How to Clean Slate

Slate comes in many different colors, shapes, and sizes. Here's how to clean slate in all sorts of places around a house.

Whether used for flooring, countertops, outside walkways, or decorative accents, slate is beautiful. This type of natural stone gets dirty like anything else so we want to show you how to clean slate the right way, keeping it beautiful and extending its life. Darker colored slate is warm, rich, and sophisticated but it also shows light dirt easily whereas lighter colored slate is fresh, inspiring, and contemporary but it is horrible in showing mud, grease, and other types of dirt.

Because slate is a natural stone, we have tips on how to clean slate so you can protect it and make it last longer. Your house cleaning clients will appreciate that! Before we get into actual tips on how to clean slate, it is important to understand that if dirt and sand is not cleaned, it can actually cause premature aging of the slate. Therefore, it is important to keep slate clean but again, you need to use only certain methods and products.

Cleaning Products

Our first piece of information on cleaning slate is with special products formulated for slate. Three of the best brands you will find include Stontech, Ezkleen, and Merblelife. Each of these are considered a neutral type of cleaner, which means it is gentle yet it works incredibly well. These and other good products can be purchased at many home improvement stores or online. Look for brands made specifically for slate and then be sure to follow the manufacturer’s instructions carefully.

Water

Our easiest and most affordable tip on cleaning slate flooring is simply to use warm water and a damp mop. Obviously, water is readably available and it costs virtually nothing. For this, all you need is a good mop. We do recommend that when mopping the slate with water, be sure to go back and forth in the same direction, which gives the floor a better look. The mop will pick up dust particles -- be sure to sweep first to get larger items on the floor, pet hair, stones, etc..

Products with Acid

This tip on cleaning slate has to do with products you should never use. Anything that contains acid will cause serious damage to slate. Therefore, as you shop around for cleaning products, it never hurts to look at the ingredients just to make sure it's acid free.

Sealer

The final piece of information on how to clean slate has more to do with maintenance. No matter the method or product used for cleaning, it is critical that the slate be sealed with a high quality product. The best option is to apply three coats, allowing each to dry before the next coat is applied. Not only will the sealed slate last longer and look better, you will also find it much easier to clean.

If your client knows what their slate is sealed with, you'll get a better idea of the product to use for cleaning it.

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