We will find that in a humid environment to Ston to stone is easily eroded by various factors, causing discoloration, alkali, and shedding, which will affect its service life and aesthetic effect.
For stone care, let’s share some tips on stone application and maintenance in a humid environment.
Porous structure of stone
To thoroughly understand the relationship between stone and water, we must first clarify the structural characteristics of stone.
Different structures, different characteristics
There are many kinds of building decoration materials around us, and the characteristics they show in use are different.
For example, stone must be protected before use. Sometimes cement also needs to be waterproofed. A little further away, ancient ships were all made of wood. Before these ships were launched, they were waterproofed with tung oil.
However, looking at other materials, such as plastic, metal, and glass, I have never heard of protection.
Stone absorbs water, why is this?
This is because: stone, wood, cement – all porous structures.
Plastic, metal, glass – no porous structure.
Metal does not absorb water.
What is a porous structure?
Taking stone as an example, there are various pore structures on natural stone, but they can be most intuitively divided into two categories:
① Visible pores: such as holes, cracks, micro cracks, etc., as long as they can be seen directly by the human eye or can be found by careful observation, they can be classified as visible pores.
② Invisible pores: including micro cracks that are no longer visually distinguishable, various capillaries, micropores, pores, etc. throughout the stone, these structures cannot be distinguished by the human eye.
The most representative travertine.
Invisible pores determine the characteristics of stone
However, among these two types of pores, which one determines the characteristics of stone? – Invisible pores.
This is because: the radius of the invisible pores in the stone ranges from 10 to the negative 10th power meter to 10 to the negative 2nd power meter, that is, it reaches the nanometer and micrometer levels. And the entire stone is composed of minerals, cementing substances, and these pores.
Therefore, these invisible micropores actually constitute a microscopic channel that is interconnected throughout the stone. It is these microscopic channels that are the real basis for the porosity of stone.
The porous structure of cement and wood is similar to this. However, plastics, metals, and glass do not have these nano- and micro-scale structures, so they are not porous.
The relationship between stone porosity and water absorption
It is these porosities that make the relationship between stone and water very unusual.
- Direct water absorption
Visible and invisible pores become channels for water storage and entry and exit, allowing stone to absorb water and hide dirt.
- Moisture absorption phenomenon
As shown in the data in the following table, micropores of different radii (in m) can absorb humid water vapor in the environment and air through condensation and capillary action.
This also shows that in actual use, various forms of water, including visible, invisible, and damp, will cause stone to absorb water. Water absorption of pores of different sizes
Water absorption, the harm caused by humid environment to stone
It is no exaggeration to say that most of the various problems that arise in stone applications are closely related to water. It can even be said that most of the problems are caused by water.
- After the stone absorbs water, it will cause changes in mineral reactions, resulting in various problems such as rust, yellowing, water spots, alkali reversion, color difference, powdering, particle explosion, and fracture.
- After natural stone absorbs water, it will also cause the bonding force between minerals and cementing materials to decrease, making the compressive strength and bending strength of the stone lower, such as deformation of stone after water absorption, deformation after compression, warping, micro-cracks, and fractures, which increases the danger of engineering use.
- Natural stone has a high water absorption rate, which increases the weight of the stone. When used on outdoor walls, it is affected by natural conditions such as rainy season and humidity, and water absorption makes the structure load-bearing. Rainwater and humidity penetrate the stone to promote the oxidation of structural parts, affecting the safety of the building.
- Natural stone, such as low-density limestone, will dissolve after absorbing water, and the surface of the stone will lose gloss, change color, pits, aging and other phenomena will occur, reducing the application performance of the stone.
- After absorbing water, natural stone will freeze in the cold winter and melt again when the temperature rises. The volume of water will expand when it freezes. The repeated freezing and melting will cause the stone to break.
- When doing maintenance in a humid environment, water will also dissolve the material, thus affecting the polishing effect.
It can be seen that behind various stone problems, there is basically a shadow of water.
How to do maintenance technology on wet stone?
- Water that cannot be avoided
The molecular formula of water is H2O, and each water molecule is composed of two hydrogen atoms and one oxygen atom. These two elements, combined in this way, form one of the most stable substances on earth. How stable is it? Just look at the water on earth, which has circulated in various environments on earth for billions of years without any change.
Therefore, as long as the stone absorbs water and cannot be discharged, it will definitely exist and will definitely cause various subsequent effects on the stone.
We cannot get around the material of water, and we must discharge it. The best stone is dry stone.
- Maintenance prerequisite: clean and dry
We have formulated technical plans for many projects, and the first item in the maintenance process is “clean the stone until it is clean and dry”. This point is easily overlooked, but it is actually very important.
The difficulty of stone maintenance in humid environments/seasons is how to keep the stone dry in such a large environment with so much water to achieve better maintenance results?
Tips for stone maintenance in wet seasons
Here we only share some of the most common tips.
- How to maintain dryness
① Use a high-power water-absorbing vacuum cleaner
In humid weather, stone is more likely to absorb dust, soil, and other pollutants due to water. Moreover, these substances are retained on the surface and micropores of the stone, which enhances the ability to retain water – this is a mutually reinforcing process. Therefore, the surface of the stone should be kept clean in humid weather.
It is recommended to use a high-power water-absorbing vacuum cleaner, the greater the power, the better. The strong suction can extract the water that has penetrated into the stone and take it away.
② Automatic floor scrubber
There are many automatic floor scrubbers now, which can heat water for cleaning and remove pollutants better. It also has a water extraction effect, which can take away water and pollutants at one time.
③ Improve ventilation
In the humid season, the humidity in the whole environment is relatively high. At this time, opening windows for ventilation may not be effective, and sometimes it will increase the humidity. If the indoor temperature is too high, you can take measures to strengthen ventilation, turn on the air conditioner, turn on the air conditioner dehumidification function, and reduce the air humidity to about 50, which is very good for indoor stone.
- Selection of maintenance materials
① Choose materials with low water content
In humid weather, water is not easy to evaporate, so much water stays on the surface of the stone for a long time. On the one hand, it will increase the absorption of the stone, and on the other hand, it will dissolve the polished surface that has been made.
Therefore, in humid conditions, it is best to choose a paste material with a low water content. Such as glaze sealing materials.
② It is best to use a scouring pad
No matter how good the steel wool is, it will produce fine debris during polishing. The problem with humid weather is that the ground is not easy to dry. These debris mainly contain iron elements. If they are in a water environment for a long time, they will cause the stone to turn yellow due to oxidation.
Especially on white marble, we generally prohibit the use of steel wool for polishing. Choosing a scouring pad made of polyester fiber can avoid the problem of yellowing.
In short, it is very important to maintain and care for stone in a humid rainy season. Only by doing a good job of maintenance and care can the quality and beauty of the stone be better guaranteed.
These are my personal insights and methods, I hope they can help you.
Thank you for reading.
If you want to learn how to maintain marble, please clik here Marble Floor Care this blog to view.
