We have decided against travertine in our shower for the simple fact of not wanting to worry about it getting ruined. Even though I'm usually the one that cleans the shower, there are times that my husband, mother or mother in law does. I don't want to have to kill someone over ruining my stone in my shower. Travertine is soft and porous. It looks great, but really doesn't belong in a shower IMO.

Thanks to you both for weighing in: I'm having a quick check before placing my tile order and your advice is most welcome. I'll go with anti- slip porcelain in all three showers.

Before posting, I searched the site for a pros and cons thread and all I found was comments on how beautiful travertine is but 'can be' tough to care for. I really don't want to sell a high maintenance house....well, I am; we're in hurricane country and that's quite enough.

(truthfully, tadelakt would look best; I've done it before but it does need maintenance & waiting for patina to build takes patience)

Thanks again!

It is not always necessary to choose anti-slip porcelain. We prefer ceramic tiles. These tiles are easy to clean. A non-slip coat can always later if that should prove necessary.

You can have porcelain tile that is not specifically designated "non-slip" that will be just fine. (Also, porcelain has lower porosity than ceramic tiles, which means it can be a better choice for a shower since, the lower the porosity, the less water absorption and higher stain resistance.) Many tiles list the coefficient of friction (COF), and, for good anti-slip characteristics, this number should be 0.60 or greater. We have tiled two showers recently: One has porcelain tiles with an almost glass-like surface and a COE of 0.55; we used large format (18" X 18") on the walls and ceiling, and small format (2" X 2") on the floor; because of the many grout lines on the floor, there is no danger of slipping. In the other shower, we have 1' X 1' porcelain tiles with a surface finish that is very smooth, but not quite as slick as the other shower. I actually don't know the COF for that one, but I did a simple test when we had tentatively selected it by splashing some water on it and applying some hand pressure: I was reassured there was adequate friction. And, now that it is installed, I can report that my "field test" was adequate; when I am standing on it there is no fear of slipping.

I also looked into anti-slip treatments for the really slippery tile we have in the first shower mentioned above when we were thinking about using the large format version of it on the floor. Such treatments seemed to fall into two categories: a fairly transparent spray-on material that would need to be renewed periodically, and a chemical treatment that worked by microscopically destroying the very top layer of the tile. I didn't want to worry about having to spray something onto the tiles or physically altering them, so we decided to go with the small format solution.

We have a very small amount of travertine trim in our shower and it is very difficult to keep clean. I would not do it again.

Got it! Thanks again, all.....I'm going with a Refin matte exterior application anti slip porcelain floor with ceramics on the walls. They're not coated; it's an integral surface.

I appreciate the time you took to advise me.

Travertine should NEVER be used in a shower. It's awful. We have a travertine shower with floor and walls made of travertine. Mold is a constant problem. Another issue is that any products that will remove soap scum and mineral deposits is also bad for travertine. Knowing what I know now, I'd never put marble or travertine anywhere in a bathroom or buy a house with either in the bathrooms without a definite removal plan.

We’ve had travertine in the shower, walls and floor for 15 years In several bathrooms. No issues with staining, mold or maintenance. We love it. Maybe the water here is not full of minerals. We don’t use a water softener either.