Saltillo is fired clay, not stone, and its shine comes from a topcoat rather than the tile. Outdoors that coating breaks down, clouds white, and lifts, and the old film has to come off before anything new goes on.
White powder on a paver patio is one of three different things, and only one is efflorescence. Cleaning addresses how efflorescence looks and does not cure it, because the cause is a moisture source.
Flaking flagstone is either a coating on top failing or the stone surface spalling because moisture is trapped behind it. Flagstone is extremely porous, and that one property explains nearly everything that goes wrong with it.
Not sure this is the right topic? Three questions usually sort it out. First, what is the stone? Marble, travertine and limestone are calcium-based and react to acid, granite and quartzite are harder, and quartz is engineered rather than quarried. Stone 101 covers that.
Second, is the surface dirty or damaged? Soil sitting in travertine pits or grout lines is a cleaning problem, and Cleaning and Sealing explains what professional extraction reaches that mopping cannot. A mark you can feel with a dry fingertip is missing stone rather than dirt, and Polishing and Restoration covers how honing and polishing put it back.
Third, where is it? Grout lines and showers are under Tile and Grout. Patios, pool decks, flagstone and pavers are under Outdoor Stone, where Arizona sun, monsoon dust and hard water change the answers. Everything about keeping a surface from getting to that point is in Care and Maintenance.
If you would rather have someone look at it, Stone Care of Arizona provides free in-home estimates across Scottsdale, Paradise Valley, Cave Creek, Carefree and Fountain Hills. Request a free estimate or call (480) 625-0557.
