Should I Seal My Travertine or Tile and Grout Shower

Why Should I Seal My Stone or Tile Shower?

Natural Stone and Tile showers are becoming more and more popular because they are a beautiful upgrade to master bathrooms or guest bedrooms. They make the bath more appealing than the standard fiberglass cases. The most popular shower products are travertine tiles and ceramic or porcelain tiles. These are the three we see in many showers that we clean and seal regularly. 

All these types of tiles are great for showers. They are durable and if maintained properly, they are easy to take care of regularly. One thing people don't always think about is that even though they have these durable, beautiful tiles in their shower, they still have grout. Grout is very absorbent and stains easily. Let's talk a little bit about why sealing your shower is essential.

Once you start to use your beautiful shower, you may notice darker spots in the grout or even on the stone(this does not occur with ceramic or porcelain). This means the shower was not sealed. Sealing helps prevent the water from absorbing into the grout and stone and prevents staining. When a shower is sealed correctly, this allows the shower to stay looking new longer, prevents water, shampoo, conditioner, etc. absorption, can prevent mold and keeps your shower more sanitary.

Now you may be wondering how can sealing help with all of this. When a sealer is applied correctly, it absorbs into the stone and grout and clogs the pores, acting as a barrier and blocking these different things from growing. Instead of hitting the grout and soaking in the water, shampoo, conditioner, etc. the sealed grout and stone will bead up the water and products and not absorb it all into the stone and grout. 

When it comes to mold, the sealer can't block the mold from growing from underneath, but it will prevent mold growing on top of the shower tile surfaces. We cannot prevent mold from growing behind the stone and grout because that would be a plumbing break or some sort of a leak behind the wall that is increasing the mold, causing it to grow through the grout and stone. This is not something sealers can prevent. Sealers can stop water and products from seep into the stone and grout, not from behind it. I just wanted to make that clear, so there is no confusion. We often get this question, and it is a valid concern that would need the proper attention from a licensed plumber.

You may be thinking well, this is great, but what about the fact that Arizona has such hard water even when you have a water softener system sometimes. This is another great topic. Yes, Arizona has very hard water, and when you shower every day, the white build-up could occur. Part of sealing your shower helps prevent that hard water(calcium) build-up from staining the grout between professional cleanings. Sealing will not prevent the build-up from happening on the future staining that can occur from the build-up. 

Regular shower professional cleanings are vital!! Our high-pressure machines can blast the build-up out of the grout lines and off the stone or tile surface. When you have professional cleanings done regularly, the sealer will last longer, we can touch up the sealer, and your shower will stay looking new longer. We recommend cleaning your shower once every 12-18 months by a professional company; if you can do it more often, that is even better for the shower tiles. 

Our process for sealing a shower may sound simple, but as you can see, it does wonders for your shower. When we are there, we first assess what your shower needs. There may be many different things that the technicians recommend depending on what your shower specifically needs. I can bet you anything our technicians will almost always recommend cleaning and sealing for sure every time. Once we are given the OK to clean and seal the shower (price has been gone over, expectations, etc.), we spray them with our shower cleaner, let it dwell for about 5-7 minutes, agitating spots we saw that seemed more stained than others. Then we use our shower tool that is attached to our truck-mounted system. The shower tool is handheld and uses 220-degree water at 1200 PSI. It acts like a self-contained pressure washer and extraction system. It blasts the build-up and grime out of the grout and off of the surface, leaving your shower looking beautiful. Then we apply one of our sealers.

We have a few different options when it comes to the sealers we use. All of our sealers are penetrating sealers, not topicals. We have proven that the penetrating sealers do an all-around better job and stay looking nice longer.

For ceramic or porcelain showers, we can use a clear sealer that is a hybrid solvent sealer or a color seal. Both are applied by hand grout line by grout line. The Hybrid Solvent sealer is a clear seal and will not change the look at all but will help prevent future staining within the grout lines. The color seal is a water-based sealer that has a color pigment mixed into it. This sealer will change your grout lines to one uniform color. A color seal is excellent to use if you all ready have a lot of staining throughout your grout lines. Ceramic and Porcelain tiles do not need to be sealed because they are human-made and not porous at all. Truthfully, ceramic or porcelain tiles are the best tiles to put n your shower if appropriately installed and maintained correctly.

When it comes to Travertine or other natural stone showers, we use a stone sealer. There are a couple again that we can use a hybrid solvent or an enhancer; both are applied by hand. Similarly, the hybrid solvent is a clear sealer that absorbs into the stone and the grout. The difference between stone tiles and ceramic/porcelain is you do need to seal the stone surfaces and the grout. Stone being a natural product can stain; just be aware of this. Our enhancer sealer is not used as often but can be used in showers. This sealer will bring out all the colors within the shower stone, and it leaves the shower with a wet look. Typically we use this on the rock pebble floors of a shower, but you can use it on the walls. It is also a clear sealer that absorbs into the stone, bringing out the colors within the stones.

As you can see, there are many great reasons for sealing your shower and even more options. For more information, check out our website www.travertinecleaningaz.com or call our office at 480-352-2987. 

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