Which Product Should you not use when Cleaning Limestone Flooring?
You should never use an acidic product on limestone flooring because the acid can break the limestone down. Limestone is a crystal form of calcium carbonate (CaCO3) & calcium carbonate is the scale you see on your showerhead or kettle. So, if you use acid to clean a limestone floor, you are in real danger of damaging it. Just picture scale fizzing away when descaling a showerhead. Please note, acids include vinegar & lemon juice which are often incorrectly recommended on social media.
Acids should only be used on a limestone floor by a professional & insured flooring contractor; they can use acid to dissolve the top layer of a damaged or badly stained limestone floor. Please note, floors cleaned with acid become porous and therefore harder to clean.
Whether your floor is classified as limestone, marble or travertine, we recommend that you do not use acid to clean it.
Is Limestone Porous?
The short answer is yes; limestone is very porous and your flooring contractor should have recommended sealing it. Unsealed limestone can be tough to clean as the micropores in the surface will have suck dirt in.
What Product Should I Use to a Clean Limestone Floor?
We recommend using a product that has a neutral ph. Floorit is a brilliant neutral floor cleaner, fantastic at cleaning marble, limestone, granite, laminate, wood and more.
- Before getting the floor wet, always thoroughly vacuum or sweep the floor.
- Dilute Floorit into your mop bucket. If you are using a 5 litre bucket, use 120ml of chemical.
- Start in the corner of the room furthest from the door.
- Dip your mop into the mop bucket, wring the excess water and begin mopping the floor.
- Once you have mopped the floor, please leave it to dry before walking on it.
Floorit has a sophisticated self-levelling formulation; This means that it dries quickly and evenly, without leaving patches, smears or mops marks.
What do I do if my Limestone Floor is Already Stained?
If a stain has soaked into your limestone floor, try leaving diluted Floorit on the area for 10 minutes & then use some kitchen towel to dry the floor thoroughly. If this does not work, try using a dry steam machine – sometimes the micropores are so small in an unsealed floor that steam can get in where a liquid cannot.
Unfortunately, sometimes stains are impossible to remove; have you ever noticed the beetroot aisle in a supermarket? The juice will have soaked into the marble chips that appear are in the terrazzo floors used in supermarkets.
How To Keep Limestone Flooring Clean
We have recommended the best product to use to clean limestone flooring, but is there anything else you can do to help keep your limestone floor better for longer?
- Seal any unsealed floors. In our experience, the best types of sealants, such as Lithofin, soak in. But, please get advice from your flooring supplier for your particular floor. Also, you must make sure your floor is pristine before you seal it, or stains will get sealed in.
- Always have mats near a door entrance/exit to stop visitors walking dirt in.
- If any spillages occur on limestone flooring, make sure you clean them straight away to avoid them staining the floor. Absorb any liquids immediately using kitchen roll & then clean the area with copious amounts of diluted Floorit.
- Sweep or vacuum the floor daily to pick up any dirt and debris.
- Identify problem areas e.g. in front of your cooker, sink or fridge. Clean these areas more frequently using a spray mop to save time.
Is there a particular method or product that you use to clean limestone flooring? We’d love to know.
