Is it Safe to Power Wash Travertine Tile?

I am no expert in this area, but I do have some experience with power washing and steam cleaning travertine tile and pavers.  

We Love our Homes now more than Ever

Our homes. We love them now more than ever and are spending more time renovating and taking care of them like never before. We also have more time to think about cleaning. Spring cleaning is a thing of the past, now we clean all year long 🙂 Let’s talk about cleaning natural stone.

Renovating and Cleaning our Homes all Year Long

Having dealt with this issue in the past, we have steam cleaned indoor travertine tile. It’s an arduous task and time consuming but the results were worth the effort. I now regularly use a cleaning product on our indoor travertine to loosen the deep dirt and grime.

Last year we installed a new patio in our backyard and ripped up the old one. Over the past year, I have had a chance to see how the stone is holding up and the maintenance required to keep it looking pretty. As with anything that you want to keep nice it requires work.

Power Washing Travertine Tile

To add to the maintenance of the area, we are presently building a pool and pool house, so the stone is getting a good workout from the builders. In hindsight, waiting to replace the patio until this year, would have been a better decision…but you know the saying…hindsight is 20/20.

So here we are, one year later…how is the travertine doing? Well, it definitely has gotten dirty and grimy from the outdoor elements. Some areas of the patio worse than others. While the weather is still warm enough, I figure this is a good time to give the patio a good power wash cleaning.

The builders are still working in our yard and will continue working probably until Christmas time getting the pool house up.

I started power washing by testing a small area of the stone closest to the house. The dirt seemed worse here maybe because there is less sun? Not sure, but I liked what I saw!!

Power washing can be very tricky and is not recommended on many surfaces due to its strength. But it does such a great job! I used only water, no chemicals at all.

Depending on the strength and type of stone you have, power washing may be too harsh or you should hire a professional to give you advice. I did notice a bit of chipping in some areas when I got too close to the stone. Remember, travertine is a natural stone and will chip or crack in places if something hard is dropped on top of it.

But I am loving the way power washing works on my travertine.

In our prior home, I spent 12 hours power washing our 1000 square foot composite deck. Not sure if power washing is recommended for composite decks but it did a great job removing built up dirt.

Our stone looks so much better now than it did before. Some of the seams near the edge of the pool are still fairly dirty from the muddy boots of our builders. I may go back with a toothbrush to try to remove that extra grime.

This power washer is the beast that is doing a great job on our stone.

With 2000 psi, this electric washer is great for so many home jobs. It can be used to clean outdoor furniture, grills, windows, garages and so much more. It comes with an attachment for soap if you want to use it. You don’t have to. I did not use any chemicals on my outdoor travertine.

A hose connects right to the base, making it easy and convenient but make sure to use an expandable hose or one that is long enough for your job.

I am very happy with the way my power washer cleans and I will continue using it on our stone now and on our future stone.

Have you used a power washer to clean for any jobs in your home? I would love to hear from you. Drop me a line.

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Denise

XO

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