Floors:
Frequent sweeping is the easiest way to protect flooring surfaces. Soil is abrasive and it can get ground into and scratch stone. Use a broom with a bristle that matches your surface, a soft broom for smooth finishes and medium soft for textured surfaces. Damp mopping with water picks up microscopic abrasive soils and potential staining agents. This is recommended for most smooth surfaces on a regular basis.

Always protect your finished stone floors against dirt, sand or any abrasive substance that might scratch or harm the tile finish. Please follow manufacturer's instructions for proper usage of all care products. Never use acids or chemical cleaners for cleaning ceramic or porcelain tile.

Frequently wipe surfaces with a soft, damp rag. To remove fingerprints, food residues, grease and all the most common dirt from your countertops, walls, fireplaces, or vanity tops, use soap and water, then Superior® Grout & Tile Neutral Cleaner on the surface, rub it and wipe it dry. Superior® Grout & Tile Neutral Cleaner cleans, enhances and brightens your surfaces, helping to maintain their natural beauty for decades.
Additional tips for keeping your stone tile looking like new:

* Keep your stone surface clean from dust and dirt.
* Blot up spills immediately.
* Always use coasters under drinks and food containers.
* Use placemats under dishware and flatware to prevent scratching.
* Never use abrasive cleaners or scouring pads to clean the surface.
* NEVER use vinegar, lemon juice or cleaners containing acids.
* Use a felt-bottomed tray for cosmetics and toiletries stored on ceramic or porcelain surfaces.

Suggested applications for slate:
Slate with a fine texture and consistency (“honed” - ground to a smooth, matte finish) is often used for fabricating fireplace surrounds and tabletops. However, in today’s decorating, the heavier, natural texture of slate (“cleft”) has become extremely popular to add “relief” to any room setting.

Because of its physical characteristics and its cleavage, slate is also ideal for use in high traffic areas such as foyers, entryways, interior floors, basements, three season porches and sunrooms.

Some slates are practically non-absorbent due to their density and are frequently selected for floors where resistance to acids is an important factor.

Caring for your slate surfaces:

Floors:
Frequent sweeping is the easiest way to protect flooring surfaces. Soil is abrasive and it can get ground into and scratch stone. Use a broom with a bristle that matches your surface, a soft broom for smooth finishes and medium soft for textured surfaces. Damp mopping with water picks up microscopic abrasive soils and potential staining agents. This is recommended for most smooth surfaces on a regular basis.

Where does granite come from?
Granite is a stone formed from volcanic activity. As the magma from the volcanoes cooled very slowly (over millions of years!) mineral crystals in the magma deposits grew. Those minerals—primarily hornblende, feldspar, mica and quartz—are what give the granite its grainy texture. When the softer earth around the resulting granite deposit eroded, the harder rock became exposed, making it available for quarrying in nearly every region of the world.

Suggested applications for granite:

* The beauty of the stone, coupled with its remarkable durability make granite an ideal surface treatment for countertops, vanities, floors, fireplaces and table tops.

Floors:
Frequent sweeping is the easiest way to protect flooring surfaces. Soil is abrasive and it can get ground into and scratch stone. Use a broom with a bristle that matches your surface, a soft broom for smooth finishes and medium soft for textured surfaces. Damp mopping with water picks up microscopic abrasive soils and potential staining agents. This is recommended for most smooth surfaces on a regular basis.

Where does marble come from?
Marble is a metamorphic stone, which means it turned into marble from another type of rock. It is usually formed when limestone is compressed for longer periods of time. It is typically found in the roots of mountains, and is composed of up to 95% calcite. While marble is forming, impurities get into the mix, causing marble’s signature streaks of color.

Graphite is the mineral that causes gray or bluish streaks, while iron oxides like goethite and hematite are responsible for pink or reddish streaks. Marble rich in epidote takes on a green hue.

Suggested applications for marble:

* The beauty of a marble surface can last many lifetimes if it is not mistreated (using it for a purpose to which it is ill-suited, choosing the wrong surface finish for the intended use, or neglecting it).
* Marble is more porous than granite, making it easier to stain, and it is not recommended for kitchen countertops. Marble is ideal for walls, fireplace surrounds and mantles, bathroom vanity tops, and some floors.

Floors:
Frequent sweeping is the easiest way to protect flooring surfaces. Soil is abrasive and it can get ground into and scratch stone. Use a broom with a bristle that matches your surface, a soft broom for smooth finishes and medium soft for textured surfaces. Damp mopping with water picks up microscopic abrasive soils and potential staining agents. This is recommended for most smooth surfaces on a regular basis.

GROUTING:
After the mortar has dried 24 hours, you are ready to grout. There are a variety of grout colors available to enhance the look of your tile floor. When working with grout it is mandatory to keep conditions as consistent as possible throughout the job: moisture, temperature, mixing and application.

MIXING INSTRUCTIONS:
Mix the grout powder with FLEXIBLE GROUT ADMIXTURE (in place of water), and
mix to a “toothpaste” consistency. It is better to mix no more than can be used within 20 minutes. Mix well. Mix each batch until all the pigments are dispersed and wet. Then allow the grout to stand for 5 minutes and mix again. The mixing time for each batch should be the same.

APPLICATION INSTRUCTIONS:
Use a GROUT FLOAT to work the grout into the tile joints (refer to illustration below). Skim off the excess grout with the edge of the Grout Float and wipe the tile immediately with a damp GROUT SPONGE (rinse the Grout Sponge frequently and change the rinse water regularly). It is better to grout small areas at a time so no grout will dry on the face of the tile. Remove all of the grout with the exception of a fine film. This film can be buffed off in 30 to 45 minutes using a clean, dry cloth. For particularly tough areas where grout was inadvertently left on the tile after the clean-up phase, use GROUT HAZE AND LATEX FILM REMOVER with a scrub pad.
NEVER CLEAN UP GROUT WITH ACIDS — THIS WILL REMOVE YOUR SEALER.

SEALING GROUT:
After grout has dried 48 to 72 hours, seal all grout joints with PENETRATING SEALER or STONE SEAL to reduce maintenance and to retain the grout color. PENETRATING SEALER is a belowsurface sealer which reduces water penetration for interior and exterior applications. When applying PENETRATING SEALER to the grout, wipe excess sealer off the face of the tile IMMEDIATELY with a dry paper towel.

For weekly cleaning of your tile and grout, use GROUT & TILE NEUTRAL CLEANER. This is a neutral cleaner and will not strip the sealer from the grout joint and
because it is not a soap, it is equally effective in hard or soft, hot or cold water.
In the event you experience a stain or difficult soil problem, use HEAVY DUTY GROUT AND TILE CLEANER mixed with water and work it into the area with a GROUT BRUSH or SCRUB PAD.