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Stone is porous, so we seal from the inside
Travertine, marble, limestone, slate, flagstone and even granite are porous to different degrees. Oil, wine and dirty mop water soak in and leave a stain below the surface where a mop cannot reach it. A sealer slows that down.
The kind of sealer matters. A good sealer soaks into the stone and protects it from the inside out, leaving no coating or wax on the surface. That is the opposite of the floor waxes some homeowners are sold for a quick shine. Wax on stone looks uneven, soaks into the grout lines so the floor looks dirty, and soon begins to peel. Getting it off again takes strong products and a great deal of work.
Sealing follows cleaning. Start with natural stone cleaning if the floor has not been cleaned recently.
Stone we seal
- Travertine, the most common stone floor in Valley homes and highly porous
- Marble and limestone
- Granite, which still benefits from sealing
- Slate
- Flagstone on patios and walkways
When stone needs it
- After a professional cleaning
- When water darkens the stone quickly instead of sitting on top
- When spot cleaning is no longer keeping up with oily soil
- After a wax or coating has been removed
Sealing the grout in a ceramic or porcelain floor? That is grout sealing.
How Stone Sealing Is Done
Identify the Stone
Each stone absorbs differently and reacts differently to cleaners. We identify what you have before choosing a product.
Clean First
Soil and soapy residue are removed from the face of the stone and from the grout joints, so the sealer goes onto a clean floor.
Remove Old Coatings
Wax and shine products block a sealer. Where a floor has been coated, the coating is stripped first, which can be a job in itself.
Apply the Sealer
A penetrating sealer suited to your stone is applied and the excess removed, so nothing is left as a film on the surface.
What to expect from stone sealing
Before we arrive
Tell us what the stone is if you know, how the floor has been cleaned, and whether anything has been applied to it before, especially wax or a shine product. Clear small furniture and rugs. We move furniture as part of a full stone cleaning.
Getting back on the floor
A sealer needs time before the floor gets wet. The technician will tell you on the day when you can walk on it and when it can be mopped.
Honest limits
A sealer slows staining. It does not make stone stain-proof, and it does not stop etching. Etching is the dull mark left when something acidic, such as citrus, vinegar or wine, reacts with calcium-based stone like marble, travertine and limestone. That is damage to the surface itself and a sealer cannot prevent it; wipe acidic spills immediately.
A penetrating sealer does not add shine or fill holes, and it will not hide scratches, wear paths or existing stains.
From our job files
One Scottsdale floor had been waxed for shine and was peeling. The write-up shows why we never wax stone: the wax-removal job. For day-to-day care, see our stone maintenance guide.
