Dear Laura:
“
It needs cleaning and ????
”
And… I don't know.
By saying slate you're saying very little – if anything at all. There are many different (and I do mean different) kinds of slate that span from dense and acceptable rocks, to slate that will actually fall apart under running water or foot traffic; or turn into mud, and everything in between.
So which slate do you have? (And even if you give me a name, chances are that I don't know what it is.)
Will it need sealing? Will it be better off color-enhanced? Will it be better off left alone?...
In most
One thing is for sure: as you will scratch your slate, a good-color-enhancer is the only possible fix to “repair” the scratches. And the same applies to etching of the surface of the stone, if your slate is – like many are – sensitive to acidic substances.
As for the routine cleaning, that's an easy one: a good stone floor detergent (never a stone soap!) like MB-1 is all you will ever need. Well, maybe once a year or so, over spring-cleaning or something, you may need to hit the most traffic-intense areas a little harder, with a heavy-duty alkaline cleaner rated “for natural stone”, like MB-2, which will clean the grout, too.
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
Article ID: 1192
Created On: Wed, Feb 13, 2008 at 10:23 AM
Last Updated On: Wed, Feb 13, 2008 at 12:00 AM
Authored by: Maurizio Bertoli [mail@mbstone.com]
Online URL: https://marblecleaning.org/knowledgebase/article.php?id=1192