The stone of Rapolano is geologically a travertine and therefore, regarding its technical characteristics and cleaning issues, the standards, precautions, and advice valid for cleaning travertine should be considered.

This particular type of marble is mainly composed of calcium carbonate, and the only thing that can seriously damage it is acid, which reacts with the calcium carbonate, dissolving it.

Therefore, when cleaning travertine, non-acidic cleaning products must be used.

This is the only real precaution to observe to answer the question “How to clean travertine”: any type of neutral soap is perfectly fine for managing a “normal” cleaning of a travertine surface.

However, travertine is a material that will tend (albeit very slightly) to absorb any greasy, oily, or colored substances that may fall on it.

It should be remembered that travertine is not a particularly absorbent material and this specific nature will protect it from external aggressions. Moreover, its “cloudy” coloration will help hide any shadows that contact with oily substances may cause.

In any case, if a deeper cleaning is necessary, we recommend using specific products like our travertine cleaner detergent.

But also a preventive waterproofing treatment is useful in this regard for the surface of travertine marble.

Another issue related to cleaning travertine, especially when placed outdoors, is its characteristic holes.

Travertine, in fact, as is well known, has among its characteristics peculiar holes of varying sizes that characterize its surface.

It is quite evident that these holes, on external artifacts such as pavements, sills, thresholds, stairs, pool edges made of travertine, will tend to collect dirt like soil, dust, leaf debris.

Therefore, to the question of how to clean travertine sills, the suggestion we give is to use a brush and water or, in the case of larger surfaces, a pressure washer.

However, if molds have formed, a phenomenon not dependent on the type of material but on the type of environment in which it is located (for example, an outdoor area in a shaded zone, or a shower placed in a humid environment), to clean the travertine you will need to use bleach by spraying the moldy surface and letting it act for a few hours. This step is necessary, do not be afraid of damaging the surface: a s already mentioned, what causes damage is the acidity of the detergent, and bleach is not acidic. At that point, a brush, water, and/or a pressure washer will completely remove the mold residues.

Regarding blackened travertine, it should be remembered that it may have taken on such coloration due to dirt or mold.

The suggestions described above will help clean blackened travertine.

Even to the question “How to clean travertine with moss” the answer is to use a brush and possibly a pressure washer.

For further and possible stains on travertine, such as paint, writings, graffiti, or others, specific substances capable of dissolving such staining elements should be identified on a case-by-case basis.