If you want to clean limestone and care for your limestone floors it can be a relatively simple task. However, you do need to take care with stone like limestone as it is prone to damage by acid and acidic-based products since it is a calcium-based product.Limestone, in general terms, is relatively soft when compared to say granite or indeed marble. This means that it is always sensible to consider wear prevention. Here is a simple 6 – Part guide to cleaning limestone and maintaining limestone floors:
1. Ensure that your limestone is sealed with a high quality product to help protect wear and tear. We suggest a product like Sealer’s Choice Gold.
2. Make sure you try and eliminate grit from the limestone floor as this is the main cause of wear and tear to a limestone floor. Place dust mats inside and outside the room to remove grit from shoes and to help prevent the transfer onto the floor.
3. Vacuum and sweep the limestone floor on a regular basis. This also helps to remove grit and other contaminants.
4. Clean up any spillages as quickly as possible and don’t allow them to dwell and hence stain the stone.
5. Clean the limestone floor regularly using a mild and neutral cleaner. This will help clean the stone without harming the grout or the sealer.
6. Once a quarter conduct a deep clean using a high quality alkaline cleaner.
For more routine cleaning use a product like Concentrated Tile Cleaner. For deeper less periodic cleans, we’d suggest using Heavy Duty Tile & Grout Cleaner. This is a very powerful degreaser and deep cleaning solution.
Copyright Ian Taylor and The Tile and Stone Blog.co.uk, 2013. See copyright notice above.
Can you please advise cleaning grout off newly laid limestone floor tile.
Hi,
I suppose it all depends on how bad the grout film is. First of all, we need to remember that grout is basically fine sand, plus cement with some additives to improve the flow and workability. The large amount of cement present means that it is very similar in its chemistry to the limestone, in fact it is the cement, which is largely calcium based, that is bonding it to the stone.
IN this case, we cannot use the standard, acid-based cleaners that are normally used for cleaning grout residues – if it can damage the grout residue- it can, and will, damage the stone. What I would recommend is a non-acidic, mildly abrasive cleaner such as nanoscrub this is also based on calcium and will not scratch the stone, but will help to safely rub off thin films of grout residue.
If, as is often the case these days, the grout has a lot of polymer added, then you could also try a safe solvent type cleaner/stripper such as sealer and adhesive remover. This will attack the polymer and not the cement (or stone). It may be that the polymer is the main issue and so this approach may give the best result, you could add the nanoscrub to the Sealer & Coating Remover for an added boost.
If none of this works, and the residue is substantial, you may have to consider seeking professional advice, it might be a relatively simple job to lightly re-hone the surface, taking the grout problem with it. This would necessitate the use of professional equipment and also resealing afterwards.
Hope this helps
Ian
I need to strip and reseal my limestone floor, what chemical is best to do this with. I will be stripping, regrouting, resealing and polishing the floor. Can you recomend a polishing machine also and any other product or tutorials I might be able to follow. I am not a tile man, I have tiled and done a lot of construction finish work and worked with stone, but any help you can offer would be much appreciated. I am not able to have this hired and have time on my hands due to the economy. Thank you for the help.
Hi Dallas,
Stripping and resealing is the easy (or rather straightforward) part. Polishing, well that depends on what you mean by polishing and what type of limestone you have. For example, not all limestone can be polished to a high shine, (some cannot even reach what we call a ‘smooth hone’ and wil always look chalky/dusty) this is a function of the stone’s hardness, the softer the stone, the lower the maxmium ‘polish’ that can be achieved. If you have had the floor for some time, and know it was highly polished to begin with, and it has over time, slowly dulled down, then ok, it ought to be able to be repolished. However if you have just inherited the floor when moving into a property for example, then you do not have the history and will need to conduct a test to determine what level of polish can be achieved.
Also, how flat is the floor? – if there are any raised edges – even a mm or so, (we call this lippage in the UK) then really, this ought to be ground flat first – this means the whole floor generally as it all has to be brought down to the same level. this pricess usually involves diamond griding using several different gradesof diamond from coarse to the finer grades and ultimately finishing with the polishing grades – so can need 3 or more passes.
If you floor is true and flat, and all you are looking to do is bring back a bit of the shine, you could do this with the polishing grades of diamonds, or there are also alternative systems that use powders, pastes and even pads. The Dimaond systems susually require professionals, both for their skill and experieince and the fact that it is not cost effective to purchase or hire the heavy griding machines and the diamonds blocks.
