slate floor cleaning

by Barbara
(PA)

I'm looking for a safe slate cleaner and sealer.

I work a t a university and we have black slate in one of our lobby areas.

The slate is white in areas and appears to be discolored and dirty.

What do you recommend that is safe to use to clean and seal this slate?

Due to occupancy of the building I need something that doesn't have a strong smell.





Barbara,

I would use MB-2 Stone, Tile and Grout Cleaner for a good scrubbing of both the slate tile and grout.

I would then use MB-4 to seal the slate tile and grout.

There is some smell associated with both MB-2 Stone, Tile and Grout Cleaner, and the MB 4 sealer, but not overpowering.

What I would do is do a test area where you clean a small area and see how strong the smell is. Then wait a few hours before sealing the area you cleaned.

From your test area you can monitor how strong both the cleaner and the sealer are, before cleaning a larger area.

The white part in the tile could be efflorescence from below the tile.

What is happening is moisture is evaporating up out of the tile at these areas and depositing a salt on the surface of the tile.

You will need to use an acid to clean these areas. Do not soak these ares with too much water as it could happen again.

Again these areas will need to be cleaned with an acid. Use safety equipment (gloves and goggles) when handling any acids.

You will have to find an acid you feel comfortable using for this clean up.

Some examples of acids are CLR, muriatic acid, etc.

I hope this helps.


Pedro