Natural stone is everywhere in Arizona homes. Travertine floors, marble bathrooms, limestone showers and other stone surfaces are popular because they’re beautiful, durable and uniquely suited to Southwestern homes.
But natural stone isn’t maintenance-free.
Over time, even high-quality stone can become dull, scratched, etched, stained or discolored. Grout gets dirty. Fillers can loosen. Hard-water deposits accumulate. Areas with heavy foot traffic begin looking different from the rest of the floor.
The good news is that many natural stone surfaces can be restored rather than replaced.
This guide explains what natural stone restoration involves, what problems can be corrected and how to determine which services your stone actually needs.
What Is Natural Stone Restoration?
Natural stone restoration is the process of returning worn or damaged stone as closely as practical to its desired appearance and condition.
Depending on the stone and its condition, restoration may include:
- Professional deep cleaning
- Removing mineral and hard-water buildup
- Honing
- Polishing
- Removing or reducing scratches and etching
- Repairing small pits and holes
- Cleaning or restoring grout
- Sealing the stone and grout when appropriate
Not every stone surface needs all of these services. Proper restoration starts by identifying what is actually wrong with the stone rather than automatically applying the same treatment to every floor, shower or countertop.
Which Types of Natural Stone Can Be Restored?
Many natural stones found in Arizona homes can be professionally cleaned and restored, including:
- Travertine
- Marble
- Limestone
- Slate
- Granite
- Other natural stone surfaces
Each type of stone behaves differently. A technique appropriate for granite may not be appropriate for marble or travertine, which is one reason natural stone should be treated differently from ceramic or porcelain tile.
Why Does Natural Stone Become Dull?
A dull stone floor isn’t necessarily dirty.
Normal foot traffic can gradually wear the finish. Fine dirt and grit tracked into the home can act as an abrasive under shoes. Cleaning-product residue can accumulate on the surface. Acidic products can etch certain stones, and hard-water deposits can create cloudy or chalky areas.
That’s why repeatedly cleaning a dull floor doesn’t always improve it. If the surface itself has been worn or etched, the stone may need to be honed or polished.
If you’re trying to determine exactly what treatment your stone needs, see our guide: Does Your Natural Stone Need Cleaning, Honing, Polishing or Sealing?
Natural Stone Cleaning
Professional cleaning removes dirt, oils, residue and buildup from the stone and grout without unnecessarily damaging the surface.
Cleaning may be enough when the stone’s original finish is still intact but has become obscured by contamination or residue.
One of the biggest mistakes homeowners make is assuming that stronger chemicals mean better cleaning. Natural stone can react badly to acidic or overly aggressive cleaners.
Vinegar, acidic bathroom cleaners and other products that work perfectly well elsewhere in the home can damage certain natural stones.
What Is Stone Honing?
Honing mechanically refinishes the surface of natural stone using abrasives.
It can be used to address:
- Light scratches
- Etch marks
- Uneven wear
- Dull areas
- Minor surface imperfections
Instead of covering up the damage, honing works on the stone itself to create a more uniform surface.
The stone can then be left with a honed appearance or taken through additional steps to produce a more polished finish.
What Is Natural Stone Polishing?
Polishing is used when a stone is intended to have a smoother, more reflective finish.
Marble and some travertine installations, for example, may originally have a beautiful polished appearance that gradually becomes cloudy or uneven.
Polishing can restore that clarity after the underlying surface problems have been corrected.
The goal isn’t to make every natural stone surface shiny. The goal is to restore the finish appropriate for that particular stone and installation.
Can Scratched or Etched Natural Stone Be Restored?
In many cases, yes.
Light and moderate scratches can often be removed or substantially reduced through honing. Etching can also frequently be corrected because the damaged surface can be refinished.
Very deep scratches or severe physical damage may be more difficult. Removing too much material simply to eliminate one deep defect isn’t always the best approach.
A professional restoration should balance the correction of damage with preserving the stone.
What About Holes and Pits in Travertine?
Travertine naturally contains cavities. Many travertine tiles are filled before installation, and over time some of that filler can loosen or fall out.
Small pits and holes can often be refilled and blended into the surrounding stone as part of the restoration process.
For a closer look at what’s repairable, read Can Damaged Travertine Be Restored? What Can and Can’t Be Fixed.
Arizona Hard Water and Natural Stone
Arizona presents a particular challenge for natural stone because of our hard water.
In showers, bathrooms and areas around sinks, repeated exposure can leave visible mineral deposits on stone, grout and fixtures. The result may be white buildup, cloudy areas or surfaces that simply never look clean no matter how often they’re scrubbed.
Hard-water deposits and actual stone damage aren’t always the same thing. Sometimes professional cleaning can remove the buildup. In other cases, the underlying stone has become etched or damaged and needs additional restoration.
This distinction matters because aggressively attacking mineral buildup with an acidic household cleaner can damage acid-sensitive natural stone.
Arizona Dust and Grit Can Wear Stone Floors
Our desert environment creates another problem that’s easy to overlook.
Fine sand, dust and grit inevitably make their way indoors. Once on a natural stone floor, those tiny particles can become abrasives under shoes, pets and furniture.
Over thousands of trips across the floor, that abrasion can contribute to scratches and gradually dull high-traffic areas.
Regular dust removal and proper cleaning therefore aren’t just cosmetic. They can help preserve the stone’s finish.
Does Natural Stone Need to Be Sealed?
Many natural stones and grout installations can benefit from an appropriate penetrating sealer, but sealing is often misunderstood.
A sealer can help reduce absorption and give you more time to clean up spills. What it cannot do is repair damage that has already occurred.
Sealer doesn’t remove scratches. It doesn’t fix etching. It doesn’t polish dull stone, and it doesn’t make natural stone maintenance-free.
If a surface needs restoration, the restoration should generally be addressed before determining whether the stone should be sealed.
Can Stained Natural Stone Be Restored?
Sometimes, but staining is highly dependent on the substance involved and how deeply it has penetrated.
Oil, rust, organic stains and mineral deposits are different problems and may require different approaches.
Some stains can be removed. Others can be significantly improved. Deep staining may not always disappear completely.
That’s why identifying the cause of the discoloration is important before attempting treatment.
When Does Natural Stone Need to Be Replaced?
Restoration can accomplish a great deal, but it can’t solve every problem.
Individual tiles may require replacement when they are severely cracked or broken. Structural movement beneath the installation must be addressed if it is causing repeated cracking. Deep damage, extensive deterioration or problems with the underlying installation may also go beyond normal stone restoration.
Fortunately, stone that simply looks old, dull, scratched or dirty may be far from the end of its useful life.
Restoration vs. Replacement
Before tearing out a natural stone installation, it’s worth finding out whether the problem is primarily cosmetic.
A floor that looks terrible because of years of wear, scratches, dirty grout and a dull finish may look dramatically different after professional restoration.
And unlike replacing natural stone, restoration preserves the material already installed in your home.
Natural Stone Restoration in Scottsdale and the Phoenix Area
Grout Nurse provides professional natural stone and grout restoration services for homeowners throughout Scottsdale and the surrounding Phoenix area.
We’ll evaluate the condition of your stone and determine whether cleaning, honing, polishing, repairs, grout restoration or sealing is appropriate. Just as importantly, we’ll tell you when restoration isn’t the right solution.
Don’t assume worn natural stone needs to be torn out. Contact Grout Nurse and let us take a look at what you have. Your old stone may have a lot more life left in it than you think.
