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Highly polished and well maintained natural stone sure looks good in the form of counter or table tops in kitchens, drawing rooms, and bathrooms.

The question, however, is: How do you clean natural stone? Is a daily rub with a soft cloth enough? Or you need a light detergent and a soft brush to scrub it from time to time? The fact is how you clean natural stone depends solely on its natural characteristics and how it will react to your treatment.

Methods to clean natural stone

The best and most common way to clean natural stone, be it marble, granite, slate or sandstone, is to make a solution of water and soap that’s PH neutral, the type one uses in a dishwasher. Dip a soft cloth in it, squeeze excessive water out and gently rub the stone surface to get a shine. Even a solution of water and ammonia or a small quantity of bleach works well.

Ammonia, however, is a better choice because of its non-acidic nature and does not damage the stone. Never ever make the mistake of mixing both bleach and ammonia together as the mixture’s fumes are highly toxic when inhaled.

Tools to clean natural stone

To clean natural stone, you should ideally be using a soft cloth, sponge or a soft brush to prevent scratches on the stone surface.

Do the rubbing in circles, avoiding excessive pressure. Once the dirt has been removed, dry off the surface soon using a soft towel. Leaving it to dry by itself results in white spots sprouting all over. The shine, moreover, will be missing.

Stone floors of barbecue areas, which normally accumulate fat stains, are usually made of unpolished and rough stone, which may be highly porous.

Cleaning these with talcum powder surprisingly proves effective. Just sprinkle talcum powder generously over the stained areas and keep it covered for a while to allow the talcum to react chemically with the stone. Then take lukewarm water and a copper bristle hard brush to scrub the area. The process may be repeated if the dirt doesn’t disappear in one go.

You could also mix sodium bicarbonate with water to make a paste and smear it all over the area. Keep it covered for a while, allowing it to react and scrub off with hot water. Rust stains similarly, on natural stone may be tackled by using a concoction of salt and lemon juice.

A natural stone sealer is required to protect natural stones, otherwise known for their hardness and durability. However, if they aren’t maintained properly, they tend to be susceptible to attracting grime and also staining.

A natural stone sealer basically acts as a sealing agent, which prolongs the stone’s life while also protecting its looks.

Natural stone sealer: Types & variants

Two types of natural stone sealers are available in the market. These are topical sealers or penetrating sealers. A topical natural stone sealer is a coating that sits on stone tile surfaces to protect them from water, contaminates, oil, lubricants as also other liquids.

These produce a high gloss polish on the stone’s surface but may also darken it, altering its natural look. If you decide to use a topical natural stone sealer on stone flooring, the gloss resulting from it could lead to lesser slip resistance. Therefore, a non-slip additive needs to be used to ensure safety, particularly in kitchens and bathrooms.

This sealant type tends to wear out quickly also. This is, therefore, unsuitable for heavy traffic areas that have stone flooring. If topical sealants are applied to stone kitchen countertops, it needs to be ensured that it is suitable for use in an area where food is prepared.

Penetrating natural stone sealer

A penetrating natural stone sealer is also called an impregnating sealant. These are capable of penetrating a natural stone’s surface and protect it from staining and liquids.

An additional advantage is that impregnating sealants don’t alter the beauty of natural stone, which a topical sealant can. These are, however, incapable of protecting stone tile surfaces from abrasions and scratches.

As a penetrating natural stone sealer works below the surface of natural stone, it doesn’t erode quickly and, therefore, requires less maintenance as compared to its topical counterpart. In some cases, special cleaners may be required to work in tandem with a penetrating natural stone sealer.

Making the right choice

In order to make the right choice, you need to know your stone first. The general thumb rule is to use a topical sealer to protect porous stones like limestone, slate, and travertine.

On the other hand, a penetrating sealer works well with marble and granite, which are less porous. Also, if you want to maintain the natural look, using a topical sealer could alter the color. The best thing to do, therefore, is to ask your stone supplier what sealant to use.

Since concrete is the indispensable material for building anything from bridges to dams, a concrete repair service also becomes an inextricable part of concrete maintenance.

Moreover, there is a general complaint the world over that the quality of concrete used is gradually dropping, leading to faster wear and tear, which makes a concrete repair service all the more indispensable.

What does a concrete repair service do?

The principal responsibility of a concrete repair service is concrete restoration. Concrete, like any other material, is also subject to wear and tear over time.

This is particularly seen in garages, where the weight and vehicular movement couples with de-icing salts to put a huge amount of pressure on such structures, which start developing deep cracks with chunks of plaster falling off in patches.

This obviously calls for timely repairs to prevent further decay. A concrete repair service will also undertake restoration projects on floors, bridges, roadways, and any other concrete structure.

Role of a concrete repair service in concrete maintenance

The concrete repair service will first identify the cause of decay in the structure. This could be due to water seepage through failed joints or cracks, where chlorides and corrosive substances present in the water breaks down the concrete.

Another aspect that the concrete service repair team looks at is the ASR or alkali-silica reaction that causes concrete to erode in older structures. Once the cause and its intensity are ascertained, the team takes the appropriate measures for either repair or rebuilding.

Concrete repair service teams usually comprise trained and experienced civil and structural engineers who are experts in detecting other common problems like rebar corrosion, where the steel rebar that has been used to reinforce the concrete rusts and damages the latter; cracks, efflorescence, rust stains, delamination that sound hollow; concrete spalling; exposed aggregates, settlement, and discoloration.

The good news is that a trained and responsible concrete repair service will help you avoid a complete teardown of the existing structure. It will suggest an extensive repair operation with re-building of certain portions if required.

This will undoubtedly help you save substantially on costs with an assurance that further deterioration will be prevented, and the structure shall be given a new lease of life. This, of course, will ensure the safety of the structure, keeping it functional for years together in the future.