Travertine cleaning and sealing in Clontarf

Travertine on a Clontarf pool deck usually wears unevenly. The coping nearest the water absorbs splash every swim, darkens and stays damp after the rest of the deck has dried. Holes in the stone open up as their original filler crumbles, and they fill with grit and organic matter. Afternoon sun across Middle Harbour heats the surface, so salty pool water evaporates quickly and leaves crystals inside the stone; over time this breaks the edge into a rough, sugary texture. Leaves from garden trees add tannin stains. A clean, refill and seal at the first signs is far less disruptive than replacing coping after the edge has broken down.

Because travertine is calcium carbonate, we keep acid away from it entirely. Pool-shop scale removers and many tile cleaners etch the surface, leaving dull patches that cleaning cannot fix. Instead we use alkaline, limestone-safe cleaners, brushed into the open holes by hand or with a slow rotary pad and rinsed gently. Before any of that, the pool is covered, and run-off is recovered rather than allowed into the pool, the garden or the harbour. Where there is etching or wear from years of use, we show you before starting, because those areas need honing rather than cleaning, and it is better to know the likely result in advance.

Sealing happens only once the stone is dry through, which by the water may take a day or two of fine weather. Next, open holes take a filler tinted to suit the stone; then a penetrating impregnator rated for salt and chlorine goes on, working in thin coats and removing the surplus so nothing sits on the surface. Texture and grip on the deck stay as they were, which matters around a pool where bare feet and wet stone meet. We tell you how long to wait before swimming and moving furniture back, and record what we used. Each summer, a few drops of water on the coping will show whether the seal is still working.