Recently, I have had several calls about restoring Slate Showers in master bathrooms. The story is the same: My Slate is 8 months old and is already turning white, why and what can be done? Or my slate is 5 years old and we are putting the house on the market.

There are two types of white that can be present in your shower, a third that encourages the white to appear sooner. 1) Efflorescence 2) Soap scum/Hard Water 3) Cleaning the shower with the wrong chemicals

Efflorescence. When water travels through stone or grout, the water evaporates and leaves salt behind. This salt may be a white powdery deposit on the slate or it can be a rock hard crystallized deposit in the grout lines. GOOD NEWS FIRST, the white powdery deposit can be removed and prevented with simple measures. However, (The BAD NEWS) the crystallized deposit in the grout lines may be nearly impossible to remove (We can usually get 80-98% of it gone). And that is not the bad news, the bad news is that this type of crystallized formation is a result of a crack in the grout line. Most likely, moisture is traveling down the cracks and pushing the salts up. If this is the case, I would recommend calling a tile installer to replace the stone floor in your shower.

Why replace? Under your slate tiles, the water has been trapped for a long time. Possibly causing mold, mildew and weakening the bond of the tiles to the floor. Additionally, even if we remove this crystallized salt, it will come back until the source is corrected. Side Note: I have seen the tiles actually have significant give/play when stepped on due to being over saturated with water. PREVENTION: Sealing the stone with a penetrating sealer help prevent water from traveling through the stone. Secondly, if you see your grout cracking, put some caulk in the gap that matches closely to your grout color. Or have it re-grouted before the moisture has time to create a problem.

By the way, it is common for grout to crack or separate from the tile’s edge. This can happen for so many different reasons and I do not want to get into them all on this blog entry. But I just wanted to note that it is something to watch for and catch before trapped moisture under floor is able to create problems.

Soap Scum/Hard Water: Most people are educated on hard water deposits and understand its effects. Soap Scum is the same. Soap is made up of calcium/talc or some other minerals that are not absorbed into water. Thus, water can not carry soap down the drain. It usually makes it half way out the shower and then attaches to the walls 3-4 feet up from the drain. Good NEWS: This can be professionally cleaned off and removed. PREVENTION: one can wipe the walls with a microfiber rag or sponge after each use (or use squeegee when possible). Once a week, use a Stone Cleaner and a microfiber rag.

Cleaning with wrong cleaners: Strong bathroom cleaners will attack and breakdown the sealer. Once the sealer is weakened, water has an opportunity to start causing problems. Thus, the more often people use these strong bathroom cleaners. This cycle is the most common reason why people have problems. PREVENTION: Seal stone properly, wipe shower daily, clean weekly with a stone cleaner, inspect grout for cracks. These easy to follow tips will keep your slate looking good longer. If you start to notice a problem, it may be time to have your slate resealed. Slate in a Master shower gets a ton of use and may need to be resealed more often. Especially if you have problems with hard water.

Many builders do not recommend sealing stone or tile. Consider this: I have yet to meet a builder that seals stone. The only time stone is sealed is to change the appearance of a stone or at the request of the home owner. Thus, I get asked the question all the time if sealing is a good idea.

Sealing stone or tile grout is essential to maintaining the life of a stone and/or grout. From my experience with cleaning stone floors and tile grout, I have found that an unsealed floor does not come nearly as clean as a floor that was originally sealed. Sealed stone or grout restores 95-100% like new with a professional cleaning. While an unsealed surface restores only 80 to 95% like new with the same professional cleaning.

The reason is simple: Sealers keep stains, oils and dirt at the surface and do not allow deep penetration. Although our cleaning methods have come along way to reaching deep into the stone and tile grout to lift dirt. It is nearly impossible to get 100% of the deepest stains.

Restoring Marble is fun and has its own challenges. Today, many Carpet cleaning companies have learned that all ceramic is created equally, but not marble. Thus, not very many companies offer this service.In Marble training classes, I am shocked at the quality of service that is being taught. I call it a carpet cleaning approach to stone restoration. Many companies are trying to streamline all marble care into a simple process that works on all marble. This is impossible, unless you lower your expectations. The push today is for an easy way to polish marble that can be trained to anyone - even if it means lowering the quality of finished product.

