Sealing is the one job that decides how your stone floor looks in ten years. It is easy, occasional, and much cheaper than regret. Here is the whole of it.
Why seal at all?
Limestone, marble and travertine are naturally slightly porous. An impregnating sealer soaks in and lines the pores, so wine, oil and muddy paw-prints sit on the surface long enough to wipe away instead of soaking in. It does not change the look of the stone — colour-enhancing sealers exist separately if you want a richer tone.
When
- At installation: usually once before grouting and once after. Your fitter should do this as standard.
- Ongoing: re-seal every 1–2 years for kitchens and busy floors; bathrooms and light-traffic rooms stretch longer. The water-drop test tells you: if a drop darkens the stone within a few minutes, it is time.
What to use
We stock the professional products we use on our own projects — Lithofin, Fila and LTP sealers and cleaners. For day-to-day cleaning, use a pH-neutral stone cleaner only: supermarket floor cleaners, vinegar and bathroom sprays slowly etch and dull natural stone, and no sealer protects against that.
The five-minute routine
Vacuum or sweep, damp-mop with neutral cleaner, done. Once a year, check with the water-drop test; every year or two, one evening with a re-seal. That is the entire maintenance story people worry about — less work than keeping grout white on a cheap ceramic floor.
Unsure which sealer suits your stone? Ask us — tell us the stone and the room and we will point you at the right bottle.