Tag Archives: tiled shower room

Repairing Damaged Marble Shower Tiles

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We were recently received a referral from a well-known house cleaning company who needed some assistance to resolve an issue with a Marble Tiled Shower at a Georgian property in Ringmer. Unfortunately one of their staff had sprayed a Cillit Bang cleaning fluid onto the tiles to remove Limescale deposits and had marked the tiles with white streaks which could not be removed. Now Cilit Bang is a very strong product and although it has a reputation for tackling tricky cleaning problems it contains Benzenesulfonic Acid which like any acid should not be used on Stone as it will damage it. If you check the internet you will find this problem is not uncommon and numerous people have experienced the same issue, the good news is there is a solution.

Damaged Marble Shower Tiles in Ringmer Before Damaged Marble Shower Tiles in Ringmer Before

Polishing Damaged Marble Shower Tiles

Using a spray bottle containing a dilution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean and a set of small Diamond encrusted burnishing pads attached to a handheld buffer I went to work on the tiles stripping away the existing sealer and bringing back the surface of the stone. During this process the damage to the tiles started to fade and once the sealer was removed the tiles took on a washed out appearance which was to be expected at this stage.

Sealing Marble Shower Tiles

After drying any wetness with a heat gun I left them for a while so they could be sealed. Assisted by the underfloor heating the tiles soon dried out so after about half an hour I was able to apply a coat of Tile Doctor Ultra Seal which is an impregnating sealer that leaves a natural look. For the next couple of hours I added three more coats during which the tiles gradually came back to their previous colour. Each coat has to be fully dry before the next once can be added on. During the drying process I took the liberty of cleaning the customers shower unit, not something I’m in the habit of doing but it passed the time.

Damaged Marble Shower Tiles in Ringmer After Damaged Marble Shower Tiles in Ringmer After

As you can see from the photographs on this page the white streaky damage caused by the Cillit Bang has now been removed and the surface looks as good as it did before.
 
 
Source: Tile, Stone and Grout Cleaning in Sussex

Removating old Marble Flagstones in West-Sussex

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Apologies in advance but I’m going to start this post with a warning; there are some very strong cleaning products available in supermarkets and most of which are completely unsuitable for use on natural stone floors because they contain acid. Even weak acids used over time will erode and reduce the life of a sealer and can lead to small holes appearing in your tiles so you do need to be careful what you apply and always read the label.

The reason I mention this is I recently had a client in the village of Woodmancote with a Marble Tiled En-Suite who had sent over some photographs showing how the tiles had become marked after using Cilit Bang to clean them. Cilit Bang is a very strong product and has a great reputation for tackling tricky cleaning problems however it contains Benzenesulfonic Acid so it should not to be used on Stone. If you check the literature it does not say it can be used on stone although it does mention the product can be used on tiles and I suspect this is where the confusion comes from as I suspect it should say ceramic tiles.

Getting back to the story I informed the client that it was tricky to tell from the photographs what would be required so I offered to pop round when next in the area and take a look. We offer a free no obligation home-survey so I arranged a site inspection and after the meeting I was confident that I could repair the damage to a level that meant that that it would be barely noticeable to the naked eye.

Damaged Marble Shower Tiles in Woodmancote Before Damaged Marble Shower Tiles in Woodmancote Before

Polishing Marble Shower Tiles

To resolve the problems I started by giving the Marble Tiles a general clean with a dilution of Tile Doctor Pro Clean and then followed this up by burnishing the stone with a 6 inch coarse diamond burnishing pad fitted to a hand held rotary machine. After going over the damaged area with this I then used the medium, find and super fine pads to restore the surface and build up the polish in the stone.

Sealing Marble Shower Tiles

When this was complete and I was satisfied that I had done all that was possible I waited for the Marble to dry and applied two coats of Tile Doctor Ultra Seal which is a penetrating sealer that will occupy the pores in the stone and prevent dirt become ingrained there. When the sealer was dry I gave it a light buff using a small Green pad. This added to the sheen and improved the way the Marble blended in with the surrounding Marble.

Damaged Marble Shower Tiles in Woodmancote After Damaged Marble Shower Tiles in Woodmancote After

It would have been impossible to get rid of the stain entirely but I’m happy to say by the time I had finished you could not notice the marks unless you looked at the area at point blank range and you knew where to look!
 
 
Source: Tile, Stone and Grout Restoration Service in West-Sussex