Can’t You Just Clean My Stone (Rather than Restore it)?
If the stone’s surface has become damaged, you will not get a result through cleaning alone. Stone is a porous product, once stains and other contaminants have penetrated the stone, cleaning will be unable to remove these imperfections. Likewise, if the surface of the stone has been etched (burned), cleaning will not deliver a result. In both these cases, the stone needs to be cut-back, by way of polishing or honing in order to restore it’s appearance.
Will Sealing my Stone Prevent Staining?
Sealing your stone will aid in stain prevention. Penetrating sealers do not provide a totally impenetrable barrier. They do, however, provide reaction time to deal with spills. If you leave the spill to sit long enough it will eventually start to penetrate the stone, causing staining.
Further, sealing stone does not prevent damage due to etching. Acid based spills such as wine, vinegar, urine etc will actually burn (etch) the surface of the stone. Acid based spills must be cleaned immediately to prevent damage.
Does Sealing my Stone make it Maintenance Free?
No, stone requires regular maintenance with suitable cleaning products. Sealing stone reduces the level of porosity and provides reaction time to deal with spills, but the tiles still need to be cleaned and maintained regularly with a PH-Neutral cleaner.
If you have had your grout replaced with our specialized polyester resin, you will not have to worry about discolouration of your grout ever again. The polyester resin is impervious (non-porous) so will not stain or discolour over time. The surface of the resin will still need to be cleaned to remove dirt from the surface.
Should I Re-Tile or Restore?
When to restore:
- When your stone surface has become stained, dull, etched, or discoloured.
- When your stone has become damaged, cracked, chipped, or scratched.
- When day-to-day cleaning is not giving a satisfactory result.
When to retile / replace:
- When budget permits – retiling is the most expensive option by far.
- When time allows – retiling results in the most “down time”. For many, the mess and inconvenience of re-tiling is unappealing.
- For areas not suited to restoration.