Terrazzo is in almost every older Nairobi home and apartment block, and it outlasts anything laid on top of it — carpet gets replaced, tiles crack, terrazzo just keeps going. But it dulls fast when the wrong products are used on it, and once that damage sets in, no amount of polishing brings the shine back.
Why Nairobi’s Older Buildings Still Have The Best Floors
Terrazzo is essentially marble or stone chips set in cement or resin, then ground and polished flat. Because the wear layer is the same material all the way through rather than a thin surface coating, it doesn't wear thin the way vinyl or a lacquered wooden floor does — a terrazzo floor laid decades ago can still be brought back to looking genuinely new, provided it hasn't been damaged by the wrong cleaning products in the meantime.
The Cleaning Mistake That Ruins It
The most common damage we see isn't wear — it's chemical. Acidic cleaners, undiluted bathroom descalers and strong bleach all attack the cement binder holding the stone chips in place. The surface starts looking chalky and dull, and unlike ordinary dirt, that etching doesn't lift with a normal clean or even a re-polish — the surface itself has been eaten into.
Day-to-day, that means avoiding vinegar-based cleaners, neat bathroom descalers and anything acidic on terrazzo, even when it's marketed as an all-purpose floor cleaner. A neutral-pH cleaner is the only thing that should touch it regularly.
The Strip, Seal And Buff Process
Restoring a dulled terrazzo floor starts with stripping the old wax and sealant build-up — skipping this step and sealing over old wax just traps grime underneath the new layer, which is why some "polishing" jobs look good for a few weeks and then flatten out again. After stripping, the floor gets a neutral-pH deep clean, a fresh sealer application, and a final machine buff that brings the shine back out of the stone itself rather than off a surface coating.
How Often It Actually Needs Doing
A full strip-seal-buff once a year is enough for most homes; busier commercial entryways and lobbies usually need it twice a year to stay looking sharp. Between full treatments, regular dust mopping and the occasional damp mop with a neutral cleaner is all it needs — along with felt pads under furniture legs, since dragging furniture across terrazzo is one of the few things that can genuinely scratch it.
