Travertine Tiles with their soft pastel shades and unique patterns cast a spell. The luxurious stone is a favourite in all residential projects and remains high on demand throughout the year. You spend a lot of time selecting the best tiles for your property but later realize they start looking worn out or faded after some time. Sounds familiar? Well, that's the reason why you should seal Travertine Tiles. Here are some insights on how and when to do it, so that they keep looking new and beautiful.
Why seal Travertine Tiles?
Let us remind you again that Travertine is a natural stone with pores and fissures on the surface. Imagine the damage these open pores can cause to your stone. Dust accumulation, water absorption, bacterial growth, mould, and permanent stains are the damages, just to name a few. Sealing the stone will block the pores and create a barrier between the stone and the possible stains. This applies to all natural stones.
Travertine tiles in outdoor applications like patio, alfresco, stairways or pool side, particularly need sealing to prevent moisture damage and stains. The same applies to indoor Travertine tiles.
When to apply a sealant on Travertine Tiles?
The first time to apply sealant is during installation. Thereafter, Travertine Tiles should be sealed periodically, depending on the usage, cleaning frequency, and traffic. The regularity of sealing can vary between one to three years. Of course, you would apply a sealant as soon you detect damages or change in colour of Travertine.
Preparation before sealing
- Make sure the tiles are dust-free before you seal them. Also, remove the wax-coating if any.
- There should be no pre-existing stains on them. Sealing a stained stone will make the stain darker and permanent. Who wants that? Use pH-neutral cleaner to clean grease build-up or stains from the tile surface.
- Similarly, the subfloor or installation surface needs to be clean and free of debris. If any loose item like nail, wire, or coin gets stuck in the thin-set bed, they might rust and stain the back of the tiles.
How to apply a sealer to Travertine Tiles?
- Typically, the sealant should be applied with a brush, sprayer, cotton towel, sponge, or cloth pad.
- A minimum of 30 minutes of drying should be allowed between applications of two or more coats. Once the final coat is applied, you should ideally wait for 3-4 hours for the sealant on the surface to dry up.
- Make sure that you wipe off the sealer if it does not get absorbed by the tiles within 5 minutes of application. Use an absorbent paper/towel or microfiber cloth to clean the sealer.
- The ideal time to allow the sealant to dry after applying sealant is 48 hours in the case of Travertine floor tiles. This will let the sealing to cure and bond with the pores of the stone.
- You can test the sealing with few drops of water. If the tiles have not absorbed the water and did not change their colour, the sealant has been successfully applied.
Post sealing
Post application of sealer, Travertine Tiles last longer. Here are easy tips to maintain Travertine floor. Just be careful to not use strong chemicals or bleach to clean Travertine as they may cause discolouration, staining, and permanent damage to the surface. Even after sealing, you would need to clean up spills immediately, especially liquids like red wine, juice, soda, oil, or paint. Though sealing makes the tiles impermeable, such liquids may cause them to darken or lose colour in patches. Regular cleaning of Travertine tiles will help keep chances of dust accumulation or debris formation at bay.
Summing up
Travertine is not as durable as Granite. However, if properly cared for, it lasts an eternity. Sealing is the most effective way to preserve the stone for a long duration.
With so many stone options to choose from, homeowners swear by the opulence and style of this natural stone. Stone Depot Sydney has a large collection of Travertine tiles and pavers for all residential and commercial needs. Do visit our online store to pick the best one for your project.
*Disclaimer: All information and advice given above in the blog are to the best of our knowledge. Please reconfirm at your end before execution.