Now the industry is faced with a new problem. Let’s say you have two companies come out to your house to bid on cleaning and polishing your marble, travertine or other stone. And for the sake of argument, your floors are a 4, on a scale of 1-10 (10 being the best). Company A will take your floor from a 4 to 10 and Company B will take your floor to a 8. Both companies propose to do the same work for two completely different prices.Lately, I have restored several white and black marble floors. These floors are more difficult for service tech new to restoring stone. I guess it is nice to know my 20 years experience is worth something.

I have two suggestions for those looking to hire a company to restore their floors. First, select an established company. Second, choose a company with a service tech with at least 5 to 10 years experience. 

The first step is ensuring your stone has been sealed.  Once your stone is sealed, cleaning is easy.  However, stone that has not been sealed is virtually impossible to clean with out a professional.   Several companies make tons of cleaners and tools to aid in the process of cleaning stone.  However, all these products are confusing and most are not formulated for stone.  Additionally, many over-the-counter cleaners weaken and breakdown the sealer, causing your stone to get dirtier faster.   For example, cleaners containing vinegar, bleach, ammonia, lemon and other acids attack sealers, may etch your stone, or discolor the surface.  For this reason, We recommend StoneTech’s cleaners for your solution.  StoneTech only makes cleaners and sealers designed specifically for stone.  StoneTech offers three cleaners: Revitalizer, Stone & Tile Cleaner and Klenz All.     

When to clean: 
I recommend cleaning in three steps; spot cleaning, daily/weekly cleaning, and monthly/quarterly cleaning.  Spot cleaning includes using StoneTech’s Revitalizer Wipes or Spray to clean spills and countertops.  We recommend moping your floors Daily and/or weekly with StoneTech’s Stone and tile cleaner.  About once a month, we recommend cleaning your stone with Klenz All diluted as prescribed on bottle.    

This is the most common question I get asked.  Everyday I am asked by customers, potential customers, my friends, and even family.   After spending all my childhood and my adult life on restoring marble and travertine, I guess it makes sense that I would have an answer good logical answer to this question.  However, I have more trouble answering this question than any other question.  Maybe it is my fear that my answer will not sound ‘good’ enough.  Mostly, I have difficulty answering this question in a simple way. 

A simple answer would be quick and to the point.  My customers, friends and even family (especially my wife :) do not want a long, drawn out answer.  So I decided that I would blog my full answer over the next several blogs.  I will try to base my responses on real stories and experiences in people’s homes.    

The first step in my opinion would be to prevent your floors from getting dirty.  Or shall we say, slow down the rate at which your floors get dirty. 

Step 1, prevent your floors from getting dirty:  There are simple steps one can take to ensure their floors stay clean longer.   Do not have kids is the first tip, just kidding.  Here are some simple ways to help keep your floors cleaner, longer.

• Before having people come over to your home, sweep the porch and walkway to minimize the dirt, rocks and debris tracked into your home. 
• How about them door mats that are full of dirt and grease sitting at your front and garage doors?  I have yet to see a homeowner that cleaned their mats regularly.  Have you ever noticed every mall, hotel and so forth have their door mats professionally laundered?  It makes big of a difference.
• Did you know that some people do not wear shoes inside their home?  Ok,  they wear house shoes.  Their floors almost never get dirty.  I know that it is impossible for most of us to be religious about not wearing shoes in the house.  So, just a thought, try getting your family to take off their shoes at the door when they are going to stay in the house for a long period of time. 
• Feel your floors with your hand after moping.  If you do this, over time you will start to get a feel for when your floors are really clean or they just look clean.  For example, I feel for the presence of grit stuck to the floor, stickiness, or an oily feel left by a cleaner.  An oily feel will cause your floors to attract dirt.
• “Shinny floors are clean floors!”  I hear this all the time and so many people use cleaners that makes their floors look shiny.   This can actually make your floor dirtier faster and make it harder to clean your floors later.   Why?  These cleaners have wax or an alternative chemical that works like wax (also known as; “no wax” cleaner).  If you use these products, be sure you get your floors very clean before using.  Why again?  The wax or ‘no wax’ chemical will bond with the dirt or grease on your floors.  Now you have dirt and grease waxed into your floors.  The only way to remove it is to have the floors stripped.

The other day, I asked a major Custom Homebuilder in the North Tarrant area if he had anyone who sealed stone.  He said, “No, my clients (custom home buyers) do not normally want the stone sealed.  They like the stone to be look and age naturally.”  He went on to suggest that stains and dirt added to the character of the stone.  To which I replied, “I agree that most of my customers do like the natural look of stone; however, they do not like to walk across their floors and have their socks turn black.  We have sealers that prevent dirt and grease from bonding to the stone while maintaining the natural look.”  His response, “If a home owner requests sealer, then I will run down to HomeDepot or lowes and wipe some on.”   I have two issues with his last comments that I would like to share. 

