Refinishing Marble Floors

Marble has been used for centuries as a beautiful flooring material in churches, civic buildings, and other structures. Today, marble is still a choice that can provide a classic and beautiful look to your home or business. It is one of the most durable flooring substances available, but by properly caring for your marble floor, you can extend its life and keep it looking beautiful for years. Many owners of marble floors don't realize that marble is a natural, porous material that has special properties, and should be attended to in specific ways.

Regular care and maintenance of your marble floors requires some understanding of its unique properties. Acidic substances like juices can stain or etch marble and its finishes, and salt can actually pit marble surfaces. So keeping these substances away from marble floors and cleaning spills immediately is important. Also, regular detergent-based cleaning products can dull polished stone surfaces over time, so their use is not recommended.

Refinishing and Sealing Marble Floors

Marble floors can be periodically re-polished by sanding or honing the surface with progressively finer screens, then buffing to a high gloss. This type of care should be done professionally, but has the advantage of enhancing the natural soil repelling properties of the marble. If your marble floor has serious stains or scratches, a chemical stripping coupled with a deeper honing may be in order.

Chemical sealants have many advantages for marble floors. They can be applied to increase the skid or slip resistance of your marble floors. This may be particularly important in areas where water is present and a concern. They can also enhance the stain and soiling resistance of your floor, and protect it from natural deterioration. These sealants will have to be removed by stripping, however, if a serious marble floor refinishing is to be done.