Natural Slate, Flagstone, Travertine, some Limestones and some Marbles all have “hidden” deep color that need man or more specifically, us at Connoisseur to help bring out..

Enhancing penetrative sealers provide protection against oil and water based soils, dirt grime, mold as well as providing a wet look but with out the shine.

Here are some photos of a flagstone floor we recently cleaned and enhanced. You can really see a nice deep “enhancing” of the stone’s natural colors..

Flagstone Dining Room

before and during...

Done!

Inside or out if you have dull lifeless stone surfaces that need steam cleaning and sealing or enhancing give Santa Cruz’s finest rock cleaners a call.

We gladly provide our top notch carpet cleaning, tile stone and grout restoration and oriental rug cleaning services to all of Santa Cruz county. Including the Summit area, all of Hwy 9, down south to Aromas and Corralitos and as far north as Swanton Rd/Davenport area.

We also travel to Los Gatos, Saratoga, San Jose and have been know to make the trip to Woodside and even San Francisco if the job is large enough.
We have regular clients in Salinas, Monterey and Carmel as well.

We ask that those outside of Santa Cruz county to please be patient and wait until we have two or more jobs in their area so as not to wast fuel and time.

Please call for information on minimum charges for your particular area.

Cleaning Procedures & Recommendations

General Cleaning Clean stone surfaces with a neutral cleaner designated safe for natural stone. Use a clean mop on floors and a soft cloth for other surfaces for best results. Don’t use more than the recommended amount of any cleaning product. Too much may leave a film, causing streaks. Change rinse water frequently. Do not use products that contain lemon juice, vinegar or other acids on marble, travertine or limestone as these can etch the surface of the stone. Do not use scouring powders or creams; these products contain abrasives that may scratch the surface. If you have large areas of stone, tile (or wood) in your home consider purchasing a Hoover Floormate Spinscrub 800. It’s a great tool for maintaining hard floors. It sprays scrubs and rinses will very little effort on your part and you won’t risk spreading dirty water around like mopping can. Walmart usually has the best price

Floor Surfaces Dust mop interior floors frequently using a clean non-treated dry dust mop. Sand, dirt and grit do the most damage to natural stone surfaces due to their abrasiveness. Mats or area rugs inside and outside an entrance will help to minimize the sand, dirt and grit that can scratch a stone floor. Be sure that the underside of the mat or rug is a non-slip surface. Do not use vacuum cleaners that are worn as the metal or plastic attachments may scratch the surface. You will want a vacuum that lets you shut off the brush roll so grit &dust dost not get scattered.

Counter/Vanity Top Surfaces Clean your countertops daily with a soft cloth or paper towel and a residue free pH neutral cleaner designated safe for natural stone. We recommend Trader Joe’s Multi Purpose Cleaner, Stone Tech’s Revitalizer from most tile shops and Zep Neutral pH floor cleaner from Home Depot.

Bath and Other Wet Areas In the bath/ shower or other wet areas, soap scum can be minimized by using a squeegee after each use. Installing a water softener in your home will help tremendously as well. We recommend the use of Magic Al’s Non Acid Soap Scum Remover to clean all stone and tile shower stalls.

For hard water spots/build up glass and granite we recommend Magic Al’s Glass and Metal Magic. You’ll find a ton of uses for this great product. Magic Al products can be found in the cleaning supply section@ www.groundfloor.org

Outdoor Pool & Patio Areas In outdoor pool, patio or hot tub areas sweep often flush with clear water and use a mild bleach solution to remove algae or moss. Neutral pH detergents can be used sparingly but take care to make sure they do not enter any waterways. Hydrogen Peroxide can be sprayed on organic stains. Apply a good amount over the spot and let it dry naturally, several applications may be necessary.

Do’s and Don’ts

• Do dust mop floors frequently.
• Do clean surfaces with a neutral stone cleaner.
• Do thoroughly rinse and dry the surface after washing.
• Do blot up spills and cooking oils immediately.
• Do protect floor surfaces with non-slip mats or area rugs and counter top surfaces with coasters, trivets or placemats, particularly under those containing alcohol or citrus juices. Many common foods and drinks contain acids that will etch or dull the stone surface.
• Don’t place hot items directly on the stone surface. Use trivets or mats under hot dishes and placemats under china, ceramics, silver or other objects that can scratch the surface.
• Don’t use vinegar, lemon juice or other cleaners containing acids on marble, limestone, travertine or concrete surfaces.
• Don’t use cleaners that contain acid such as bathroom cleaners, grout cleaners or tub & tile cleaners.
• Don’t use abrasive cleaners such as dry cleansers or soft cleansers.
• Don’t mix bleach and ammonia; this combination creates a toxic and lethal gas.

Stain Treatment and Other Issues

If possible, immediately blot spills with a clean paper towel. If something has soaked into the stone and stained it, a poultice may need to be applied. 40 Volume peroxide (hair developer) available at a beauty supply shop can be sprayed on stone to lighten organic stains such as coffee and wine Contact us for more details.

Sealing

We seal every stone that requires it after we clean it, but a reapplication needs to be done periodically. You can purchase a product and do it yourself, or contact us to perform the service for you.

But we do rejuvenate a mean shower stall!

Deep cleaning, mold removal, re-grouting, stain removal, removal and replacement of caulk, grout or silicone and long lasting penetrative sealers.

Natural Stone, Ceramic or Porcelain, you name it, we can clean it.

Before-

After-

Before-

After-

I just can’t get over how well our Color Sealing process works.

This first picture is after a two step cleaning process using both alkaline and acidic cleaning agents. Sometimes light colored grout shows stains and other than removing the grout and replacing with new, color sealing is the only logical, effective and long lasting choice.

And this shot shows the same grout line with our “Color Seal” process applied.

And the nice things is, Color Sealed grout will not stain or absorb water or any other fluids. Under normal residential settings the seal should last ten years or more.

Seeing how it is acrylic based, you are now cleaning a plastic surface instead of concrete/grout so you can imagine just how easy and effective your future Saturday morning cleanings will be for you.

Here are some photos of a counter where the home owner attempted to use premixed grout to hide the coffee and oil stains. New grout will not stick to old grout with out the proper preparation as these photos clearly show.

We removed all the mess, steam cleaned it and then applied a Color Seal to make their conters look just about “Perfect”..

Give us a call if you’d like a free demonstration and estimate for your floor or counter tops restoration needs.