Marble Granite Travertine Tile Grout - Cleaning Polishing and Sealing by EUROTECH

*Special thanks to Sean Jones at AUTO TRIM HAWAII for the new Van Signs http://www.autotrimhawaii.com/contactus.htm

Professional Stone Care

Tile & Grout Cleaning

• Cleaning



• Sealing



• Polishing



• Restoration and Resurfacing

Inspections - Maintenance Programs - Consultations

Marble and Natural Stone require ongoing specialized care to protect and preserve its beauty and lifespan. Stone Care professionals are trained in the best methods and stay on top of the latest products and technology to promote natural stone service life.

Call (808) 877-0222 for Service

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Stone Care and Tile Cleaning

This is some recent stone care and tile cleaning work in Lahaina and Kihei, Maui. Both floors were well taken care of, but a service level clean and seal definitely brought them up a notch.

Floors, Showers and Counters can all benefit from a Maintenance Program. Regular cleaning and service resealing protects and beautifies stone, tile and grout.

For a consultation, call 808.877.0222

Travertine Floor Clean Reseal Lahaina Maui

This jewelry store in Lahaina, Maui, Hawaii had a beautiful floor hidden beneath buildup and dirt deposits. You can see in the photo above that the cleaning made a drastic difference in the appearance of the floor. That dark area in the far top of the picture isn't shadow - you can see the cleaning line midway through the floor.



Travertine flooring deserves maintenance cleanings and service reseals. Visit our article Why Use a Professional?



Call 877-0222 if you have travertine tiles that need care.

Should I put a topical sealer on my stone or tile?

The short answer is: It depends.

There are, of course, certain applications where you'd want a total protective layer that a topical coating style sealer provide. We've seen many jobs that wear great and hold up all the way through that 5 year + mark.

When weighing out the pros and cons though, keep these guidelines in mind:

Natural stone needs to breathe. If moisture gets trapped within natural stone, it can cause spalling and issues that are serious problems.

Coatings may wear unevenly in traffic areas.

Coatings must be stripped the next time you reseal, so be sure to count that cost into your budget when you put the initial coating on. Choosing a topical style sealer on will require an ongoing maintenance program that includes stripping or removal. Stripping requires expensive chemicals and expertise to complete properly, and generally doubles the time that a job would take with a penetrating sealer. Failing to properly remove and prepare the surface of any existing sealers will cause flaking and peeling of your new coating. Proper preparation is key in the maintenance resealings.

If you're planning on doing a stripping and resealing job yourself, your most difficult task will be getting the sealer out of the porous grout lines. If you don't get it all the way out prior to resealing, it will be a nightmare later.

That being said, ask your professional if a penetrating or a topical sealer is best in your situation.

Penetrating sealers make use of chemicals whose molecular structure is much smaller than acrylics and epoxies. Their smaller size allows them to penetrate the surface. They are also more sophisticated in their design as they contain fusion forming particulates that seek out compatible molecules in the material they are applied to. Like magnets sticking together, these compatible molecules fill in the microscopic capillaries of the material they are applied to, forming an impenetrable barrier. Most penetrating sealers do not enhance color. They also do not appear glossy and typically do not increase the slip factor. Penetrating sealers are not known to peel or flake. Because they fuse with the material below the surface, penetrating sealers last longer than film forming sealers."

Tile Cleaning Stain Removal Kihei, Maui

One of the problems with exterior tile flooring, whether its stone or tile is standing water stains. These deposits can be particularly difficult to remove. Many people have tried pressure washing these kinds of stains off their tile, but it usually is too stubborn to pick up. A tile or stone professional will use the correct restoration process. See below: Why Use a Pro?

This particular service (See before and after video) was performed after the client had done pressure washing cleaning. So the before photo is basically an after pressure washing picture. The after photo reflects a restoration level cleaning to remove the staining and deposits.

Tips:
Design drainage away from tile surfaces
Adjust irrigation to avoid overspray onto tile and flooring
Broom standing water daily

The lanai floor was even and clean when the service was complete and the grout was resealed to protect it.