The powders, pastes and pads (synthetic felt type pads impregnated with diamonds- there are several brands on the market) can all be used with regular low rpm (150 to 350 rpm) single rotatary cleaning machines (again plenty to choose from and available to hire). There is a lot of debate about the effectiveness of the pads at the moment but in general terms they are ok, at mainitaing a shine that is already there, not so good at taking a dull floor back to a shine.
It is hard to be precse with out knowing more about your stone and it’s condition.
Re stripping, well if you have to grind the the old sealer will largely be removed in the process (along with any surface dirt) so no stripping required. If you are not going to do anything more than use a pad or pad&powder/paste system then you may have to strip. I would recommend a safe stripper like Sealer & Coating Remover by Aqua Mix. Re re sealing – use a good quality, probably water based impregnating sealer. I am guessing you are in California, so would recommend giveing the help desk at Aqua Mix a call, they will talk you throught the sealing process.
As far as tutorials go, there are a few more articles on this blog on sealing etc but I can also recomend thisbook:
http://www.lulu.com/product/paperback/stone-restoration-basics/693497?productTrackingContext=search_results/search_shelf/center/1
it is a bit expensinve, and it is clearly aimed at people wanting to set up in the stone restoration business, but it si a good basic book that covers pretty much everything.
Hope that helps.
Ian
I have brand new limestone floors going in and the installer has asked if we want to just seal the limestone or to polish it with a diamond polisher and then seal it. They are 24″X24″ tiles and look amazing. Any advice on whether it is worth the additional amount (which is a lot!) to diamond polish it?
Hi Mariane,
It is very hard to advise on this unseen but on the face of it I would question the polishing on a number of counts:
1. You have just bought them, so are they polished or matt/honed? – Whatever the factory finish you have, is the intended finish for that stone – (I guess that is a polite way of saying that if you had intended to have a polished limestone, you would have purchased one – in other words, you bought them because you liked them or the display you saw etc so why would you now want them more highly poished?
2. You say they ‘look amazing’ – so, either they are already polished (sufficiently) or they are honed but look great – I suggest leaving well alone.
3. In my experience, tile installers and stone polishers are distinctly different animals – two very different sets of skills (and equipment) so, while it is not impossible that your installer is also an expert stone polisher – it is highly unlikely. Recently there has been an increase in the number of people offering stone grinding and polishing services with little knowledge, training and equipment, plus new products (nylon pads imprengated with diamonds) have meant that tile/stone installers no longer need to invest tens of thousands of pounds in equipment and hundreds of hours of work to be able to offer these services. However the ‘pads’ are only going to give a light surface polish to the stone and this will not last as long as a true diamond grind. I may well be doing your installer a great diss-service, but I would be careful, ask him for his reasons as to why he thinks the floor needs polishing, ask to see references and a portfolio of work (true stone polishers are so passionate about their work that they keep photos!). If he does intend to just give the floor a quick once-over with this new breed of pads – then ok, but he should not be charging you a lot in that case – but, unless you are not happy with the finish of the stone, I would pass.
4. Can your stone even take a polish? – limestone is a very varied stone and so it is hard to generlaize but it can be very hard, medium or it can be very soft. Without knowing your stone, it is impossible to give an opinion but many limstones are simply too soft to take a polish, and often those that do, are too soft to hold that polish for any legnth of time – I would want to know for sure that it is hard enough to be polsihed.
Hope this helps
Ian
I have a shower which is tiled with honed limestone. It has gradually become patchy with black staining. how do I clean this up and clean off all the existing sealer and re-seal with something that wont allow moisture to get into the tiles
Hi Shirly,
There are a couple of things that we need to look at, one is the cause of the black staining and the other is the ‘waterproofing’ that you desire.
It is a fair and safe bet to assume that the black patchy staining is mould/mildew – don’t be worried by this – it happens to the best of us. I have often said that if we wanted to breed mould deliberately then a domestic shower cubicle/enclosure would be a great place to do it. I have covered dealing with mould and mildew before but it is worth revisiting. First of all I will stick my neck out and say that if your origional sealer was a reasonable one, then it will have done it’s job, and the staining you are seeing is actually ontop of the sealer and so the sealer is not ‘to blame’. Futhermore, replacing the sealer with a ‘better’ one could make no difference.
