I just had my floors refinished, how do I maintain them?

DON'T damp-mop your floor using a solution of water and stone soap. Like any other soap, stone soap will leave a hard-to-remove deposit on the surface of the stone. Stone soaps have very limited applications and, most importantly, they are not for cleaning a highly polished stone floor. Even so-called "rinse-free" stone soaps are discouraged. In fact, by reading the label on soap stone bottles, you will see that every so often (when you can't stand to look at your streaky and smeary floor any longer, that is!) you should be using a heavy duty stripper/degreaser to remove all the soap scum that has been accumulating on your otherwise beautiful floor by not rinsing it after damp-mopping it. Always use a pH neutral floor detergent, opposed to soap. (Even dish soap would create the same problem.) DON'T damp-mop your floor using a solution of water with a commercially available cleaner, unless its label specifically indicates that it is safe to use on natural stone. Worse yet... DON'T damp-mop your floor using a solution of water and vinegar. Vinegar is highly acidic and will damage the stone. DO a deep-cleaning of your stone floor and grout lines when needed using a solution of water and MB Stone Care MB-2, Heavy-Duty Stone, Tile and Grout Cleaner. If your floor is in a foyer or any other room with direct access to the outside... DO use proper floor mats. The leather or rubber of your shoes won't damage your floor, but dirt will. It is important to have good rather than merely 'pretty' mats.' DO clean your floor mats often. When they get saturated with dirt, sand or water they defeat their purpose.

FOYER
A subordinate space between an entrance and the main interior to which it leads

GROUT
A mixture of cement material and aggregate to which sufficient water is added to produce pouring consistency without segregation of the constituents

NATURAL STONE
Although technically a redundancy, as stone is naturally occuring by definition, the term is used to distinguish true stone from imitation materials.

POLISHED
The finest and smoothest finish available in stone, generally only possible on hard, dense materials. Or, a glossy finish which brings out the full color and character of the stone

TILE
A thin modular stone, generally less than ¾ inch thick