Why Use a Pro?
Trained tile and stone professionals will use the correct agents, sealers, and process. For example, marble, ceramic tile, and granite have differing limits for withstanding pressure cleaning. Too much pressure can cause damage. Porcelain tile, marble and granite would each require different products and methods. The wrong cleaner may not clean or could cause damage to the surface. Also, using too much pressure on unsanded grout can cause grout erosion.

Using the best sealer for the material and area of use is also very important. Visit our FAQs section http://eurotechmaui.blogspot.com/p/faqs.html for an article on types of sealers

and our blog post: http://eurotechmaui.blogspot.com/2010/11/professional-tile-and-stone-care.html

BEFORE PHOTO: Tile after pressure wash by client
AFTER PHOTO: Tile after restorative cleaning and stain removal by Eurotech

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Professional Tile and Stone Care - An Investment that pays

Why is Professionally Maintaining your Natural Stone and Tile Cost Effective?

1. Preserves and Extends the lifespan of the material

• Proper preparation and sealing will prevent staining

2. Prevents future costly repairs and restorations

• Much like auto maintenance, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Regular cleanings and sealings are like doing your oil changes. Maybe you can get away with skipping it, but that may cost much more in the long run.
• Trained tile and stone professionals will use the correct agents, sealers, and process. For example, marble, ceramic tile, and granite have differing limits for withstanding pressure cleaning. To much pressure can cause damage. Porcelain tile, marble and granite would require different products and methods. The wrong cleaner may not clean or could cause damage. Use a stone and tile professional.
• Using too much pressure on unsanded grout can cause grout erosion.

3. Saves time and labor - makes cleaning easier

• Unsealed surfaces hold deposits differently than properly sealed surfaces. Treated stone and grout makes daily cleaning quicker and easier.

4. Prevents purchasing unnecessary cleaning products


5. Makes your rental property more desirable and may have tax benefits (see below).*

• May Provide Tax Benefits: "A repair keeps your rental property in good condition and is a deductible expense in the year that you pay for it. Repairs include painting, fixing a broken toilet and replacing a faulty light switch. Improvements on the other hand, add value to your property and are not deductible when you pay for them. You must recover the cost of improvements by depreciating the expense over your property's life expectancy. Therefore, from a tax standpoint, you should make repairs as the problems arise instead of waiting until they multiply and require renovations."* See FULL article by George D. Lambert at http://www.investopedia.com/articles/pf/06/rentalowner.asp *We do not provide tax advice. Ask your accountant about qualifying repairs and tax benefits.

Floor Cleaning - To Bleach or Not to Bleach

The question of what to clean floors with comes up on almost every floor service we do. Whether or not to use bleach is another FAQ. Here are some basic guidelines to keeping stone and tile floors clean:

Keep doormats inside and outside of doorways if possible to trap dirt.

Daily Cleaning
Sweep and vacuum a lot more often than mopping.

If and when you mop, keep a bucket of clean rinse water and use a clean mop head. Dirty mops and dirty mopwater are the leading culprit of dirty grout and stone.

Use the right floor cleaning products: When you are doing daily cleaning, bleach is NOT recommended. Whether it is natural stone or ceramic tile, you'll want to avoid bleach and bleach based products. The constant exposure to bleach will damage stone and break down grout over time. Bleach also destroys most penetrating sealers that are used on grout and stone. We recommend using a neutral stone and tile cleaner for daily cleaning. We like Rinseless Cleaner because it doesn't leave behind a soapy residue. Residue buildup can make the floors look worse over time than they should.

Deep Cleaning and Stain Removal
NEVER use bleach on natural stone as it could leave a permanent mark that needs professional restoration. When you have a one time stain removal, bleach is okay for ceramic tile. But, be sure the material is really ceramic tile and not a natural stone. If you are going to use bleach on ceramic tile and grout, we strongly recommend triple rinsing the bleach to prevent any damage and to preserve the sealer as much as possible. Bead test the grout after cleaning to see if the sealer is still in tact. If water quickly soaks into the grout, we recommend a professional sealing. On natural stone, you should always contact a professional to address stains. The risk of damaging natural stone with do it yourself stain removal is too high to make it worthwhile.

So, use a non-residue stone and tile cleaning product for daily cleaning. And get professional recommendations when you're dealing with stain removal and setting up a floor maintenance program. We want to help you make your floor lifespan and clean appearance last as long as possible.

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