Maintenance
Being the proud owner of a natural stone floor you want to enjoy its beauty for years and therefore a specially adapted and adequate maintenance regime is necessary.
First cleaning
Maintenance starts with a first cleaning about 1 week after the grouting of the floor. This cleaning has to be carried out only once with a suitable cleaner (e.g. Lithofin MN Power Clean). Important: always use an acid-free product! Allow the floor to dry thoroughly during the next months. The drying time depends on the thickness and the moisture in the underground and also on the type of natural stone you have chosen. Normally this takes about 3 months but for some organoclastic limestones (especially Jura) this can take 6 to 9 months. During this period it is important to use only a little water to mop the floor to allow the surplus moisture to evaporate from the tiles; also use a product that does not seal the pores of the stone (e.g. Lithofin MN Easy Care Cleaner). This product is always added to the wash water and can be used for future regular cleaning.
Protection
We advise to certainly protect your natural stone in sensitive areas such as kitchen or bathroom. A sealer product keeps your natural stone better protected against acids, oil and water. Attention: inform yourself very well which sealer is suitable for your natural stone.
For dark and hard natural stones we recommend to use Lithofin Stainstop “W”. Lithofin Stainstop is more suitable for paler natural stones. If you want to darken the colour of the floor we recommend Lithofin Stainstop Plus.
For Belgian Bluestone and Asian Blue the specially developed product Lithofin MN Bluestone Cleaner has to be used.
With multicoloured slates you can use Lithofin MN Colour Intensifier allowing the natural colours of the stone to be seen and thus becoming more colourful. Other slates can be sealed with Lithofin MN Slate Oil.
In order to protect the finish of the stone (honed, polished, satino, sablino, rustico, …) a periodical care treatment can be carried out (1x or 2x per month) with a suitable product (e.g. Lithofin MN Care Seal). The antico finish of the stone can be protected with a suitable wax (e.g. Lithofin Antique Wax).
Maintenance in a nutshell
Regular maintenance can be done by just cleaning with water, however it is recommended that you add a suitable maintenance product to the wash water (e.g. Lithofin Easy Care Cleaner) for regular cleaning. In order to protect the finish of the stone a periodical care treatment can be carried out with Lithofin MN Care Seal. For exceptionally dirty surfaces and stubborn marks, a suitable acid-free product can be used (e.g. Lithofin MN Power Clean).