DirectStone Provides Professional Limestone Restoration Services
Soft, earthy tones, durability and elegance are the three qualities that make limestone one of the top selling stone floors. This beautifully textured stone adds a subtle palette of creams, beige, soft greys and browns to the home, and it’s relatively easy to keep clean on a daily basis. Whatever the footfall, your limestone floor won’t wear down; limestone is one of nature’s most enduring stones.
The soft and elegant lustre of limestone is due to its open pore structure. This also makes it particularly prone to staining as it absorbs dirt or liquids easily. Sealers will help to protect a limestone floor but it will still be susceptible to acidic staining and a dust build up in the pores. Over time, limestone floors can begin to lose their sheen and lustre, which signals the need for limestone restoration services
What are Limestone Restoration Services?
When limestone floors have been subject to sustained foot traffic for a while, the stone becomes covered with fine scratching and the pores fill with dirt and dust. This causes the surface of the stone to lose its reflective qualities, causing it to look dull. Restoration involves treating limestone floors with specialist grinding tools to remove the scratched surface and reveal the clean stone below them.
Limestone Floor Restoration
At DirectStone we pride ourselves on our detailed understanding each unique type of stone. Over the past two decades our stonemasons have brought thousands of limestone floors back to life. The process is painstaking. They will use specialist poultices to remove stains caused by oil or acidic substances. Cracks are repaired, etch marks are removed and – once the floor has been restored using specialist grinding machines – it is resealed.
Cleaning Limestone Floors Effectively
Just as you book your car in for a service each year, so you need to schedule regular professional limestone floor maintenance. This is best achieved with an annual deep clean and re-seal to maintain the soft lustre of the stone.
Your limestone floor will benefit from regular domestic cleaning. Here are our top tips for the daily maintenance of your stone flooring:
- Wipe Up Spills Immediately – the porous texture of limestone will stain more quickly than other stone surfaces. Take care to mop up any spills straight away, especially fizzy drinks or oil.
- Protect the Floor From Heavy Objects – limestone scratches easily and this cause it to dull over time. Put casters on chairs to stop metal legs scraping, and protect the floor from heavy objects by using mats.
- Don’t Use Cleaners That Contain Acid – bleach, or vinegar, coming into contact with limestone causes etching. This is a staining that looks like a cloudy, white watermark, and can only be removed through restoration processes.
- Use a Water Spray for Cleaning – if you allow water to sit on the limestone floor surface during cleaning it could discolour the grout. Spray a water and detergent mix instead, wiping away with a wet cloth. You can then buff with a dry cloth to restore the sheen.
- Vacuum the Floor Regularly – limestone floors can suffer from a build-up of dust in the stone’s naturally occurring pores. Regular removal of dust counteracts the potential clogging.
We’re passionate about polished flooring at DirectStone, so if you have any questions about your limestone floor, call us on 01525 20863920. We’re happy to give advice, or provide a quote for our limestone restoration services.
