How Often Should You Re-Seal Natural Stone Tiles?

One of the questions we get asked the most is: how often should I re-seal my natural stone tiles?

It’s a good question, and one that you may not necessarily expect the answer to!

At StoneImpressions, we want you to enjoy your natural stone tiles for years to come. We know that to create a lasting look you need to first start with professional installation and then end with ongoing maintenance and proper care, like re-sealing.

In this article, we will discuss how you can use a high-quality sealant to ensure your natural stone tiles shine for the lifetime of your home.

Keep reading to discover how you should seal and re-seal your natural stone tiles!

 

 

Why Should You Seal Natural Stone Tiles?

You might be wondering: what is all the fuss with sealing tile about?

Taking the time to properly seal natural stone tiles can offer several benefits.

Sealant protects the surfaces of tiles from elements that could penetrate its surface, like grout, dyes, oil, chemicals, water, or other contaminants.

This layer of protection helps defend your tiles from unwanted stains. Natural stone is a porous material and, as such, it is more susceptible to pesky stains. Once a stain is embedded into the stone, it can be difficult to remove or improve, so it’s best to sidestep stains from the start.

Another benefit of sealant is that it protects your tiles from bacteria growth and acid erosion.

In some cases, sealant may even offer your natural stone tiles a layer of slip-resistance (depending on the brand of sealant), providing sure footing on even the trickiest flooring installations.

 

 

How to Seal Natural Stone Tile

Porous tiles, like natural stone tiles, should be sealed before installation and after the grout is fully cured.

Because they are porous, natural stone tiles should be sealed with a penetrating sealer. Penetrating sealers, like Miracle Plus 511 Porous Plus, penetrate tiles to repel moisture from within, and prevent staining while still allowing vapors to escape. The best part about penetrating sealers is that they will protect your tile, without changing its appearance.

When it comes to high-grade sealers, we recommend using one of the following sealers:

• Miracle Plus 511 Porous Plus
• Aquamix Sealers Choice Gold
• Stonetech Bulletproof
• Van Hearron Stainguard
• Ocean Care High Performance Penetrating Sealer

These sealers penetrate and protect grout and natural stone from water, oil, stains, and other contaminants.

 

How to Re-Seal Natural Stone Tile

To make sure your installation will last, we recommend re-sealing your natural stone tiles on a regular basis.

How often you re-seal will depend on the type of installation space and how much traffic the space receives.

Keep reading to discover how often you should re-seal your stone tiles in high and low traffic areas!

 

 

How Often to Re-Seal Natural Stone Tile in High Traffic Areas 

(High traffic flooring is not recommended for StoneImpressions’ art tiles)

When it comes to re-sealing tiles in high traffic areas, like residential or commercial flooring, the general rule of thumb is that you should re-seal your natural stone tiles once every year.

Higher traffic areas take on more wear and tear, so re-sealing them on an annual schedule will ensure that your tiles look flawless over time.

For especially high traffic areas, like commercial flooring, some installers opt for a bi-annual re-sealing schedule to account for added depreciation.

Like we mentioned earlier, failure to seal your tiles regularly can lead to permanent staining or worse. Sidestep those headaches by maintaining a consistent re-sealing schedule year after year!

 

How Often to Re-Seal Natural Stone Tile in Low Traffic Areas

For lower traffic areas, like a kitchen backsplash or bathtub surround, you should re-seal your natural stone tiles every few years.

Depending on the amount of traffic, some installers choose to re-seal their natural stone tiles every 18 months, while others choose to re-seal their tiles every 4 to 5 years.

Because these areas are low traffic, these areas are not as exposed to the ravages of time, like their high traffic counterparts. As such, you can re-seal your natural stone tiles less often because the tiles have less attrition.

If you are unsure about how often you should re-seal your natural stone tiles, it is always a great idea to reach out to your sealant manufacturer for specific re-sealing guidelines!

 

 

Sealing the Deal

Our hope is that each StoneImpressions customer enjoys the beauty of their tile installation for years to come. We hope you learned a little bit more about how you can preserve the beauty of your natural stone tile installation by properly sealing and re-sealing your tiles.

If you have any questions about sealing or re-sealing our natural stone tiles, do not hesitate to reach out. Please send us a message and we will connect with you as soon as possible.

Take a break from proper installation and care and get inspired by our in-stock pattern tiles on natural stone. Browse our Artisan line of quick ship pattern tiles or explore the many pattern tiles of our Made To Order line!