Puppy urine on Travertine

Remodeled a home we purchased and put about 1000 square feet of on un-polished travertine. Our new puppy has had a couple of accidents. Even though I am usually quick to wipe up the urine, when I find it, it appears to have etched the surface and left a spot in the shape of the puddle. Is there an agent I can purchase to remove these spots. My wife is gettting very upset, especially since the stone is brand new in our new home.

 

Dear Phillip:

Tell your wife not to even think of getting rid of the puppy! (I'm sucker for dogs!...)

But you'd better learn how to get rid of those “stains”… (They are acid etchings.)

To eliminate etch-marks from a hone-finished surface like the one you have, all you need is some good ol' metal grade sand-paper. You can use it by hand, but you'd be better off if you had a small buffer to use it with. Hit the etch-mark with a 120 grit to start with, and then follow up with 240 and 400 grit. (Or maybe the 240 will do.) This will usually get a result pretty close to factory finish. If it doesn't, don't worry too much: a few weeks of foot traffic will take care of producing a perfect blending. Don't be happy with a few strokes: work each grit intensively and make sure to widen the area you're working on of at least 1” all around each grit. Pretty easy, wouldn't you say?... J  

If the stone had been sealed with an impregnator, it may need to be sealed again in the areas you worked on.

And if it is not a perfect match, a few weeks of foot traffic will take care of the blending.

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 .  

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Ciao and good luck,

Mauri zio Bertoli

 

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