How to Clean Slate Floors
Slate is a very common type of rock and is often used in flooring and roofing. Composed of quartz muscovite, it is a fine grained, homogeneous, metamorphic and foliated rock. It is found in various shades ranging from gray to green. Because of its characteristics of being a good electrical insulator and being fireproof, it is an obvious choice in building construction and other areas. Slate tiles are extensively used with regards to interior and exterior flooring, stairways, wall cladding, walkways and so on. It is also used for roofing, in the form of roofing shingles. Slate is damaged by two things, cleavage and grain, which helps in making thin sheets of it.
In case of individual homes, they generally come in either measured tiles or random tiles with regards to flooring. Primarily the color of the slate is a result of the color it contains, which sometimes, determines the method of cleaning. For example, there is an abundance of chlorite in a green slate. Now, cleaning of floors made of it regularly, is necessary for avoiding potential scratches and building up for dirt. So here is how to do it.
Cleaning Slate Floors
Materials Needed
The supplies you would need for cleaning a slate floor are dust mop, Dustpan, soft broom, bucket, warm water, detergent, wet mop, vacuum cleaner and a nylon hand brush.
Procedure
To begin with, mop your floors with a non-oil based dust mop. Do it before mopping the floors damp. Do not move the mop, in back and forth sweeps, move the dust mop in a single direction. Using a soft bristled broom and dust pan, dispose the collected debris and dust. Next, have a bucket full of clean, warm water and mix a small quantity of detergent in it. Dip the mop in it and then before you clean, squeeze the water out of the mop. Then, run the mop slowly over an area at a time. Clean or rather mop the entire floor like that. Prevent anyone from stepping on the cleaned area, till it dries. Finally, check for dull streaks and films on the slate and clean and mop again, if needed.
To be more precise, if you want to clean a slate tile, follow the same procedure but remember that because these are porous, you have to seal them. Here are some tips and precautions.
Ensure that you have a good quality dust mop and as mentioned buy a non-oil based one. Anticipating the traffic, it might be essential to dry-mop the floor daily. Locating the doormats tactfully outside the area will be a good idea to ensure that people clean their feet thoroughly before stepping in. In case you have rubber mats, avoid using them, as the rubber sticks to the floor and damages it. If you have to vacuum, use it, but have a soft brush attachment and do not bang or jerk the vacuum cleaner on the floor, as it can cause scratches and chipping.
Basically cleaning is not a tough task, but maintaining the floor is what needs more meticulousness and constant care.
At the end of the day, clean things is what matters and therefore, clean the slate floor of all the dirt!
