So, What Is Stone Porosity?
Stone porosity refers to the amount and size of the pores in the stone. Despite its hard exterior, the majority of stone has thousands of microscopic pores running throughout its composition. This is more prominent in natural stone due to how it is formed.
Stone is often formed by organic material compacting together under immense pressure which leaves small gaps between the original grains of its component parts. These are much more common in metamorphic and sedimentary stones.
What Does This Mean For Your Stone Floor?
The porosity of your stone will dictate the care that you need to give it. A highly porous stone floor will allow any liquids to seep into it, which will cause the stone to stains, mould and even wear away (in the case of acidic liquids on susceptible floors).
All stone floors require some degree of sealing. However, the porosity of your floor will determine how often you need to re-apply it.
A simple test to see how porous your stone involves placing a small amount of water on the stone and seeing how long it takes to soak in.
Anything under 1 minute suggests a highly porous stone and anything over 4 minutes is slightly porous. However, this test is fairly unreliable if you don’t have the full history of your stone floor.
For instance, if you have just moved into a house with a limestone stone floor and are doing this test, you don’t have the knowledge as to when it was last sealed. So the porosity in Limestone floor will be difficult to determine.
So, you could have a highly porous stone, but it has just recently been sealed. A better idea would be to seal your stone based on this handy guide:
These are just a few of the most popular types of material for stone flooring and is simply a guide, the sealant can often last must longer dependant on the quality of sealer used and also the traffic the floor receives, low traffic areas will not need sealing as regularly whereas some commercial floors may need sealing every six months due to foot traffic. It is a good idea to do the water test if you think your floor might need to be sealed.
How does sealing work?
A high quality, impregnating sealer will soak deep into the stone and fill the pours up. As this process is internal it will not affect the surface of your stone which means that the overall look and feel of your stone floor will remain the same.
It will, however, create an internal liquid barrier within your stone which means liquids will simply sit on top of your stone floor like a bubble instead of penetrating beneath the surface. This, of course, is time focused and it is still advisable to wipe up any spills as soon as possible as any consistent exposure to a liquid is bound to inevitably breakthrough.
What it does do however is give you that all-important first protection, so that any accidental spill will not be a crisis. Simply wipe away, clean and carry on.
FAQ’s on Stone Porosity
Granite is indeed a porous natural stone. If granite is not sealed properly, liquid will be able to penetrate its surface and could stain or weaken the stone. To make sure this doesn’t happen to your granite floors, wipe up any standing liquid immediately and do not allow it to sit for an extended period of time.
Yes Limestone is a porous natural stone. In fact, Limestone, much like sandstone, is a highly porous stone that will absorb liquids with ease. We recommend sealing your limestone floor with a good quality sealer before you start cleaning it.
Marble is porous however not nearly as much as its limestone counterpart. A good sealer applied properly will ensure no lasting damage is caused to your marble floor by a liquid being absorbed.
Effortlessly Beautiful Floors with KleanSTONE
Gleaming floors inspire confidence and style in any setting, whether domestic or commercial. Here at KleanSTONE, we supply advanced floor cleaning solutions to help you achieve a spotlessly clean, perfectly finished floor without the elbow grease. Our stone floor cleaners tackle spills, stains and everyday grime with ease for a healthier, happier home or work environment.
Our products extend the lifespan of your flooring with powerful, effective cleaning that is gentle enough to use every day and perfect for floors in your home or business, inside and out.
Aside from offering a range of products for stone floor cleaning, we love to share our knowledge and experience from our years helping customers succeed at extending the lifespan of your floors. Read more on the KleanSTONE Blog, explore our Help & Guides or download our range of Cleaning Guides and learn more about how to care for your natural and engineered stone floors so that they last a lifetime!
Further Reading on the KleanSTONE Blog:
- A KleanSTONE Guide To Stone Flooring
- Which Floor Sealer Is Right For Me?
- Should I Seal My Outside Patio?
- Floor Sealing: The Most Important Thing You Are Not Doing
- Cleaning Quarry Tile Floors
- How To Seal Your Stone Floors
- Is My Mop And Bucket Damaging My Stone Floor?
- How Do I Clean My Natural Stone Floor?
- KleanSTONE, The Pet Safe Floor Cleaner
- What is Travertine?
- Everything You Need To Know About Your Slate Floor…