The sealer should have helped to prevent the mould from getting too deep a hold – or ‘root’ in the stone and therefore cleaning it will be easier than had it not been sealed. Quite how easy it is will be dependent upon how much mould there is and how long it has been left. Mould staining is an example of where prevention is better than cure, in that it is easier in the long run to keep a surface free of mould, by never letting it get a hold, than it is to remove large areas of established mould. I will discuss prevention in a moment, so first lets look at how you can clean it.
This is an area where there is a certain amount of debate, there are many people on cleaning forums and the like who do not advocate using a bleach (particularly so in the USA). There is in fact a debate as to whether mould should be ‘killed’ or ‘cleaned’. My view is that if there is a lot of black staining, it may be better to do both – that is clean away the mould build up and try to kill off the spores at the same time, and like it or not, bleach is an effective way of doing this. There are also other proprietary alternatives to bleach that purport to do the same thing – fine, the point is we need to totally remove it.
My method would be to use a household bleach, diluted with water to make quite a weak solution. Spray this onto the affected areas and leave for an hour. This works great for low to medium instances, if there are thick layers of mould I would scrub them away first with an alkaline detergent, then rinse and then apply my diluted bleach solution. After an hour, I come back and throughly rinse with clean water. The scrubbing removes much of the solids and the bleaching kilss the organism and just as importantly, kills the colour and the stain. Other methods include using a mildly acidic cleaner (not in conjunction with an alkaline or bleach this time) – the idea being that the mild acid (often citric) will take a thin layer of grout away (not enough to notice), taking the anchored-on mould with it. This can be successful but not in your case as the acid would be detrimental to the acid sensitive stone.
So, in your case, I would use a detergent with a scrub pad then rinse, the a very light spray with the dilute bleach as described above. Then rinse and dry.
Regarding a new sealer – I am not sure it warrants it – you have a honed limestone so it is not meant to be shiny, therefore you really have only a choice of impregnating sealers (those that soak in and sit just below the surface) A coating sealer may offer slightly easier clean off – but, it will look wrong on your stone, it won’t last as long in a shower and it really will do nothing to prevent the mould from forming. My advice would be to simply top up the existing sealer. If you feel the sealer is inferior, then use a safe stripper to remove it and then use a premium quality impregnating sealer (for that stone, probably best with a good water-based one). Note, none of the available selaers will offer 100% water-rpoofing – that is not what theyare designed for.
With the stone clean (and importantly dry) and the sealer reinstated now the really important thing to do is take measures to prevent a future build-up, by trying to do as many of the following things as possible
1. increase the airflow – fit an extractor fan in the shower area – to extract as much moisture as possible, as quickly after showering as possible. If there is a fan installed, get it serviced, see if it is rated high enough, set the timer if it has one, for longer (so that it stays on for a few minutes more after showering)
2. leave the curtain open or the cubicle door ajar – again to assist the flow though of air
3. leave a window open for longer
4. dry the walls down! – ok this is the really easy one, after showering, does not even have to be every time the shower is used, but frequently, take an old towel and dry the walls, this removes the moisture whithout which the mould cannot thrive.
5. occasionally, or at the very first sign of mould (a few black spots, or a brown/red slime) spray with very dilute bleach or alternative and then rinse as above.
Mould thrives on moist, stagnant warm porous surfaces that allow it to grip. Take one or more of these conditions away and it will no longer be able to thrive. Grout joints are both textured and porous so it stands to reason they will become stained first – as they hold more moisture than tiled surfaces. Your stone is of course more like the grout, so it will allow the mould to develop more easily on it’s surface than say a glazed ceramic tile would, but often even tiles become covered with mould if they are alowed to build up limescale and soap scum, which makes the surface more textured and porous – so keeping the tile/stone and grout joints clean and dry regularly is the best way forward.
hope this helps
Ian
Hi There,
I’ve used bathroom cleaner on what I think is limestone flooring in the bathroom (rented apartment) and now it’s turned white with numerous white spots everywhere.
Is there a way to fix this and restore the original colour?
Thank you
Marie Anne
Hi Ian, three months ago I fitted a limestone fireplace for a customer, I fix the back panel of fireplace to the wall using universal adhesive which is normally used for dabbing plasterboard to walls which is off white in colour, the next day four damp patches 5″ in diameter appeared on the face of the back panel obviuosly from the dabbing plaster at the back but I was not worry because I thought once they dry the damped patches would disappear but unfortunately 3 months on I am left with four yellowish marks on this lovely off white limestone fire place. can you help?
Many Thanks, Maj.
