Landscape and Urban Design Issue 45 2020 | Page 20

LANDSCAPE SERVICES
TILE MAINTENANCE
ADVICE
BY LEIGH PRICE, MANAGING DIRECTOR
OF REAL STONE AND TILE
Leigh Price, managing director
of Real Stone and Tile gives an
expert insight into the cleaning and
maintenance of flooring.
With tiles in any environment,
cleaning and ongoing maintenance
to them is paramount to ensure
you keep a fresh appearance to
the flooring and allow the home
owner to prolong the life of their
investment.
Identification
The key consideration before any
cleaning or maintenance is the
identification of the surface type
which is crucial to ensuring that the
correct treatment is received.
Whether the tiles are ceramic, natural
stone, porcelain or slate etc the
cleaning and maintenance needs to be
slightly adapted to suit. For example,
limestone alone varies greatly in
porosity dependent on age, shape
and size, therefore the absorbency
of any natural stone surface will
need to be established. This can be
tested simply by placing a teaspoon
of water on a clean, completely dry
tile and timing how long the water
takes to be absorbed. If the water is
absorbed into the tile within the five
minutes, the level of porosity is high.
An absorbency time within fifteen
minutes indicates a medium porosity
and water taking within one hour or
longer to be absorbed shows a low
level of porosity.
Sealing
When considering the amount of
traffic passing over the flooring,
it is necessary that the area is
protected using a suitable sealant
to reduce the risk of any damage
and to also help towards the ease
of maintenance. However, before
a sealing product can be used it is
vital that the surface is free from
any dirt or grime and is completely
dry. Failure to correctly prepare
the flooring can result in the
effectiveness of the sealant being
compromised.
The variety of sealants on the
market is large, whether you want to
leave a glossy finish, matte finish or
enhance the colour of the flooring
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