. While some can and will use the finest products & equipment to seal and protect your floors, others won’t be bothered. Have your marble floors polished once every 5-10 years than once every year.
Marble Floor Cleaning | Marble Floor Polishing | Floor Cleaning Dublin
If you are not happy with the way your marble floor looks or if the floor is badly worn and scratched, you should call Floor Cleaning Dublin and book a deep marble cleaning project and a marble floor polishing. We specialize in commercial marble floor cleaning and residential marble floor cleaning projects. All our work is fully guaranteed and insured. Floor Cleaning Dublin is happy to provide free no obligation estimates for marble floor cleaning services. We are happy to contract:
Marble Floor Cleaning
Marble Floor Polishing
Travertine Floor Cleaning
Travertine Floor Polishing
Terrazzo Floor Polishing
Terrazzo Floor Cleaning
Our standard marble floor cleaning & marble floor polishing includes scratch removal, spot & stain removal, diamond pad polishing and sealing. We will offer you two options of finish, a 100% natural finish (low sheen) or a high gloss finish. The natural sheen finish will be achieved with premium quality impregnators from Faber. The stone will be fully sealed but not glossy. Or we can buff your floors with fine grit diamond polishing or marble polishing powder. Floor Cleaning Dublin uses Diafil Diamond Polishing Pads and Faber A3 Marble Polishing Pads. We do not cut corners. All our marble care products are market leaders and suitable for commercial & residential marble floor cleaning and marble polishing projects.
Marble Floor Cleaning | Marble Floor Polishing | Pricing
As you can expect, the final price will depend on a number of factors and the size of the floor itself. Floor Cleaning Dublin does not provide worktop cleaning & worktop polishing. We specialize in marble floor cleaning and marble floor polishing services. The final price for marble polishing services will depend on the following factors:
The size of the area | Small jobs tend to cost much more per square meter than larger floors. If the area is tiny and if there is no space for heavy duty equipment, the whole process has to be done with smaller equipment and tools.
The access | If you are booking a marble floor cleaning and marble floor polishing project in a building with no lift or narrow spaces, it is likely that we will have to use additional help to move our heavy duty marble floor polishing equipment. Also, having good electricity power is essential.
The type of marble | Not all marble floors are the same. Some marble floors require way more work than others. Achieving sheen on some fancy marble floors can be a very complicated task while achieving sheen in other types of marble can be very easy. More work needed, the higher the final price.
Location | If we need to travel 1-2 hours to your destination, we are likely to charge a bit extra. Our marble floor cleaning specialists charge a lot of money per hour so we need to pay out more in salaries.
Extra sealers | If your marble floor is located in a high traffic commercial building with high levels of spills and chemicals, we can use extra coats of sealers to make the floor more durable.
Anyway, you will be informed in good time about these charges and any extra costs. Quotes will be sent by email and prices agreed before the work commences. Book Floor Cleaning Dublin for your next marble floor cleaning & marble floor polishing project.
