How to protect your natural stone floor this Christmas: Top Tips

Presents, Christmas Trees, Parties they’re all part of what makes Christmas special. Houses are usually cleaned top-to-toe to prepare for family and friends, lights are hung in windows to help spread Christmas cheer, food is stacked in larders ready for the festivities, but what do you do to protect your flooring with all the stiletto clad, timberland boot wearing, dancing queens and spilled drinks that this special season brings? If you’re like the majority- you’ve never really thought about protecting your floor- but the truth is you need to - or come the New Year you could be needing a new floor!

Here at Stone Deals we like to be as helpful as possible so here are few of our top tips to keep your natural stone floor and other types of flooring keeping clean and safe this Christmas:

1. Carry on with your usual routine of cleaning your stone flooring with a simple soft brush to wipe away daily dust, followed by a damp mop to lift and dirt. The biggest mistake people often make is to use acidic cleaners or popular brands on their stone floors or walls, but that will only erode the sealant and cause problems later on to your stone. If you have heavy footfall over the Christmas period - make sure you keep grit, dirt, decorations off the floor with regular sweeping. Having sharp decorations crushed into your stone floor, won’t be good for it - although it will withstand the battering, sharp edges could cut through the sealant, which may let liquid spill into it next time you mop or spill a drink.

2. Lay down mats or protective covers on the floor if you’re going to have a party where people will be dancing. Many people allow their guests to wear shoes in their home - that little black dress may not look as good if you’re wearing fluffy 5 year old slippers - if you’re too embarrassed to ask your guest to remove their shoes then you need to protect your floor. Stilettos may scratch the sealant on your floor, allowing liquid to seep through at a later date.  Sheets work well and can help stop wine and drinks leaking directly on to the stone, which may stain. I found this website below that may offer a colorful solution if old sheets and carpets aren’t your style.

http://www.alligata.co.uk/gbu0-catshow/correx.html

Hard Surface Protection Film 600mm x 50m Red

3. If you know you’re going to have a big party, then why not reseal your stone before the festivities begin. All natural stone needs to be sealed. We sell a full range of sealants on our website, one that work in harmony with our products. It is very important to follow the instructions on the sealer to help to maximize its protection. Before applying the sealant you must make sure that all the tiles are clean and dry - it’s imperative that the are. A sealer (sometimes called impregnator) is designed to be absorbed by the material and form a protective barrier against staining. You can either apply it yourself using the instructions on the back of the bottle or employ a specialist fitter to do it for you.

Give your stone tiles a buff before your buffet with Stone Deals’
LTP Floorshine Maintenance Product from £12.00 incl. VAT

Looking for an easy way to clean and protect tiles in one easy application? Then LTP Floorshine Maintenance Product is for you. It’s easy to apply in warm water and if you use it regularly it reinforces protection offered by LTP Ironwax satin. It will help resist dirt and grime, leaving you with tiles that are easy to maintain. Just order if off our website.

Want perfectly polished porcelain for your party? Then try Stone Deals’
LTP Waxwash Maintenance Product from £10.00 incl. VAT

Need a maintenance product for unglazed tiles? Then look no further than LTP Waxwash Maintenance product. It’s specially formulated for use on unglazed tiles such as travertine, stone, terracotta, slate and quarry tiles. Its linseed oil based soap is the perfect formula to mildly clean unsealed tiles and those sealed with Mattstone. You don’t even need to rinse it after use.

Need to revive your stone floor after the party? Try Stone Deals’
LTP Grimex Multi Purpose Intensive Cleaner from £10.00 incl. VAT

Got stubborn stains that you just can’t shift? Then get your hands on some LTP Grimex Multi-purpose Intensive Cleaner. It’s the easiest way to get rid of stubborn grime, old layers of wax or acrylic and even rubber sole marks on terracotta and natural stone tiles. It works well on both glazed and unglazed tiles. It’s an excellent product for renovating old quarry tiles, terracotta, slate, stone, marble and stone fireplaces. It will have your tiles back to new in no time.

Add some shine to your sexy slate tiles with Stone Deals’
LTP Ironwax Satin Slate Tile Sealer from £12.00 incl. VAT

Want your tiles to shine like new? Then apply some LTP Ironwax Satin Slate Tile Sealer. It’s a hard wearing ionised acrylic sealer and provides an easy to apply, self-shine clear surface seal on quarry tiles, terracotta, slate, stone, flagstone, encaustics, tumbled marble, terrazzo and unpolished marble. It works by enhancing the colour and texture of tiles and helps protect them against stains and stubborn dirt making them easier to clean.

4. Add a brush mat and shoes scraper outside your front door and encourage your guests to use it before they come in.

5. Invest in some new slippers in a variety of sizes and colours to encourage your guests to slip into them when they come in.

6. If you’re having DJ equipment  set up on your natural stone flooring, or a hot buffet table make sure you put mats underneath them to help protect the floor from scratching.

7. Mop up and spills straightway - red wine may stain more porous stone if it hasn’t been sealed correctly. (See below for our tips on removing red wine stains).

Other problems that may occur and how to treat them:

How do I get a red wine stain out of a white marble work top? At Christmas accidents happen. In fact it is apparently one of the worse times for them. The bets thing to do is to be prepared. As marble is porous the stain would have sunk into the stone. The quicker you take action the better. Here are a few ideas for you to try.

There’s a great stain remover called FILA SR/95 available from: www.filachim.com

It removes coloured organic stains like soft drinks and coffee. It actually penetrates the stone and goes deeper than nay other cleaning product. It has been specially designed to remove stains from marble and natural stones. And it won’t damage the finish on the rest of the marble work top. See the bottle for directions of use.

They sell a range of great solutions including products that can be used in an emergency, so they may be worth a visit. In fact, tell your friend they should definitely keep some of this in their cupboard, to help with stains next time:

http://www.filamarblerestorer.com/eng/

Or why not try?

Hg Stain Colour Remover 500ml for £8.99 including VAT available from www.diytools.co.uk

HG marble stain colour remover easily removes all kinds of coloured liquid stains such as coffee, tea, fizzy drink and red wine stains from marble, travertine or terrazzo.

Apparently you just spray the surface area well. Then allow ten minutes for the product to work in, and then remove with a sponge or hot water. Sounds easy enough.

Please be aware we highly recommend you talk to a specialist stain remover before trying any of our recommendations.

These top tips were bought to you by Stone Deals. For more information please visit www.stonedeals.co.uk