Travertine Flooring with grout film residue

I've just moved into a brand new condominium with travertine flooring. I need to A clean OFF the what dust (assume to be dried grout) and seal it?? I've called around for advise/quotes and have been recomended the following options.. a)"Polish" $ 2,600 b) "Crystalize" 1,000 OR c) "Sealant" for $900.00. Question: What is the difference/recommended and/or truly better for the travertine floor?

 

Dear Arys:

Let me try to get this straight.

Apparently you have a residue of grout film on your stone tile stone surface. If that's the case it has to be cleaned off. You call 3 professionals and they give your 3 different options.

1.       Polishing. Question to option 1: What on earth has polishing got to do with cleaning grout film residue?

2.       Crystallizing. (Ouch!) Question to option 2: What on earth has crystallizing got to do with cleaning grout film residue?

3.       Sealing. Question to option 3: What on earth has sealing got to do with cleaning grout film residue? (BTW, incidentally, it is impossible to actually seal polished travertine. But who cares?… The guy's going to smear something over your travertine tiles – without solving your problem one bit – and then will assure you that your travertine is now “protected” so that you can sleep soundly from now on… L )

Now, how about getting rid of those 3 professionals and hire an honest-to-goodness cleaning contractor with a professional floor machine and a hog-hair pad, and actually clean your tiles using a solution of warm water and an alkaline cleaner with chelates in his formula rated for natural stone, like MB-3. This of course, always taking for granted that grout film is really your problem.

Now remember, it's never too early to think about the proper maintenance of your stone. The issue of what you'll be doing day in and day out to your stone is – as it should be intuitive – vastly more important than its sealing (if and when possible and/or advisable) and it's all too often neglected. As you can tell by reading many of this site's postings, you're not likely to get good information about routine care from your dealer or installer. Don't become another statistic! By logging into the Helpful Hints section of our website at:  http://www.mbstone.com/HH_promo/helpful_hints.htm , you will be able to get the short version of our maintenance guidelines at no charge. The full version of it – a 7-page document considered by many as an industry benchmark – is available in pay- per-download format in our Educational Literature section at:  http://www.mbstone.com/literature/literature.htm .  

And remember, every single penny of the cost of the literature will be used to support this site and its cause: your cause.

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Ciao and good luck,

Maurizio Bertoli

 

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