Our Stamford Stone Cleaning Professionals Transformed This Floor from Dull to Shiny in No Time

July 14, 2017

A concerned homeowner contacted Sir Grout of Greater Fairfield County's Stamford stone cleaning professionals by entering his zip code on our online scheduling system to get a free evaluation and quote. He was talking to some friends about when he would host the next party, when he brought up how terrible his living room floor looked. He asked his friends if they agreed with him or if he was just being a "neat-freak." When they all told him that they had noticed the same thing, he realized it was time to find help. He had already tried cleaning it himself, but no matter what he did, he couldn't get it back to its shiny old self. One of his friends told him about Sir Grout of Greater Fairfield County doing a tile cleaning service in one of his company office spaces and thought we had done a great job.


When we called him to book the appointment for an evaluation and quote, he wanted to know if the living room floor of his home could be improved. He explained that it had been installed years ago and has been exposed to constant foot traffic because he enjoyed hosting parties at his place. He had recently noticed how dull the natural stone tiles looked and how dirty the grout lines were; he even started seeing some stains he hadn't noticed before. We explained that we needed to see the area to make a thorough evaluation and give him an accurate estimate on the cost and time it would take us to do the job. So, we set up a date to check out the area he wanted us to work on.

On the evaluation day

On the day of the appointment, we evaluated the state of the living room floor and confirmed his concerns. The stone tiles were, in fact, dull and the grout lines were dirty. However, the main problem was that many of the "stains" he told us about when we first discussed the job were actually etch marks. This type of damage cannot be fixed only by cleaning; depending on the finishing of the stone, it has to be done by honing and/or polishing the floor.

He asked us what etch marks were, and we were happy to explain that these appear on natural stones when the surface comes in contact with acidic or alkaline substances. In this particular case, it was probably due to spills. Wine and orange juice, for example, can etch natural stone surfaces. We clarified that an etch mark is an actual physical change in the stone, which happens when the acid or alkali react with the calcium carbonate present in most natural stones used for floors and other hard surfaces used in construction.

We proposed a course of action that included a stone and grout cleaning, followed by a stone honing and polishing, which he agreed to, and set a date to start the job.

On the restoration day

When the date arrived for us to carry out the job, we showed up bright and early at our client's house in Stamford. We started by masking off all the areas that needed protection before we started working on the floor. We then proceeded to clean the surface using our special stone cleaner and our state-of-the-art soft brush vertical scrubbing system, which is specially designed for cleaning delicate stone deeply. After the stone tiles and grout lines were thoroughly cleaned, we removed all traces of cleaner with a wet vacuum and proceeded onto the next stage.

The next step of this job was honing the floor to remove the etch marks and any other damage, and to smooth the tile surface. This resulted in a matted natural-looking stone surface. After the honing process, we proceeded to polish the floor until we obtained the finish that the client wanted. Once we were done polishing, we wet vacuumed again to remove any residue. Additionally, we had to fill in some small areas where grout was missing. Then, we buffed on our proprietary stone sealant, Stone Armor, on the entire surface. This is a natural looking, solvent-based sealant that works on all stone surfaces.

After the job was done

Once our job was completed, we showed the client the results. He couldn't hide his expression of approval and his words confirmed what we had already guessed—he was thrilled with the results! He asked us what he could do to keep the floor from reaching that state again. We explained that the sealant we had applied would protect the surface against foot traffic and spillage, but if or when any substance falls on the floor, it should be immediately cleaned, as acidic or alkaline substances can break the sealant over time and reach the stone. We also recommended the use of specialized natural stone cleaners for regular cleaning.

Keeping stone floors looking fantastic

Additionally, we explained that even though all our processes were conceived to be a lasting solution to hard surfaces' problems, these may still require a periodic deep clean maintenance plan to make sure they keep looking their best. That is why we offered maintenance plans, so that our clients can prevent stains and dirt buildup.

If you are looking for stone cleaning services in or around Stamford, give us a call at (203) 702-4896 or fill out the "Request a Quote" form on this page to set up a date for a free evaluation and quote. If you want to follow our work and keep up to date with our promotions subscribe to our newsletter.

If you found this article helpful then let us know in the comments section below. Likewise, feel free to share it using the share options below. Want us to cover another topic of your interest pertaining to Hard Surface Restoration? If so, then like us and follow us on social media, and post to any of our social media profiles the topic you'd like us to discuss: Facebook Sir Grout of Greater Fairfield County, Instagram @sirgrout, and Twitter @SirGrout.