I’ve been spending a lot of time in the master bathroom, working on that to-do list, and found something that I had to add to the list. I noticed that the travertine tile floors needed resealing.
Way back when the floor was first installed, I sealed the floor and the shower with a gloss sealer. But unfortunately, along with the rest of the bathroom, we never really followed up on that. Meaning, we didn’t reseal periodically as we were supposed to. The gloss seal finish was pretty much disappearing. You could see where it was wearing off. Not a good look.
I mistakenly thought this task wouldn’t be that bad to knock out. I thought I could just clean the floors and then reseal. Um, that’s not the case when you have disintegrating acrylic gloss seal already on the tile!
First, I cleaned the floors thoroughly. I swept and then scrubbed them and allowed them to dry. Then I used this combo to strip the existing sealant off.
This part was no fun. I definitely paid for not resealing the floor properly for the past few years. I followed the instructions on the back of the bottle and applied the stripper to the floor with a sponge and let it sit for about five minutes. Then, I used the brush and scrubbed and scrubbed and scrubbed. I scrubbed so much I was sore afterward. Maybe there’s a better stripper to use, but I went with the one the employee at Home Depot recommended for travertine. This step took about two hours. UGH!
I prefer the look of a slight sheen on a travertine floor, but after that unfortunate scrubbing experience, I decided I need a low maintenance floor and went with a matte sealer. I applied the sealer with a large clean sponge. That part was a cinch compared to the stripping step. And what’s more is that after all that work, I don’t even like the matte look of the floor. You should at least be happy with results after all that work! Can you tell how I hated that part? Ugh.
I’m glad that’s over with. I still prefer the look of a high gloss sealer. It’s just more maintenance. Learn from me, and either 1) don’t use a gloss sealer or 2) reseal periodically before the finish starts degrading.
As a reminder, here’s how my list is looking.
master bath:
paint trim
hang shade
update art & rug
fix baseboards
fix vanity
new light fixtures
reseal floor
If you have any tile maintenance tips for me, feel free to share.
-J
Whew! That sounds like a tough NOT FUN job. But I bet you’re glad it’s done! 🙂
Sorry you went the hard way to reseal your floor.
I was just in Home Depot this week and they have on the display a new product for the sheen you are looking for. I am thinking of trying it for my kitchen floor. My floor is travatine also with dull finish and I want to spruce it.