Discover How a Stone Cleaning Service in Chester Springs, PA Transformed the Appearance of a Travertine Kitchen

June 21, 2017

This homeowner hired our stone cleaning services in Chester Springs, Pennsylvania, to restore the travertine floors of her kitchen. She was a working mom with three kids and a passion for baking. She made cupcakes and cookies every weekend for her church, a charity, or just to share with her family and neighbors. Certainly, the kitchen was one of the rooms in her home where she spent most of her time, always creating new recipes and desserts for anyone who wanted to try them.


Her kitchen was designed with travertine floors and wood cabinets, just how she wanted when she moved into the house. The sand-colored travertine tiles were different sizes with uneven edges that gave the kitchen a slight rustic appearance, and combined harmoniously with the rest of the room. However, years had passed and the once white grout around the tiles had turned black. As soon as the mom noticed this, she bought all kinds of special cleaning products at the local store to try to help restore it, but no matter how much effort she put in, the floor kept looking grimy and unappealing.


Concluding she needed the help of professionals, the homeowner finally decided to search for a stone cleaning company nearby that could provide a solution to restore the kitchen. She went online to look for these services in Stamford and found Sir Grout of Greater Chester County's website among the first search results. The testimonials she read online convinced her to hire our help to bring back the beauty of her tiles. The mom followed the instructions on our website and filled in our "Request a Quote" form to schedule a free, in-home consultation at her convenience.


Our team of experts went to the residence on the date and time the homeowner requested. She welcomed us in and showed us the travertine kitchen. At first glance, our restorers noticed how the darkened grout and tiles damaged the overall look of the room, which appeared dirty and unattractive. Travertine is a popular natural stone for home flooring. However, this rock is very sensitive and porous—liquids like wine, cake mix, or milk can cause stains practically instantaneously and deteriorate the tiles. Likewise, the grout around the tiles cannot survive a thousand spills without periodic sealing.

During the inspection, our team learned that the floor had only been sealed once several years ago when it was installed. The sealer had surely worn off by then and, as a consequence, the grout became dark and the travertine dulled. Sealing protects the grout and tiles from daily wear and spills, but just applying it once is not enough to protect a floor for long. Stone tiles need periodic sealing to keep a pristine appearance, especially soft natural stones like travertine that are sensitive to acids, therefore prone to stains. Grout, on its part, is also porous; liquids may seep through and damage it if it's not properly sealed.

Luckily for this homeowner, the restoration for her travertine floor could be done in just one day by our skilled technicians. We offered her a stone cleaning service plus a ColorSeal procedure to recolor the grout in the shade the homeowner wanted. She accepted our proposal as soon as we explained it and asked us to start at our earliest availability.

We went back to Chester Springs that same week to begin the procedure. Our restorers started the stone cleaning job by applying Sir Grout's proprietary tile and grout cleaner, which is non-toxic and safe for any kind of surface—we used it to loosen the dirt stuck in the grout. Then we deep cleaned the tiles with a high-speed, low-pressure scrubber. As you can see in the video below, the cleaning procedure alone already considerably improved the appearance of the grout.

Once we removed the dirt entirely, we applied ColorSeal, a thick, water-based, acrylic sealer for grout that has color in it. With ColorSeal, we made the grout stain-, water-, mold-, and mildew-resistant while also recoloring it, in this case, to a uniform white color. Finally, we applied Stone Armor, a clear sealant for travertine and other natural stones, to protect the tiles from further deterioration.

The results were amazing. In just one day, we were able to revive the appearance of the kitchen with our cleaning and sealing procedures. The white grout really brought back the travertine floor's beauty. The homeowner was so grateful for the job and she left us an awesome review:


As part of our service, we gave the customer some practical tips to prevent stains in natural stones. First, we recommended to swap all the acid cleaning products she bought to clean the floor for a pH-neutral, soap-less cleaner, which is safe for grout. Also, since travertine is a soft rock, we advised her to use a terry cloth to clean the floor, instead of steel wool or other abrasive tools that can scratch the floor.

If you live in Chester Springs or the surrounding area, at Sir Grout of Greater Chester County, we're here to help you restore the hard surfaces in your home! Do you have a tumbled marble floor that's deteriorated just like this one? Are any of your bathroom or kitchen countertops dulled and unappealing? Count on us to restore them! Call us at (215) 609-4868 or fill out the "Request a Quote" form on this page to set up an appointment with us today.

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