Hi Marie Anne, it sounds like you have used a product that contains an acidic ingredient, This has then etched (burned the surface) of the limestone. In doing so it has dulled the surface, thus causing it to scatter (rather than reflect) light – this creates the dull, white mark. I assume that if you wet it, it will temporarily show the colour, until the water dries away.
The stone needs resurfacing, depending on the degree of etching, if the floor was shiny before you may be able to do this with a hand repolishig paste like Reshine.
Or you may have to use diamond hand pads, or even call a stone profesional to re grined the stone if it is really badly damaged. Suggest you contact Aqua Seal STC ( I think you are in Sydney?) they will be able to advise you.
Hope this helps
Ian
Hi Majid,
I am not sure there is anything that can be done here. A couple of things could have happened: The adhesive has acted like a bridge or a conduit between the back wall and the back of the limestone. This can allow the transport of soluble minerals to permeate through to the front. Or the wetting action of the adheisve has set has caused some thing to be disolved and travel through to the stone as the water dried – for example ther can be soluble forms of iron (Iron sulphide? – I am not a chemist!) the point is this iron then oxidizes (rusts) inside the stone. Or it could just be contamination from components in the adhesive that have travelled through the stone. If the stain was still mobile, (like damp, dirty water) it may be possible to pull it through the face with a poultice but I think this highly unlikely as I think that it is one of the reasons I have mentioned. If it is, then whatever the cause, it has now ‘set’ inside the stone and become a pretty permanent feature.
If it is as a result of iron, there is a chance that over time, with exposure to UV light, it will fade back (happens a lot with white marble) but this can take lot of time.
It is no help to you now, but you may be able to prevent this from happening agin in the future by first pre-sealing the back of the stone with a good impregnating before using the adhesive.
Hope this helps
Ian
New bathroom limestone both on the floor and the shower. Can a steam cleaner help keep the flooring clean or will this damage. What should we use on a weekly basis to keep the floor in good clean condition. It has been sealed.
Hi Janan,
team cleaners are ok, especially when used with a good detergent – but only for infrequent, deep cleans – not for every day cleaning. I doubt they will damage the floor but they will damage or degrade the sealer, and thus reduce it’s life expectancy.
For every day cleaning use a soft brush or a flat mop, dry or with a static spray cleaner if you can get one. When you have to wash it, use a neutral cleaner (ph7)
Hope this helps
Ian
I have a Bath stone floor which has degraded somewhat over the 5 years since it was laid. The original polish has worn off despite my mopping with a shine-maintenance solution, and the pores and grouting have gradually filled up with the local ‘mud’. Do I steam-clean to get this out, or apply a proprietary stripper then scrub or suck the sludge off with a wet-and-dry vacuum. I have been advised gradually to build up the polish finish with a mopping solution, but I feel the mud would again clog the pores before it had built up enough to fill them. What would be your advice?
Hi Virginia,
OK, personally I have found that deep cleaning with the right cleaner tends to outperform a steam cleaner – and I have done head to head tests in a comercial\environment; in the time it took the cleaner to steam clean the grout around one 10 inch tile, I had deep cleaned about 12 tiles and grout with an alkaline detergent. His reults were pretty good, not better than the chemical though and the time was totally impractical.
Sure steam cleaners have improved since then, but unless you can get your hands on a ‘turbo-spinner’ type I would not bother and even with one of those I would be inclined to use it in conjunction with a chemical.
My advice is this:
remove loose dust and debris with a soft broom or swifer type cloth
then, as the stone is a very porous limestone, pre-wet the floor with warm water – just mop it over
Then use a proprietary alkaline cleaner such as Xtreme Clean (contact All for Stone) mix as per instructions, say about 1 part cleaner to 3 or 4 parts water, then apply to the floor. Leave it to dwell for about 10 to 15 minutes (pre wetting the floor helps with this stage as the stone is already saturated and will therefore not suck the cleaner in too deep or dry out to fast.
Now scrub with a scrubbing brush, medium bristles should be fine, you can do this by hand or get hold of a rotary machine.
Use a wet vac to pick up the dirty solution
Now mop over with fresh, clean water, wet vac again.
Finish off by drying the floor with towels, or buff with the machine.
This should really clean the stone and the grout.
As far as reinstating the polish, well it depends how much of the polish was created mechanically in the stone, versus chemical ‘polish’ deposited ‘on’ the stone.
