Stone Polishing Revamps This Elegant Travertine Floor in Gaithersburg, Maryland and Makes It Shine Again

June 07, 2016

When this Maryland homeowner was looking for her dream home, she knew that she wanted a spacious kitchen with travertine floors. Travertine is one of the stones that homeowners love the most because of its ability to complement almost any area of a home, and when this homeowner finally moved into the house of her dreams, she invested in beautiful travertine tiles that enhanced the elegance and modern look of her kitchen. Life was good – until the problems began. She began to notice that the beautiful stone was scuffed and matte, and the grout lines were dark. What was once the most beautiful area of her home was now an awful sight.



The homeowner was starting to think that she would need to replace the expensive travertine tiles and that its beautiful shine was lost forever, but she remembered that one of her neighbors also had travertine floors in her home. So, she asked her if she could recommend a reliable Gaithersburg stone polishing service. Luckily, her neighbor pointed her in Sir Grout Washington DC Metro's direction and she scheduled a free evaluation, hoping that we could give her a solution that didn't involve replacing her travertine tiles.

When Sir Grout performed the evaluation, they asked the homeowner about the cleaning methods and products she normally used and quickly identified the culprit of the lackluster travertine floors. It turns out the homeowner had been cleaning her travertine floors with acidic agents that unbeknownst to her, were dissolving the stone, making it lose its shine. One of the most common mistakes homeowners make when cleaning stone floors is thinking that any cleaning product will work, but this could not be further from the truth as the homeowner had come to realize. The reality is that even though travertine is durable, it is highly sensitive to acidic substances because of its composition. Acidic agents such as vinegar, lemon juice, and acid-based cleaners react with the calcium-carbonate found in stones such as marble and travertine. This chemical reaction dissolves and etches the stone, making it lose its shine in the process.

The homeowner was very frustrated when she learned that this was what caused the problem, but she hoped that it wasn't too late to save it. Our experts assured her that this was not the case since the floor's sheen could be restored with a thorough polishing service, and her grout lines could be refreshed with our proprietary sealant, ColorSeal. She was glad to hear the good news and was looking forward to the day of the job.



Before they started the important task ahead, the team made sure to set up plastic around the kitchen and the baseboards to protect them, as you can see in the picture above. Now, they were ready to start the job. The first step was to hone the entire kitchen floor with a buffing machine to smooth the stone, removing any imperfections caused by the acidic substances. Next, it was time to refinish the stone. They used buffing compounds of a higher grit to give a lovely, glossy finish to the floor. The floor looked amazing, but the job still required one final step – applying ColorSeal to recolor and protect the grout lines from water, stains, mold, and mildew, which would make the cleanup process easier for the homeowner.

It was time to reveal the final result to the homeowner. As soon as she saw it, she was stunned by the beautiful, bright floor. It shined like never before. She was very thankful for the team's hard work and attention to detail, noting how they took the time to protect her kitchen. Before the Sir Grout experts left, they advised her to use neutral and soap-less cleaners on her floor to keep the floor beautiful and shiny.

Is your travertine floor losing its luster? It might be time to schedule a professional polishing service. Give us a call at (703) 997-8552 or fill out the form below to schedule your free evaluation.

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