Travertine cleaning and sealing in Darling Point

Darling Point travertine usually belongs to a terrace or pool area facing the harbour, or to the common areas of one of the suburb's apartment buildings. On private terraces, the issues are salt film from the air, scale where pool water splashes and dries, food and wine marks from outdoor dining, and holes that have lost their filler. In apartment common areas, foot traffic and the wrong cleaning products are the bigger factors, with etching near entries and rings under planters. Either way, the first visit is about reading the stone: what is sitting on it, what has soaked in, and what has actually damaged the surface.

Cleaning uses chemistry that is safe for calcium carbonate, never acid, with gentle mechanical scrubbing and a soft rinse; the run-off is recovered and any pool protected. Food and wine stains are pre-treated and, if they have soaked in, drawn out with a poultice left to dry over a day or so. We point out etched areas before starting so expectations are clear, and honing can be quoted as a next step if you want an even finish back. The aim is to remove what sits on and in the stone without changing its texture or colour, so the terrace looks like itself again rather than like a different stone.

Sealing follows once the stone has dried properly. Open holes are refilled to match, and an impregnator suited to harbour salt is worked into the surface, with any excess lifted before it can dry and leave a haze. The travertine keeps its natural look and grip, so a wet terrace is no more slippery than before. You will receive cure times for the terrace and the pool, plus a written record of the product. On a harbour-facing terrace we suggest an annual water-drop test, since salt air shortens the working life of any sealer, and we can book a check-up visit before the summer entertaining season if that suits.