Terrazzo Cleaning and Protection
Terrazzo is a type of agglomerate flooring and should be treated as marble in a maintenance program. Terrazzo is a composite material poured in place or precast, which is used for floor and all treatments. It consists of marble, quartz, granite, glass or other suitable chips, sprinkled or unsprinkled, and poured with a binder that is cementitious, chemical (such as epoxy or acrylic) or a combination of both. Terrazzo is cured, ground and polished to a smooth surface or otherwise finished to produce a uniformly textured surface. Natural stone is very porous. The best way to prevent stains is to treat the surface with a protective sealer such as StoneTech™ Professional BulletProof™ Sealer, Impregnator Pro™ or Sta-Clene. The sealer fills in the pores and repels spills on the surface, allowing you time to completely wipe it away.
Divider strips are used to create panels for terrazzo floor when using different colors of cement and stones. These divider strips can be made of zinc, brass, alloy or even wood. After the terrazzo floor is poured into the divider strips, it is then grinded using stone or diamond abrasives. Once the terrazzo is roughly grinded it is then grouted, polished and sealed.
Care & Maintenance of Terrazzo Floors:
Terrazzo does not need protection from wear – it needs protection from absorption and stains. A water based impregnator, such as StoneTech™ Professional BulletProof™ Sealer or a solvent-based impregnator such as Impregnator Pro™ or Sta-Clene should be applied soon after honing and/or polishing. The impregnating sealer is absorbed into the cement matrix, sealing its pores.
It is important that the terrazzo is cleaned with KlenzAll™ before the sealer is applied. Terrazzo floors should be cleaned only with a neutral pH cleaner such as Revitalizer™ or Stone & Tile Cleaner. Avoid all-purpose cleaners or soaps containing water soluble, inorganic, or crystallizing salts, harmful alkali or acids. Terrazzo should never be cleaned at pressures above 800 PSI and then only if the grout and divider strips are in good condition.
Terrazzo is porous, and easily stained and is etched by acids. Fruit juice, carbonated beverages, toilet bowl cleaners, urine or other acids will etch if allowed to remain on terrazzo. Wipe up acid spill immediately, and wipe surface with wet cloth. If surfaced is etched, polishing may be required.
Dust mop interior terrazzo floors frequently using a clean non-treated dry dust mop. Sweeping compounds contain oil, which is not only a fire hazard, but will penetrate and could permanently discolor the floor. Many of these compounds contain sand, which is hard to sweep, and can abrade the floor if not removed.
Sand, dirt and grit do the most damage to natural stone surfaces due to their abrasiveness. Runners inside and outside an entrance will help to minimize the sand, dirt and grit that will scratch the terrazzo floor. Be sure that the underside of the runner is a non-slip surface. Normally, it will take a person about eight steps on a floor surface to remove sand or dirt from the bottom of their shoes.
We recommend that you use care and maintenance products from StoneTech™ Professional, Our company, that are specially formulated to protect and enhance the beauty of terrazzo. Once the stone is sealed, clean up is usually easy. We recommend that you use StoneTech™ Professional Revitalizer™ Cleaner & Protector. Revitalizer™ to clean with a gentle, pH-neutral formula that removes soils while reinforcing the original protective seal to help prevent future staining.
