Today I was remembering my growing up in the North, particularly during the holiday season. At this time of year the cold begins to come, and one can’t help but begin preparing for the holiday season. Festive thoughts of beautiful decorations come to mind. Dreams of one’s home looking idyllic, such as this one, warm the soul.

And then the snow begins to fly and reality sets in. Whipping winds, decorations that fly away, broken lights and freezing fingers. More than one yelling match has occurred in my family’s quest to create the peferct outdoor christmas wonderland. In the end, our dream turned into something more like this.

Well, reality somehow has a way of interfering sometimes.

Living now in South Florida, I take great joy in the fact that the cold never really comes! What I do notice, however is that the rains come, and along with the rain, mold. I have seen a lot of people trying to update their homes by installing carpet and tile over their terrazzo or concrete floors. The end result is kind of like the Christmas lights of my past- in a short time, the carpets become moldy and filled with sand, no matter how often people try to clean them. That unmistakable mold smell hits you as you enter the door of a home with carpet. Housecleaning becomes an endless nightmare.

Many people think that because their terrazzo or concrete are yellowed and stained, that the only solution is to cover or replace them. This is not true. Terrazzo floors can be easily and inexpensively restored using non-toxic methods. Concrete can be acid stained or polished- color and/or shine cane be added along with a strong seal- all in an environmentally safe way.

Call Colonial Floor Care today. Let us restore, clean, polish or repair your terrazzo or concrete floors. Once restored, these floors are so durable, beautiful and easy to maintain, you will definitely lessen the stress of your day to day life. Perhaps best of all, no more mold!

We are Colonial Floor Care!

We have written many times about he environmental and health benefits of natural stone and concrete flooring.

When I thought further about my last article on finding serenity the natural way, it occurred to me that bringing natural materials into your home or maintaining the existing natural materials such as marble, granite, terrazzo or concrete, is an important part of healing your home.

Many of our homes have been sick for a long while because of the use of chemically produced materials such as acrylic or polyester carpet fibers etc. Even many of the cleaning products we have been using are highly toxic- both to produce and to use. All of these materias produce high levels of toxic VOC’s (volatile organic compounds)

To help heal our homes, we need to think differently about what we put in them and what we use to maintain them. Natural stones such as marble and granite, along with terrazzo and concrete, are excellent heathy home materials. these materials require no toxic chemicals to produce or install, and they can be easily cleaned and maintained using non-toxic neutralizers or warm water and soap.

Colonial Floor Care has even developed a way to restore the surfaces of these materials without using any toxic chemicals- we use a three stage grinding process that is not only better for your floor than crystallizers, but also is completely environmentally safe.

Whether it is marble, granite, concrete or terrazzo, Colonial Floor Care can restore these surfaces, making your home beautiful, safe and healthy. If you have existing tile or carpet over terrazzo or concrete floors, Colonial Floor Care can remove these materials and remove any stains or repair any holes or cracks.

Natural stone, terrazzo and concrete floors do not emit VOC’s (volatile organic compounds) nor do they harbor dust mites or mold spores. Because of these factors, having these floors makes the air in your home substantially cleaner and healthier.

Natural stone, terrazzo and concrete can even add to your mental health. According to a recent study from the University of Rochester, communing with natutre in the outdoors, as well as creating a sense of natural settings in our living spaces, lifts our spirits and can even help us to behave better. Four studies were completed, and in each, the finding was that the more people engaged in natural settings, the more they valued community and closeness with others. The more they focused on purely man made settings, the more they valued fame and wealth. Furthermore, the researchers suggest, surrounding ones’ self with natural elements may help people relax an de-stress from the pressures of society and become more introspective.

Call Colonial Floor Care today, and begin healing your home!

marble polishing                                                 concrete polishing/acid staining

terrazzo restoration

We are Colonial Floor Care!

There is so much that each of us can do to effect positive changes in our environment- begining with our homes. From using green cleaning products to preserving, cleaning and restoring energy efficient green materials such as terrazzo floors, granite, marble and concrete, we can make a difference every day.

There is a great resource available for making everyday green choices for your home. Danny Seo is a green home expert. If you visit his website, you will find endless tips on how to make green design and decoration choices.

Keep it green!

Visit our other sites to learn about terrazzo cleaning, more environmental tips and to find out more about our company.

Soap and detergents can dull the terrazzo floor’s shine and actually attract dirt because of the residue they leave behind.

For more information visit our website.

Thanks

Bill

Many people, especially those new to South Florida, aren’t exactly sure what terrazzo is. According to The National Terrazzo and Mosaic Association, the word terrazzo is derived from the italian “terrace” or “terrazza” and was defined over the centuries as “a form of mosaic flooring made by embedding small pieces of marble in mortar, and then polishing”.

Today, the NTMA defines this traditional material as follows: “Terrazzo consists of marble, granite, onyx or glass chips in portland cement or resinous material. The terrazzo is poured, cured, ground and polished. ”

According to Marble Masters UK, Terrazzo has been used as a flooring product since Roman tomes. Today it enjoys an enviable reputation as an attractive hard flooring that delivers an appealing combination of durability, ease of maintenance, beauty and performance.

Terrazzo is an amazingly “green” product. It is environmentally safe to install or restore (if green , chemical- free methods are used by experts such as Colonial Floor Care). It is also easy to maintain and very hygenic. It does not harbor dust mites or mold, and helps keep Florida homes cool.

I hope you found this article interesting. Give us a call at 954-566-4555 if you need more information, or visit us at our website.

Thanks

Bill