Not all limestones are hard enough to polish, I suspect yours is kind of in the middle, could get very smooth and flat, but not reach a very high shine, the rest of the shine coming from the build up of the dressing/shine-maintenance cleaner product.
My guess is that the floor has worn beyond the ability of the shine-cleaner to restore, so I suspect you would need the services of a professional stone company to ‘re-finish’ it before recommencing the use of your cleaner. However, once you have deep cleaned the floor you can have a good look at it.
Once you are happy with the ‘mechanical’ finish of the floor, before proceding with your shine/cleaner build up – I would seal the floor with a good water based impregnator (clear/colourless).
Hope this helps
Ian
Ian –
Very many thanks for taking the trouble to understand the problem and to give me your expert advice! I can now set about the floor at least knowing which route to take . . .
Virginia
I need help, just purchased and installed an egyptian limestone foyer and fireplace it is honed but has a light film on it how do I remove the film.
Hi, as you cannot use an acidic cleaner on thisstone, your only other option is mild abrasion. If you are in the US, look for a product called nanoscrub. it is a mild, calcium derived cream abrasive that has just enough abrasive power to help shift stubborn films without dmagaing the stone. Outside of the US, look for Microscrub. If your film is worse than that, then you could consider some fine honing powder and a white pad.
Hope this helps
Ian
I have just bought two limstones slabs which my new multifuel stove sits on and am not sure how to clean the limestone and whether it is safe to put a sealant on, is it safe to use sealant on tiles exposed to such high tempretures?
Hi Andrew,
Just use a high alkaline cleaner like this: follow the instruactions, pre-wet the stone before applying the diluted cleaner, let it sit, then scrub and rinse. Repeat if necessary.
A good water based premium sealer will be fine, it will not get hot enough to damage it
hope this helps
Ian
Hi Ian
We recently had a limestone floor put in our kitchen. Our builders (it was part of a house renovation job) were incompetent and did not take care with the tiles. As a result they are very dirty and require deep cleaning.
So far I have tried applying an undiluted alkaline solution agitating it with a sanding machine. But this seems to have little or no effect.
As a next step I had thought to repeat this process but with ‘microscrub’ (EU version of nanoscrub.
I am a bit concerned about doing too much as the tiles are only half an inch thick and I am concerned I might scrub myself through them!
What advice would you give?
If it isn’t possible to clean the tiles is it possible to bleach them? At the moment they have unbecoming rust coloured patches on them.
Cheers
Pete
Hi Peter, a couple of things here:
First of all Using an alkline cleaner undiluted is not actually always going to help, many, if not most, actually NEED water for them to work, so ironically NOT diluting them does not make them stronger or more potent.
Also, I suspect from your description that the dirt is ‘builders’ dirt – i.e cement based and most likely grout residue/haze. If it is an alkalie will do little in any case.
You cannot use an acid cleaner though as that will damage the stone for sure.
I would agree with you that the next step should be a microabrasive like Microscrub. – use this with a little water and if you can get one (hire) a mono brush machine – rotating machine, slow rpm (175 to 350) with either natrual fibre pads or medium brush head.
If this does not work, you have to up the abraive a little bit – but now you will be removing stone, only microns but still removing stone, where as with the Microscrub you will not be.
So, next try a honeing powder – for this you most definately need a machine and a wet vac again yoiu can hire them. This proicess is a little more involved so I suggest you email me if you ned further infomration
Hope this helps
Ian
Thanks Ian, I will try this
Regards, Peter
Hi Ian,
Very interesting and informative blog. My problem is that I have Jerulsalem stone tiles on my kitchen floor. Recenty I noticed on one tile a splash mark. Wiping it did nothing to remove it and resealing a test area didn’t make a difference. I don’t know what caused it but it is in the food preparation area of the kitchen. Can you offer any advice, please. Also I’m finding it difficult to find an everyday cleaner for the rest of the floor. From the time the floor was laid (4 years ago) I used a cleaner specifically for stone (Flash, I think) but for the last year or so haven’t been able to find anything suitable on the supermarket shelves, I’m reluctant to use an all purpose cleaner because I’m not sure if there is anything harmful for stone in the liquid.
Any advice would be much appretiated.
Futher to the above, the floor was sealed at installation, but not since – apart from the small test area.
Thanks.
Hi Jenni, from your posts, it may be that there is little or no remaing sealer. the sealer youu had was most likely a penetrating type and they will usually last a while, but not if strong cleaners are used. Flash, may make some ‘stone’ cleaners but if they are high in alkaline detergent then they will strip, or dramatically impact the longevity of a sealer.
