Travertine cleaning and sealing in Elanora Heights

Travertine around an Elanora Heights pool lives with leaf fall in a way that coastal terraces do not. Leaves, bark and flowers land on the coping, settle into the natural holes and get soaked by splash, so tannin is drawn deep into the stone. Pool water adds chlorine or salt, and the shaded edge of the terrace can grow algae in any hole that has lost its filler. Over time the stone looks blotchy rather than dirty, with dark rings where leaves sat and a grey edge along the waterline. Because travertine is a calcium carbonate stone, most supermarket and pool-shop cleaners make things worse rather than better, so a careful approach matters.

We never use acid on travertine. Our technicians use alkaline cleaners designed for limestone, worked over the face and down into the voids using a slow rotary machine and soft brushes, then rinsed at low pressure. Tannin rings that survive the clean are treated with a poultice. Before anything goes down, the pool is covered or protected, skimmers are closed off, and garden beds near the terrace are shielded. Rinse water is recovered with wet vacuums rather than tipped into the pool or the garden. We also point out any etch marks we find, because dull patches from acidic spills are surface damage that needs honing, not a stain that cleaning will lift.

When the terrace has dried right through, which under trees can take a few extra days, we refill any open voids using a tinted filler before the terrace is sealed. We use a penetrating sealer suited to pool water, applied in thin coats and wiped back so no film forms, which keeps the travertine's grip under bare feet. That also slows tannin from soaking in, so a quick sweep after a storm removes most of what lands. We give you curing times before swimming and replacing furniture, record the products used, and suggest a water-drop test each spring: if drops darken the stone instead of beading, resealing is due.