To keep your stone floor looking as good as the day it was first installed you need to maintain it.
honed limestone floor
Follow these few simple rules and you will keep your floor in tip top condition for  years to come.
Rules
- Treat. Make sure your floor is well sealed by a professional as soon as it is laid. Often damage occurs whilst builders are still present, treading builders dust plaster etc. into untreated floors can be very difficult to extract later.
- New floors should be protected professionally as building work continues. Do not simply cover with hardboard, grit trapped between hardboard and the new polished floor surface will cause a lot of scratch marks. Use a soft layer between such hardboard and the floor surface and make sure you brush it clean first.
- Brush or dry mop regularly with a soft bristle dry brush or day mop, once a day is good but it really depends on how much use the floor gets. dirt and grit carried in on the soles of your shoes can take the shine off a floor. Keeping this grit and dust off the surface will prolong the shine and patina of your floor.
- Door matts. It is really good practice to put a door matt at outside entrances for people to wipe their shoes on to get rid of what dirt and grit you can.
- Furniture avoid dragging across the stone floor. This can cause scratches. best to put felt pads under metal casters.
- Plants should be placed on special base containers that are watertight. Water stains from plant pots can be very deep as often they go un-noticed for weeks.
- Cleaning detergents should be specially designed for stone floors that will not harm the surface. These will be PH neutral. Other detergents can cause a great deal of irreparable harm either because they re too acidic or too alkaline.
Tips
- Do use detergents that have been socially formulated for keeping your floor in pristine condition and read the instructions. PH 7 is a good neutral level.
- Do NOT clean with water only. Water contains all kinds of minerals and salts that can harm your stone. Do NOT use other detergents.
- Do damp mop the floor in small areas at a time. Be sure to change the water as soon as it looks dirty.
- Do NOT clean a floor using dirty water. This more than anything else will leave the floor streaky.
- Do use a designated mop for cleaning your floor and clean it after use. Store it carefully.
- Do NOT use a dirty mop. This will cause streaking. Do NOT get a dry dust mop wet.
- Do dry dust the floor before you wet clean it.
- Do NOT skip dry mopping before wet cleaning otherwise you are simply pushing the dirt into the floor
- Do have a cleaning schedule and a system you should follow, this keeps the maintenance process simple and trouble free.
- Do NOT skip cleaning days as this can lead to dirt buildup that is more difficult to cleanup.
- Do get a professional (Marble Arts) to clean the floor once per year. The extra machinery he can provide and knowledge will help maintain the floor as new.
Polished marble floor