sealing travertine shower

We are finishing the installation of a travertine shower, both the shower floor and walls as well as travertine on the bathroom floor. The travertine is does not have a high polish finish. Should we seal the travertine and if so with what, especially the shower since it will be subjected to soap, shampoo and conditioners? Thanks Mary B

 

Dear Mary:

Hoping with all my heart that your stall was installed correctly, may I ask you what is your idea of a sealer for stone?

Do you really think that if you apply an impregnator (a.k.a. sealer) to your stone the soap film will not accumulate on it??...

Or are you afraid that the soap could get absorbed by the stone???...

The performance of an impregnator is only marginal at best, especially with a stone as dense as travertine; but it should be pretty intuitive that even if it stands a chance to get absorbed by travertine, it would have nothing to do at all with the real vitally important issues, which are the way the stall is installed and its routine maintenance.

Assuming that your stall was installed properly, the issue of what you'll be doing day in and day out to your stone is far more important than the sealing 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 it from your dealer or installer. Don't become another statistic! By logging into the Helpful Hints section of our website at: http://www.marblecleaning.org/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.marblecleaning.org/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.

While you are in the “Helpful Hints” section, do spend some time reading all of the interesting FREE articles you'll find in there!

Finally, keep in mind that we need your support to help us helping you!

Will you please read and e-sign our Statement of Purpose at: http://www.marblecleaning.org/purpose.htm?     

By spreading the word about this valuable site among your friend & family and the stone trades' people you've been dealing with, you will be rendering everybody a valuable service!

Thank you  

Ciao and good luck,

Mauri zio Bertoli