In any case if water splash marks are leaving ‘stains’ then the stone is now porous enough to acceopt water deep into it’s structure, and the water must have had something in it (it is very rate we drop pur water on a floor, even tap water has impurities).
I would conduct a thorough deep clean with something like Xtreme Clean – yes it will damage any remaining sealer but I think it safe to assume that is no longer an issue. when clean and dry, you may need to use a poultice for any individual deep stains. Then consider resealing it with a good penetrating sealer.
For every day cleaning I would recommend a neutral cleaner like Ezy Clean.
Hope this helps
Ian
Hi, our limestone tiles have been laid in our kitchen for about a year. Yesterday, we made the foolish mistake of cleaning the grouting by using ‘easy-care’ and a scouring pad. We have left a paler area of limestone along the edges of each tile (obviously scratching the stone with the scouring pad). Is there anything we can do about this? Have we permanently marked the tile? Have we removed the sealer? Should we replace the sealer? Does this mean stripping the old sealer? Thanks for any advice you can give us! Cheers, Matt.
Hi Matt,
It does sound like the scouring pad was too strong – I am guessing it was not a white one ( the softest ). Think of it in terms of woodwork, different finishes are achieved by using different grades of sandpaper, a really course paper will take out scratches and marks but leave the wood with ridges, a medium paper will then flatten out the ridges, and a fine paper will make the wood very flat and smooth to the touch. If you take your really smooth wood and go back to the medium or course sandpaper, you will make the finish less smooth, put more ridges back in it etc – this is effectively what yo have done with the scouring pad. So you need to refinish the surface of the stone, to what extent depends on what finish you had to begin with.
Limestone is normally finished to a state that is known as honed, or fine honed – which means very flat and smooth, almost with a satin sheen, but not quite ‘polished’ as many limestones are simply not hard enough to take or hold a polish. There are a few dense limestones however that can be polished (high shine).
If your stone was a flat hone, and you have only mildly scratched it, it could be that rubbing the area with some fine wet & dry sandpaper will be enough to tone the scratches down and blend the whiter areas back into the main part. If it is more severe, then you may have to consider re-honing the entire floor, this is done with a floor machine and either honing powders or diamond pads – so usually a job for a professional.
I have a good friend in Ireland who could advise/quote you on this feel free to call him: Frank Hegarty http://www.fha.ie
Hope this helps
Ian
Hi Ian, I live in a farmhouse which has old limestone flags in hall. They have been covered in a red waxy polish which has now gradually been worn off where we walk. What is be best way of cleaning them properly and getting the remnants of red polish off them?
Many thanks Sarah
Hi Sarah,
If it is just a wax and not a red tile pain then a strong alkaline cleaner backed up with some microscrub should work fine:
Suggest using Xtreme Clean and Microscrub as follows:
sweep the floor
pre-wet the floor with a mop
mix the Xtreme Clean say 1:2 with [warm] water, apply it to the floor and leave it to dwell for about 15 minutes
Now add a couple of capfuls of Microscrub (a calcium based mild abrasive cleaner) to the Xtreme Clean that is already on the floor
Agitate (scrub) with a deck brush or scrub pad
Pick up dirty solution
Rinse with clean water
Buff dry
Inspect. If this does not work you may need to repeat. Failing that, if it was a solvent type red tile paint, you would need a soplvent stripper to remove.
You can get the products mentioned by calling the good folks at Tilinglogistics on 0121 705 5333
Hope this helps
Ian
Hi Ian
We have just had a limestone floor laid in our kitchen diner. It looked gorgeous when first laid and initial sealer put on it only a day ago.The next day it was grouted and sealed again. We have come home to a very dirty looking floor. Almost like it has been washed with a dirty mop. I appreciate the natural quality of the stone means different colours will come out but this does not look right. We are not sure what has gone wrong. We are hoping the tiler or builder will be able to fix it. What could have caused this? Can anything be done to fix it? We are in Glasgow.
HI Sue, it sounds as though the grout has not been properly clean up before sealing, meaning you have grout residue/haze on your tiles.
You cannot use an acidic cleaner as it will damage the stone so I would suggest you try (or get the builder/tiler to try) a mild abrasive cleaner like Microscrub by All for Stone.
use with a little water and a white nylon emulsifying pad and try to gently remove the residue.
