How To Properly Clean Travertine Floors And Avoid Long Term Damage

What Is Travertine Flooring

If you have a travertine floor, you share something in common with many Romans where it appears in the Coleseum.  Here in North America, it is a popular flooring for high end homes, and sees particular favor in beach side communities where a matte, semi-gloss finish on a sandy color appearance does a particularly good job in hiding wear associated with walked in sand, and their accompanies microscratches.  Whether your particular surface has a honed, light sheen, or matte finish, has a flat or tumbled surface, caring for your travertine requires a bit more attention than your average tile; and if you have an “open” versus closed travertine, we really need to talk.  Most “open” travertine will be “closed” within a few years of going into service for reasons that will quickly become clear.

“Open” travertine refers to the fact that travetine when initially quarried has an appearance similar to swiss cheese.  It is filled with OPEN holes and occulsions caused by gas pockets created as sealife that has passed on and desended to the bottom of the ocean breaks down.  These trapped air pockets survive within the stone as it was compressed to form stone.  The stone is then sliced into tiles and as it cuts through these pockets leavin “open” holes.  “Open” travertine has an appearance all its own.  However, once installed those openings serve to collect every bit of dust and debris that is walked by, making them a nuisance to maintain.