Stone Restoration Sacramento: Hold the Vinegar Please

Stone restoration Sacramento means knowing what to do as well as not to do.  And there is a lot of misinformation out there.

Vinegar and Stone Restoration Sacramento

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The problem that we have in the stone restoration business is that we have to counter a lot of bad information.  A few self-proclaimed home experts will give advice that we find appalling, particularly considering the level of damage that it can cause.  For example, we recently read a post that stated with absolute conviction that a good way to clean a marble or travertine floor was to use a little bit of lemon juice or white vinegar mixed with water.

Marble and travertine are forms of limestone, or calcium carbonate.  While fairly durable, both of these stones are extremely reactive to anything acidic.  Don't believe us?  Look up Hannibal crossing the Alps.  He dissolved limestone boulders using casks of vinegar.  Rome has a problem with acid rain, and as a result, has had to spend a small fortune in stone restoration costs to bring the statues in the Trevi fountain and other places in the city back to their former glory.  With all that said, you think that the word would get out, but it hasn't.   However, it isn't just vinegar that can damage your stone, a lot of ordinary things can as well.

Stone Restoration Sacramento: Tip of the Day

What do coffee, wine, orange juice, lemonade, and limeade all have in common?  They are all highly acidic.  We had a customer with an expensive marble floor in her home in El Dorado Hills.  She spilled a cup of coffee and didn't get to it right away, and came back to it later to find that it had eaten into her floor.  Fortunately she called people who do stone restoration in Sacramento, namely us, and we were able to bring it back to its former level of shine.

When you're dealing with natural stone, what you don't know can hurt your floor.  When in doubt, call in experts with stone restoration Sacramento.

Get Stone Restoration Sacramento Today

C & G Stone Restoration
260 Sumatra Drive
Sacramento CA, 95838
916-924-5930
http://www.stonerestorationsacramento.com

Marble Cleaning and Stone Restoration Sacramento

Marble cleaning is all a part of stone restoration Sacramento. Marble floors are a challenge if you don't know what you're doing.

Stone Restoration Sacramento: Cleanser and Water

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There is a right way and a wrong way to clean your marble floors. If you ask three flooring experts on what to do, you'll doubtless get at least three different answers. Some are harmless, such as cleaning with a neutral pH cleanser. Others, such as cleaning with vinegar or lemon juice can cause damage to your floor.

First off, know that marble is a natural stone so it does not require the same treatment as something like say, linoleum or ceramic tile. Marble is surprisingly vulnerable to certain chemical reactions, particularly if you use the wrong chemical to clean it. However, as we also know in the stone restoration business, it isn't just the cleansers that are the problem. Sometimes it is the water. Municipal water sources are usually high in trace minerals, essentially hard water. However, the method that they use to soften water usually involves salt, which can leave stains. In addition, a great many city water sources also contain trace amounts of chlorine, which is highly acidic.

Cleaning Marble Floors: Wrong Vs. Right Methods of Stone Restoration Sacramento

First off, to avoid clouding, make sure that you are using purified or distilled water to clean your floor. Don't use tap water. Next, make sure that you are using a cleanser that is specifically designed for marble, If you wish to hone or polish your floor, do some research as to what pads you should use to grind your stone, or call in a company that does stone restoration Sacramento.

What you don't know about marble can hurt your floor. When in doubt, do not try to do it yourself. Call in a company that stone restoration Sacramento

C & G Stone Restoration
260 Sumatra Drive
Sacramento CA, 95838
916-924-5930
http://www.stonerestorationsacramento.com

Stone Restoration Sacramento Part 2: More Stone Types

Stone restoration Sacramento is based on the type of stone that you have.  In part two of our series, we explore granite and slate.

Granite and Stone Restoration Sacramento

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When you're looking into stone restoration Sacramento, as we said in an earlier post, you have to know your stone. So how do you know if you have granite? First off, here's a definition of granite from Wikipedia "Granite /ˈɡrænɨt/ is a common type of intrusive, felsic, igneous rock which is granular and phaneritic in texture. This rock consists mainly of quartz, mica, and feldspar. Occasionally some individual crystals (phenocrysts) are larger than the groundmass, in which case the texture is known as porphyritic. A granitic rock with a porphyritic texture is sometimes known as a porphyry. Granites can be pink to gray in color, depending on their chemistry and mineralogy. By definition, granite is an igneous rock with at least 20% quartz by volume." [READ MORE]
Because it is harder than a lot of other stone, it isn't as vulnerable a stone as say marble or travertine are.  As for care, granite requires very little in the way of stone restoration done to it, except for an odd bit of polishing.  Slate on the other hand requires a bit of extra care

Cleaning Slate and Stone Restoration

Slate is a hard stone, much like granite, but you must use a bit of care with slate as it is also a relatively brittle stone.  It's normal for example for slate to produce flakes when you first put it in.  If you grind slate too hard, you can conceivably break the stone.  If you are unsure, call in a stone restoration service to help you.

Your stone is an investment in your home.  As such, take care of it.  Know what you're doing before you start, or call in a service that does stone restoration Sacramento.

This concludes part two of our series on stone restoration Sacramento.  Be sure to read part one as well.

C & G Stone Restoration
260 Sumatra Drive
Sacramento CA, 95838
916-924-5930 
http://www.stonerestorationsacramento.com