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Terrazzo Floor Cleaning, Sealing & Maintenance
Give your terrazzo floor and wall surfaces the very best with XO2's professional terrazzo cleaning, polishing, sealing and restoration products. Terrazzo is an exceptionally hard wearing surface that is poured in place or precast. It's made from approximately 70% marble, granite, quartz, glass or other aggregates and 30% cement or resin. The natural stone chips are mixed with a cementitious binder (for chemical binding), a polymeric binder (for physical binding), or a combination of both then poured or hydraulically pressed as tiles.
Terrazzo is great for high traffic areas and is used for both floors and walls. Because of its pattern, terrazzo doesn't show soil easily but when unsealed it is very porous. That means terrazzo can absorb liquids leaving stains that are difficult to remove.
Clean Terrazzo With C-A-T
CAT stands for Chemical, Agitation and Temperature. Choose the chemical that's suitable for your surface and soil. Select the right agitation method (eg. floor pad, brush, high pressure) and temperature you will clean with (heat often cleans better).
Recommended Products For The 4 Types Of Terrazzo Maintenance
*Always test products first before use.
**Beware, terrazzo is very sensitive to acids and most alkaline chemicals.
- Initial - Cleaning newly laid floors... Use Bobby Dazzler (pH neutral).
- Regular Maintenance - Use Bobby Dazzler (pH neutral). This is for everyday cleaning. For regular cleaning of wall tiles and benchtops, you can clean them just like glass with a squeegee and washer or with Wow Fast Dry and a microfibre cloth.
- Periodic Cleaning (may include polishing with Pro Glo) - Use Bobby Dazzler or Bonza. Periodic cleaning may occur monthly, quarterly or yearly.
- Restorative / Salvage Cleaning - Use Bobby Dazzler or Bonza. This is when things have gotten a little out of hand and the surface needs a reset! For restorative polishing use Pro Glo (and it also cleans up the grout). If an existing coating needs to be removed use the compatible floor stripper. For difficult stains use Poultice Pro and for rust stains go with Rust Daddy.
Precautions
Avoid harsh chemicals and abrasive cleaners where possible. Acids will attack terrazzo causing pitting, etching and a loss of shine (dullness). Alkaline residue can cause crystals in the pores that increase the likelihood of chipping. Terrazzo is a relatively soft surface and can be permanently scratched easily. Only use pH neutral cleaners like Bobby Dazzler and Bonza. Clean up spills quickly as terrazzo can stain.
Sealing Terrazzo Floors
XO2 recommends sealing terrazzo floors with Pro Seal Ultra, our invisible impregnating terrazzo sealer (with natural look). This penetrating sealer is not a coating that will sit on top of the surface and it will not change the look, colour, texture or slip resistance of the marble. Some indoor terrazzo applications are better off being sealed with a water based coating to protect them and provide the terrazzo with somewhat of a sacrificial coating of protection. We prefer polished terrazzo but our recommendation for sacrificial coatings on indoor terrazzo is Tough Shield for a satin/lower gloss finish or as a base coat for topcoats of Blockbuster for a high shine finish. These topical floor sealers are especially popular in high traffic indoor areas that are maintained regularly like shopping centres. They do require regular cut backs and resealing where foot traffic is high.
Etched Or Dull Terrazzo?
Marble, travertine and limestone tend to react to acids and heavy wear causing permanent damage such as pitting and etching (or dullness). The good news is that in most cases this damage can be repolished with Pro Glo so the floor looks like new again. For severe damage, refinishing with some diamond pads may be required before the Pro Glo polishing process. If a topical sealer coating is present and you would like to continue using this type of sealing system, cutting back or stripping the existing sealer from the floor then recoating may also return the floor to 'as new' condition.