(Tactfully, I did not go on to disagree with him or try to prove him wrong.  Bottom-line: Builders do not seal floors 95% of the time.  I can not blame them.  Sealing does not add value to the sale of the home.  So I ended the conversation and decided to discuss it with him later.)

What he said in that last comment is a common mistake of Do-it-yourself people.  Let me say that ‘you can do it, but Home depot can not help.’   The sealers sold in these stores are less quality than the sealer purchased at a Tile Store.  The sealer at Home Depot/Lowes is half the strength of what is sold in Tile stores. 
My thought, why invest money on a stone floor to put a lesser sealer on your stone.  Most do it out of the convenience.  I am hoping to make it easier on you to buy quality sealers and cleaners off our website, coming soon.

You might be wondering why they sell a lesser sealer than the tile stores Here is why???  If you can find a tile store to sell you the exact same sealer as they (Home depot/lowes) are selling for a $1 less, you will get an additional 10% off the competitor’s price.  It is company policy at these stores to give an additional 10% off if you can find it cheaper.  Thus, selling a lesser sealer, Home Depot/Lowes does not have to give a 10% discount. 

Morale of the story, buy from a tile store.  Or, try your luck to get a tile store to sell you the product at $1 cheaper than the Home Deopt/Lowes.

 [Sealed Travertine Floor]

The second issue I have is that he would ‘wipe on some sealer.’  This is a very common mistake by installers and Homebuilders.  When they are asked to seal stone, they use as little sealer as possible.  Just last month, a customer in Highland Village said her installers used less than 1 quart of sealer from Lowes (the cheap stuff) to seal approximately 800 sq ft of Travertine.  After completing work on her floor, I used over 1 gal of sealer on her floors (pictured above). 

To the do-it-yourself readers, saturate the stone for several minutes before wiping the stone dry.  The intent is not to see how much money you can save on sealer.  Remember, the goal is to get the best protection for your stone against stains and spills.

I say all this in hope that you can avoid these pitfalls of buying and owning stone. 

As a stone restoration professional, I get several questions from my customers about stone.  Often, my customers ask me if their granite countertops should be sealed.  

   

A well respected company in the Stone industry did some research on the matter of sealing Granite.  StoneTech Professional’s researchers conducted an in-house study on the effects sealing has on the Biocontamination levels in natural stone.  The results were astounding.  The test consisted of measuring the bacteria levels of the stone prior and after placing various baking ingredients (listed below) on the stone.  The bacteria contamination level was increased over 18,000% on unsealed granite and 9,000% on the sealed granite.  When these two surfaces were cleaned with a stone cleaner, the unsealed granite bacterial contamination level was NOT reduced to a satisfactory level required by food processors.  The sealed granite contamination levels were low enough to be considered ‘clean’ by food processors using only distilled water.    I usually tell my customers, sealing your granite is needed to prevent illness and potential sickness.   

For the do-it-yourselfer, I recommend investing $55 dollars and about 3 hours of your time to ensure your granite countertops and your health is protected from bacteria and other food bourne illnesses.    Here is how to seal your new granite countertops yourself:  I recommend buying a quart of StoneTech’s Bulletproof found at most tile stores for about $55.  One quart should be enough to seal the granite in most homes.  Make sure the stone is cleaned and free of construction debris.  Saturate the stone.  This is the step where most companies (tile installers, builders, and remodelers) make a mistake of trying to conserve sealer to save money.  Keep the stone saturated for 15 minutes.  Finally, buff the sealer into the stone until the film is gone.  Do not allow the standing sealer to dry on the stone past 15 minutes.     

The bacterial contamination samples were allowed to sit in a warm humid environment for two days.   The samples consisted of a combination of:
·        Chicken
·        Liver
·        “Blood” liquid from a piece of beef tripe
·        Grapefruit juice (well past the expiration date)
·        Whole milk (well past the expiration date)
·        Roquefort cheese. The contamination levels were measured using a bioluminescence hygiene monitoring system, similar to those used to measure cleanliness in milk and other food processing plants. For more about StoneTech Professional and there research, I encourage you to visit them at  www.stonetechpro.com.