Before choosing cleaning products for travertine floors, keep in mind that the stone generally does best with products that are pH neutral. Acids like vinegar, lemon, or other harsh chemicals like bleach can react badly with the stone and cause discoloration and permanent damage.
Don't use acidic cleaners, like vinegar, on travertine floors. The acid may eat away at the surface. Don't vacuum travertine floors, as you could scratch or chip them. Don't try to remove stains, polish, or deep clean your travertine floor.
DON'T: Use ammonia or vinegar to clean travertine
Certain acids or alkali in these chemicals may degrade the sealant, leaving the stone much more vulnerable to damages and staining. Take care not to overly drench or soak the mop in water, as the liquid may infiltrate the pores and cause mould to grow.
You can use a mild dish soap and water if natural stone cleaner is not available. Take caution to never soak the floor. This would allow water to seep into the stone and could result in stains. Use a soft dust mop and microfiber rag for cleaning.
Use 1- part baking soda to 4 parts borax and 8 parts water, mix in a spray bottle, spray onto your travertine tiles, then allow to work for 15 minutes. Use a small brush for cleaning grout stains. Rinse well.
If you are deep cleaning travertine, then you can use a strong alkali cleaner, but you must remember to rinse the floor well to remove all traces of the cleaner. If you are undertaking regular maintenance clean, then use a ph Neutral cleaner, preferably containing a small amount of stone soap or linseed oil.
Consider purchasing a floor cleaner formulated for travertine to use regularly. The label should clearly state if the cleanser is formulated specifically for travertine. Opt for a cleanser with a neutral pH of 7 or below. You can also use mild dish soap to clean travertine floors 3-4 times per year.
Mopping: Dry 'mop' your travertine floors with a clean, dry dust mop to remove daily dirt, dust, and debris. Next, if needed, use a soft mop, with warm water to clean the travertine. If needed, you can also use a travertine specific floor cleaner.
Avoid citrus or vinegar cleaning agents
Both these elements will cause the Travertine surface to dull. Acidic substances like lemon, orange peels, baking soda, vinegar slowly may penetrate the surface to cause irreparable damage.
To kill off mold and mildew and keep your investment looking its best, travertine can be cleaned with a peroxide-based product like Oxiclean, which will not harm the polish on your travertine. Remember, hydrogen peroxide can bleach fabric, so, like bleach, watch your clothes and linens.
What leads to a degraded quality of travertine tile? Most often, the culprits would be scratches, spills, and cleaning products. Your best defense to retain a beautiful travertine floor is frequent dust mopping.
Simple Green Stone Cleaner is perfect for regular use on marble, granite, quartz, travertine, porcelain, limestone, ceramic, porcelain, Corian®, Silestone®, and other engineered stone.
Q: What happens if I don not seal my travertine floors? - Travertine | Stripping and Sealing. A: Travertine floors can damage easily, any oily or harsh spills can damage the travertine tiles and penetrate the pores leaving a permanent stain, unreachable by domestic cleaning methods.
Travertine will absorb harsh chemicals, which again will damage the stone. Do not use products like MR Clean, dish soap, Windex, or anything like these products. These products leave a residue on top of the travertine tiles, collecting and attracting dust and dirt.
You should seal travertine during the installation process. You'll need to reapply the sealer periodically. How often you need to reapply the sealer depends on the type of sealer as well as how much usage and traffic the travertine gets. Resealing every one to three years is typical.
To clean, use only hot water and a stone cleaner recommended by your local stone professional. Do not use store-bought shower cleaners as they may contain acids that will etch your travertine. The same goes for vinegar, ammonia or any citrus-based cleansers.
We also NEVER recommend using OxiClean or Mr. Clean Magic Eraser as a cleaner on any type of natural stone. OxiClean and Mr. Clean Magic Eraser have many beneficial uses but using it to clean your travertine is NOT one of them.
We've said it before (and we'll say it again) DO NOT use Murphy's Oil Soap on any natural stone surface. Following our 20 years experience and the Marble Institute of America's Maintenance Guidelines, we recommend a neutral PH rinseless stone soap, used with an unbleached clean nylon pad to clean stone.
Certain products cannot be used on certain stones as they are too harsh or acidic and can cause etching on stones such as marble, travertine, and limestone. Products that should never be used on these types of stones include vinegar, Scrubbing Bubbles, Tilex, Comet, etc.
You need to use a tough floor cleaner for thorough cleaning and sanitization of the surface. Travertine stone and grout should be cleaned with heavy duty cleaners, which are tough on stains and gentle on the surface. There are many acidic cleaners available in the market that cause etching on the surface.
I wouldn't recommend using an Acid based cleaner on your wood floors. An example is: Vinegar, Pine Sol, Fabuloso Lavender, etc. Natural Stone: NEVER EVER USE AN ACID ON NATURAL STONE!
Spray the travertine surface with water using a spray bottle. Apply a layer of travertine polish powder to the travertine surface. Add more water if needed to form a milky hue. Attach a natural hair pad to an orbital sander and buff the stone surface until the desired amount of polish is achieved.
Remove these stains with a mixture of 12% hydrogen peroxide—food grade hydrogen peroxide—and a few drops of ammonia. Apply the product to the stone on a damp cloth. Place the cloth over the stain to draw out the organic stain.
SAFE: Water. Granite and/or Natural Stone-specific products. Water and rubbing alcohol mix 16:1 (a.k.a. 1-quart water to 1/4 cup rubbing alcohol)