Your Marble Floor Will Only Last If Properly Cared For
Remember that look that the marble had when newly installed? That charm that accentuated the decor, brightening up the space? These natural stone installations are immensely popular, installed in residential and commercial spaces alike. They come in different colours, designs and finishes options to match your individual taste and style preferences. That luxurious effect is further compounded with the uniqueness of each individual slab of marble. The material itself is highly durable, with its reputation solidly established over centuries. The marble floors can take much of anything thrown at them – from high levels of traffic, water sloshing around in the bathroom, to heavy sets of furniture being placed over the floor. All this is only if the floors are well taken care of though – more on this shortly. The hard wearing structure is resistant to shattering, and the material is also a good insulator – giving the floor a cooling effect even on those really hot says. In fact pairing installations with radiant, in-floor heating keeps you cosy even in the particularly cold nights. Its reflecting properties contribute to making the space appear bigger. In addition, unlike alternative flooring types such as carpet, allergens can’t cling to the marble surface. All that dust and dander collecting on the marble surface will be clearly visible, allowing it to be easily got rid of.
So how do you take care of your marble floors? Here are some of the measures that should be implemented.
- Dealing with dirt and debris
All that particulate matter accumulating on the marble surface around the clock should be cleared off to prevent it from becoming a threat to the surface. The frequency of the routine dusting and vacuuming will depend on how busy the premises is, but generally the goal is to avoid a scenario where so much particulate matter has collected such that it easily abrades the surface when people walk on it. The abrasive effect is caused by the friction that results when people walk on the floor, grinding the dirt particles against the surface. For each person or pet in the household, there should be a round of dusting or vacuuming done weekly. For example, two people in home translates to two rounds of vacuuming every week, to keep the rate of dirt build-up under control.
You can take the extra step of setting up welcome mats at the entrance of the house to reduce the rate at which dirt particles will be collected in the premises. Here, the fibres of the mat scrape off the soiling that is under people’s shoes, locking it within the structure and preventing it from being spread onto the rest of the floor. This helps in protecting the installation, while making the floor cleaning that will follow much easier.
- Avoid abrasive cleaners
These are the likes of scouring powders or creams, bathroom, grout, and tub and tile cleaners, all through to items like steel wool. These will end up damaging the surface, taking away that charm from your installation. Using soft clothes is preferable to dealing with scrubbing brushes.
- The value of periodic deep cleaning
Regularly carry out a thorough floor cleaning using a formulation that has been developed for marble installations. These specialised cleaners come with properties that enable them to break down the grime that is on the installation, without putting the marble floor itself at risk. They usually have a neutral pH, but there are cases when some mild-pH products may be used – such as those scenarios where you encounter stubborn dirt spots and stains, which require stronger cleaners. Note that the products used should still be designated to be safe for marble floors, since you don’t want to ruin the installation while in the process of getting it cleaned up.
After the floor cleaning, give the surface a thorough rinse. Go further to dry it, since some of these installations have iron oxide – and they are left wet you can end up with a floor with rust stains.
Some Extra Help For Your Marble Floor Cleaning & Maintenance
Granted, giving proper care to the marble floors can be a difficult job, especially when encountering stubborn dirt and grime. Moreover, the calcium bicarbonate composition of the material restricts the range of cleaning equipment and chemicals that can be used on it. Some stains are particularly troublesome, like the grout and rust stains which get absorbed deep into the pores of the material. Fortunately, you can hire the services of a professional marble floor cleaning team to handle all this, getting even rid of stains like red wine, coffee and other substances that would be difficult to deal with using the conventional DIY cleaning methods.
The marble floor cleaning pros also have the equipment needed to deal with those pesky etch marks caused by acidic agents coming into contact with the surface. Such situations can even call for diamond abrasives to be used to remove the etch marks and polish the surface, and thereafter a sealant is applied to restore the beauty to the installation.
A key benefit of outsourcing the marble floor cleaning to the experts is that it saves you the time and effort that you would have undertaken in the task. You get the peace of mind that comes with knowing that you will have quality results, without putting the structural integrity of the installation at risk. This is especially if you ensure that you’re dealing with a certified team that has a lot of experience under its belt. Going through the reviews of the company that were written by other clients who had previously hired them will shed some light to the quality of services that you can expect. Don’t shy away from asking questions about the process as you engage the company representatives – including the kind of cleaning methods they will use, all through to the status of their licence and insurance. Speaking of which, insurance is needed as an extra layer of protection from liabilities in case an accident were to occur in your premises as the floor cleaning is being carried out. However, note that professional companies will also put in place safety measures to ensure that the different areas can be worked on while ensuring that the floor itself, to the personnel carrying out the task, are not put in harm’s way.
