QUESTION

How do I clean and re seal my Travertine tiles in the bathroom floors and shower? Travertine tiles installed about 5 years ago and I think I should clean and re seal it.

ANSWER

ANSWER - Depending on whether the travertine tiles have been maintained properly or not over the years, it may require a more in-depth cleaning; particularly if there is staining in the stone.

Generally speaking, on the floors you need to pick up and loose material by sweeping or vacuuming.  You then should use a soft bristle brush, to avoid scratching sensitive stones, with a neutral detergent or stone cleaner to clean the tile floors and shower walls.  Use a wet/dry vacuum to pick up the dirty water on floors.  Rinse the floors with clean water and pick that up with a wet/dry vacuum.  You can buff the floors dry with a lint free cloth that should look clean after drying the floor if you cleaned it properly.

In the shower you can just rinse the walls and floors with clean water down the drain and then buff dry it with a lint free cloth.

Allow the floors to dry for a day without being used, and once they are dry, then seal the stone with a penetrating sealer for stone.  Such as Miracle 511 Impregnator.  When you apply the sealer, make sure you wipe the stone surface dry immediately with a dry lint free cloth after applying it so the surface does not remain wet or tacky.   If you leave on the surface it can become tacking and be a maintenance problem.

You can also hire a professional stone restoration company who has a lot of experience do a thorough cleaning.  They can even re-polish the floor if it needs it.  Go to the CTaSC website to the Cleaners and Sealers Resource section to see a list of companies who provide stone cleaners: Cleaners and Sealers.