What are the DO’s and DON’Ts of Slate?
- DO clean up spills immediately to minimize damage to your stone.
- DO use trivets or mats under hot dishes and cookware.
- DO use place mats under china, ceramics, silver and other objects that can scratch your stone’s surface.
- DO use coasters under glasses, especially if they contain alcohol or citrus juices.
- DON’T wait to clean up spills on stone.
- DON’T use cleaners that contain acid such as bathroom cleaners, grout cleaners or tub cleaners.
- DON’T use vinegar, bleach, ammonia or other general-purpose cleaners.
- DON’T use abrasive cleaners such as dry cleansers or soft cleansers.
- DON’T use alkaline cleaners not specifically formulated for stone.
- DON’T use scouring powders and abrasives because they will scratch the surface.
- DON’T clean at high pressures.
Slate Floor Sealing and Cleaning Techniques
Slate floor sealing and cleaning techniques truly depend on the current condition of the slate floor. Either your slate floor has either been previously sealed (uncoated) or previously coated (coating is still applied).
Slate Floor Cleaning
Bare (Uncoated) Slate Flooring requires the use of a light abrasive and slate cleaner to loosen the debris and dirt from the slate stone flooring and grout. Previously coated slate flooring will require the appropriate grit strength to remove and debris or surface dirt and prepare the slate flooring for resealing.
Our powerful cleaning and slurry removal system is key to providing the best slate floor sealing and cleaning possible to ensure a clean and even slate floor sealing application.
Our custom abrasive process, the top portion reveals so much color. As you can see in our Before & After photos, you can see first hand the quality of our slate floor sealing and cleaning work.
Slate Floor Sealing
There are two sealing options for your slate floors: penetrating sealers or topcoat/surface sealers.
Penetrating sealers soak into the slate flooring and function to fill the pores of the state stone to make it less absorbent. Sealing your slate floor less absorbent keeps spills and debris on the surface of the slate flooring only. Some penetrating sealers are mixed with oils that will darken and enrich the natural colors of the slate floor. The penetrating sealer will keep liquid spill on the surface of the slate stone rather than soaking in.
**Remember, slate flooring is a natural stone and porous, and staining is still possible depending on the source of the spill**
Topcoat sealers bring out the shine of the natural stone and allows the colors of the slate flooring to really show through. Topcoat sealing of slate floors is a two step process: (1) application of a chemical resistant sealer to prevent liquids penetrating the slate, (2) application of an acrylic sealer. It is very important that topcoat sealers are maintained properly or they will lose restorability. In some cases the coating may need to be stripped. Stripping is removing as much of the coating as possible and makes restoration more difficult as well as adding expense to the project.
**Important to note that topcoat/surface sealers do not last as long outside due to heat, sun, and water exposure. Maintaining the coating is the best way to protect the slate tiles from erosion.**