Dry Treat Travertine & Granite Sealer
by Richard K
QUESTION:Have you heard of a sealer called Dry Treat? They claim to have 15 year warranty on their product. I have installed tropical brown granite counter tops and polished and filled travertine on the floor.The dry treat person says seal it all with two coats. They claim that no stain should ever appear if I seal it right with their stain proof product. What is your opinion of the product and are all sealers the same? ANSWER:Yes... I've heard of Dry Treat, but have not used their products yet. And no, sealers are not all the same. Just like paint or household cleaners are not all the same.From what I understand, they are using the latest molecular engineering technology. Instead of just filling the pores, the sealant forms a permanent molecular bond with the stone to act more as an oil and water repellent than a physical barrier. Thus, there is no way for the potentially staining substance to soak in or bond with the stone. It works kind of like opposing magnets... you can't get them to stick together. Is it better? .... not being a chemist, I can't say definitively that Dry Treat is better or not, however, based on their explanation of how the sealer works I'd say it's probably is better and possibly a lot better... permanent bonds, etc. Note that their 15-yr warranty is good only if their technician applies the sealer and I'm sure there are other caveats. Now, let's go back to square one. You installed Tropical Brown granite and polished travertine. Did you test both of these to determine if they even needed sealing? Why?... because neither of these typically need sealing. Tropical Brown is very dense and when travertine is polished it becomes essentially non-absorbent. In fact, usually they can't be sealed... just not porous enough to take a sealer or absorb anything else. Applying a sealer to a stone that can't take a sealer is an exercise that most likely will end in maddening frustration. The sealer will just dry on top creating a streaky haze that will need to be stripped off with toxic chemicals. So, test each surface with water and see if they need it. The fact that Dry Treat told you to apply two coats to these surfaces tells you how much they know about sealing vs. selling their product. Now, it may be a great sealer when needed, but there is no point in applying a sealer when not necessary. You don't gain anything except potentially a nasty stripping job.  Hope this helps,,Ryan P.S. Get all the facts and simple step-by-step solutions to any problem with our Granite & Marble Maintenance Manuals.
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