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travertine impregnate or not?

Article Number: 70 | Rating: Unrated | Last Updated: Thu, Jun 7, 2007 at 12:00 AM

we are installing travertine floors throughout. I want to protect them but want to leave them without a shine. I have read so much I'm totally confused as to what to do.Im glad I found your site before we finished them. Waht do I need to do. Thanks a million for your site and help.

You want to protect them?...

From what?... :-)

First off, you neglected to tell me if your travertine is polished or hone-finished.

Second, if it is protection from foot traffic that you;re seeking, if the tiles are polished (high gloss) there's something that you could do - if you're willing to work on a routine basis. If they are hone-finished instead, then there's not much that you can do.

Third, if you want to protect your travertine from accidental spills that may damage its surface (etching - wrongly referred to as "water stains"), then there's nothing on planet Earth that could help you what that.

Finally, if you want to protect it from possible staining (which is a remote possibility at best), if it is polished, it is not possible to impregnate your stone: just too dense, and if will never stain. If it is hone-finished do this:

Spill some water in a couple of spots of your floor, let it dwell for 10 minutes or so, wipe it dry and observe if the areas under which the water has been sitting have become (temporarily) any darker than the rest. If so, then you will apply a good-quality impregnating sealer. If not, don't bother.

It is vastly more important that you learn how to take care of your stone on a routine basis, rather than relying on the impossible and totally overrated "protection" that a sealer for stone can possible offer.

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.

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Thank you

Ciao and good luck,

Mauri z io Bertoli

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