Stone and tile care: the cost implications of getting it wrong

This article was written by Gary Phillips – MD of Slique, Australasia’s stone and tile care experts.

Tiled surfaces – and particularly those using prestigious natural stone – are some of the most expensive surfaces that cleaning staff will be required to maintain. There are inherent risks with any surface, but the risks are magnified when the surface is highly sensitive to incorrect care, and extremely expensive to repair or replace should it be damaged.

In this article we look at some of the damage that is often caused by cleaners, and the cost implications for each scenario. It should provide excellent motivation to avoid these situations!

Cleaning marble with acids or abrasives

Acidic cleaners are common, widely-used, and very effective in the right circumstances. You’ll find a citrus cleaner in virtually any cleaning cupboard in the world, whether it’s at a home or a commercial property. And you wouldn’t dream of cleaning a toilet without a decent bowl cleaner. Even the ‘natural’ cleaning method of mopping with water and white vinegar is an acetic acidic mixture.

However many natural stones are calcium-based, which makes them highly sensitive to acids. Marble, limestone, travertine and basalt will all be damaged with exposure to any kind of acid, in any dilution.

The dilution fact is important: a neat acid will fizz on a calcium-based surface, so it’s easy to see that it’s going to react and cause damage. A diluted acid, on the other hand, won’t fizz. But that doesn’t mean it’s not causing damage. It will cause progressive damage across the whole surface, and repeated minor damage will add up to major damage over time.

The costs –   to replace: around $300 per m2 of marble

to restore: $30-$40 per m2 of marble (where restoration is possible)

The lesson – Understand which chemicals are acid/alkaline and what they can be used on, and ALWAYS read the label.

Cleaning a ‘granite’ floor that’s not actually granite

Granite is a hard-wearing stone that can be cleaned just like porcelain tiles or even vinyl. It’s easy and low maintenance. But granite’s distant cousin bluestone (or basalt) looks very similar, but is quite different in chemical composition. Bluestone will be damaged by cleaning methods that would be common-use for granite.

This is a particular problem in builder’s cleans. A post-construction builder’s clean removes grout haze, paint spills and other builder’s grime. The fastest, most effective way to achieve this is with an acid. On a granite floor, or porcelain or ceramic tiles, that would work fine; but on bluestone any acid is extremely damaging. For the most part this can be recovered, but sometimes it can’t.

In addition, if the acid isn’t neutralized properly it can remain in the stone, which means the next time it gets wet it will reactivate and cause more damage. Restoration can be difficult because it involves not only recovering the look of the surface, but also ensuring that every trace of acid has been removed so it can’t continue to cause damage each time the surface gets wet.

The costs -   to replace: up to $300 per m2 of bluestone

to restore: around $50 per m2 of bluestone (where restoration is possible)

The lesson -  don’t assume that a dark grey floor is granite – always find out for certain what a surface is before you clean it. And if using acid, always neutralize properly.

Overcleaning and “cleaning on clean”

There is absolutely no point cleaning something that’s already clean. It doesn’t achieve anything, and in the case of stone or tiles it is likely to be damaging the surface.

Overcleaning is also a vicious circle, because with each mop of an already-clean surface, chemical residue will be building up. The chemical residue will then attract more dirt and footprints, which will then need cleaning… leaving more chemical residue behind to repeat the issues.

Overcleaning also tends to contaminate the grout lines, which have a drastic effect on making a surface look dirty. Built-up chemical residue and contaminated grout lines require intensive restoration.

The costs –   to replace: not relevant, this can always be restored

to restore: $18-30 per m2

The lesson – be objective about whether stone or tiles need cleaning, and only clean if they’re actually dirty.

Protection methods gone wrong

When working with excess water or acidic chemicals near to an expensive stone surface, it makes good sense to protect it. But protection systems must be applied in the right way, or they will end up damaging the surface that is meant to be protected. The most common way to do this is by taping down plastic sheeting, but there are two key things to remember:

Tape should never be applied directly to the surface being protected – the adhesive in the tape is likely to be slightly acidic, and can react with the stone.

Tape should never been applied to seal the stone in plastic sheeting as this can ‘sweat’ the stone and cause discolouration and changes to the finish.

Protection systems are absolutely the right thing to do – just make sure you do it the right way.

The costs –   to replace: average cost about $300 /sqm

to restore: $35 – $80 / sqm

The lesson – don’t tape directly onto sensitive stone without testing, and make sure you leave gaps to allow it to breathe.

Failure to protect surrounding surfaces

While incorrect protection methods can cause damage, failure to protect can be just as costly to rectify. This issue is most common in showers, where cleaning shower glass or tiled bathroom walls with a chemical that is appropriate for those surfaces then runs down to damage a natural stone floor.

Chemical drippage might sound minor, and might only affect a small area, but it’s proportionally the most expensive issue if replacement is required. If a shower needs to be retiled, all the shower fittings have to come off, some of the wall tiles will need to come off, and all the waterproofing needs to be re-done which often extends under the rest of the bathroom floor too. So damage done only in the shower cubicle requires remedial work that extends into the whole bathroom.

The costs –   to replace: around $10,000 to retile a shower base

to restore: around $1,000 (if restoration is possible)

The lesson – be aware of surrounding surfaces and take appropriate steps to protect them when cleaning nearby

The cost implications of getting it wrong

Making a mistake on a stone or tile surface is costly. If it can be restored, the cost is minimized, but if it can’t and full restoration is required it can involve a massive remedial cost.

Where restoration is possible, the recovery costs usually run to around 10% of the cost of replacement. Sometimes they can be as high as 30%, but compared to the replacement cost this is still usually worthwhile.

If cleaners do damage to a surface, they are liable for the costs to rectify it. Insurance companies may cover single-event mistakes (like a spill). However if it’s a protracted event such as the ongoing use of incorrect chemicals, it may not be covered. Avoid expensive mistakes: understand what you’re cleaning, and how it should be cleaned – or better yet, how not to damage it!

For reference Slique’s website has Care Guidelines for each surface type to ensure safe, efective cleaning of every stone and tile type.

Slique can be contacted:

In Australia at www.slique.com.au, email info@slique.com.au or call 1800 754 783

In New Zealand at www.slique.co.nz, email info@slique.co.nz or call 0800 754 783

Photo:

Acidic glass cleaner has been used to clean the shower door, but the marble shower floor hasn’t been protected from the run-off chemical which has caused substantial damage.