travertine as kitchen countertop

i love the look of travertine slab for kitchen counter, BUT am told you can't seal it enough to prevent bad stains. Is this true? Also, it would be in an island with a cooktop installed in it. Thanks

 

Dear JB:

The sealing has absolutely nothing to do with it. Stains are not a problem with travertine. Acid etchings (wrongly referred to as “water stains”) are. And there's no sealer for stone in the entire Milky Way that could the first thing to prevent them.

But the bottom line is that the stone itself has little to do with it. It's rather a collective culture issue.

All throughout the Mediterranean basin marble is a very popular stone as a kitchen countertop and everybody enjoys it. (Limestone is not so popular, but certain types of limestone, including travertine, could be acceptable in relation of what follows.) In Northern Europe and all throughout North America, many like the way it looks, but nobody enjoys it!

How's that?

For the simple reason that In Southern Europe they never install a polished marble countertop (or a polished marble floor, for that matter). They start from a hone-finished surface and then they start using and abusing it and only care for it with a good-quality stone cleaner (like MB-5). The “worse” it gets, the better they like it! It's considered “aging.” It's like a pair of old blue jeans, if you know what I mean: a highly sought “lived-in” look.

While the looks of an old pair of jeans is very much appreciated in Northern Europe or in North America, too, the same principle does not seem to apply to stone. Most people over here expect their stone to look like brand-new all the time, and any “change” is not considered “aging”, but a damage that needs to be rectified.

Hence the problem.

The question now is: regardless of your geographical location, which one of the two groups do you belong to? J

May I ask you now to please read and e-sign our Statement of Purpose at: http://www.marblecleaning.org/purpose.htm?

Ciao and good luck,

Mauri zio Bertoli

 

www.marblecleaning.org – The Only Consumers' Portal to the Stone Industry Establishment!