Travertine with small children - yay or nay?

[Jennlx]

We are looking at a rental with a travertine bathroom and have just been given a scary looking 'dos and don'ts' list for travertine from the landlady. I have a 10 month old and a 2 year old - we're not (very) messy, but they ARE little kids at the end of the day. It's only a rental - will is be too much hassle to be obsessing over the bathroom every day? Oh, and also, say if they have a tummy bug - how do I clean as obviously I can't use bleach, but would want something hardcore to nuke those bad bugs. Any thoughts? :)

Milton spray doesn't seem to have done ours any harm yet. However, it was in the house when we bought it; not sure I'd have chosen it.

Well you've educated me - I installed travertine in my old kitchen (polished floor and some tumbled travertine wall tiles) and never knew there were dos and don'ts about how to clean it! I always used a typical all purpose type cleaner and never had the slightest issue. I would say it's perfect for a family as it's so easy to keep clean and looking good. What on earth does the landlady expect you to do to it?

We actually pulled out of the rental - the LL wanted us to sign a letter confirming that we essentially would not house any liquids in the bathroom except water and exactly how we would maintain it....it all looked a bit worrying from my point of view, with young children. She was very judgmental on my questions regarding cleaners - when I asked about using the likes of dettol and milton, she asked why I would want to use chemicals on surfaces my children has access to anyway. I didn't really want to spell it out: "when my toddler vomits all over the bathroom floor, and I want to clean it....". Nice place, but have no regrets.

PLUS, she was going to charge us fees of £115 for reference checking and printing out the contract - the 'reference checking' involved reading the various letters she made us get ourselves from our present landlord and employers. I'm used to estate agents robbing us blind, but now private landlords....:(