If successful you will then want to re seal again.
Failing this you could try using an alkaline cleaner in conjunction with a honing powder – this is a bit more specialized and requires a rotary scrubbing machine and preferably a wet vac. If you want more information on this let me know
Kind regards
Ian
Hi there,
What do you recommend for daily cleanings / mopping? I have white limestone floors all over my house (and three kids). So we need to “mop” more often.
Best,
Kasie
Hi Kasie, really just use the following:
1) sweep regularly with a soft brush or swiffer type dry mop
2) absorb isolated spills as they occur – use paper towels or similar
3) for regular or routine mopping use very mild soapy water or a mild/near-neutral cleaner
Hope this helps
Ian
Hi Ian,
Like many others here, my new limestone shower floor became etched with cleansers containing citric acid and had to be buffed and resealed, after which I used only acid-free cleaner especially made for stone.
However, the floor became etched again, and the tile repairer (who redid it for free, bless him) explained it was because my personal care products (shampoo, shower gel, etc.) also contain acid: mostly citric acid, but shaving cream also has palmitic acid and stearic acid. So I have to find products which are completely acid free.
Is this normal, that not only the cleanser but everything else used in the shower needs to be so strictly limited?
Thanks,
Jeff
Hi Jeff,
This is a great question, but to be honest you are not going to like the answer, put simply the answer is yes.
I am going to use a [very strained] analogy here: teeth. We all know that eating sweets and drinking fizzy drinks leaves an abundance of sugar on our teeth, sugar leads to plaque acid (I’m no dentist so allow me to over-simplify what is happening), this acid, eats teeth. Teeth enamel is largely composed of calcium, which is very sensitive to many acids and so acids react/dissolve/etch the calcium in our teeth and can cause severe damage to the enamel. So, we know that we should not consume too many of these and that if we do we should clean our teeth right away. What is less obvious is that if we decide to follow ‘healthy eating guidelines’ and eat more fruit and veg, especially the current fashion for fruit/berry smoothies, we can be subjecting our teeth to a similar sugar onslaught – but we are less aware of what we are doing because on every other level, it is a good thing to do; we are happy that we are eating more fruit which is great for many reasons, but our Dentists are raising their eyebrows and scratching their heads, not wishing us to stop, but desperate to make us aware of the increased need for cleaning etc.
My point, and now that I have written it, is seems even more strained than I anticipated, is that lots of things that seem normal, or even good are not necessarily good for every situation. Limestone, which you have chosen for its aesthetic qualities, is basically made of calcium carbonate, and like teeth pretty much any acid will etch/erode it. So although we need to use these soaps and gels etc – acid is acid and limestone is calcium – you have avoided the obvious acid cleaners – like the sweets with teeth, but are now caught in the same trap as with the smoothies – you want the benefits of the gels etc but they WILL affect the stone.
I am reading between the lines here and assuming you have a wet-room, where the actual shower base/floor is made of limestone so there is no avoiding these products from ending up on the stone? (as opposed to a ceramic shower tray adjacent to a stone floor, where care could be taken to avoid contact with acidic compounds).
I have not looked to see how easy or otherwise it may be to find non-acidic alternatives to the products you are using (I am sure there must be some?) but to be very blunt, I could say that you chose the wrong material for situation. Sure lots of people use limestone in showers, but lots of people drink smoothies. Bottom line is, lots of people have etched limestone and either don’t know or don’t care.
What else can be done? assuming ripping out the stone and using something else is not an option, you can either keep having it restored periodically – to a point. I cannot really recommend a coating sealer (which would put a barrier between the contaminants and the stone) as a) it won’t last in that environment and b) it could significantly alter the slip-fall properties of the stone.
I am assuming that the stone is polished, semi-polished or honed – in other words has at least a very flat smooth surface, maybe with a little shine. The more shine or gloss the stone has, the more noticeable the etching will be (as etching effectively roughens up the surface, removing any shine). If this is the case, consider having the shine removed, to a lower level hone – make the floor a bit duller, no shine, it would not look the same as the stone outside the actual shower area, but this could be done in such as way as to look deliberate – to ‘define the shower area’ It will still etch, you just won’t notice it as much as the contrast between the etched and the now dull surface will be much less. It will also be going the right way in terms of slip resistance.
I have made a few assumptions there, hope it helps
Ian
Thanks! You are correct, the tile is the entire shower floor, and the same tile is used on the adjacent bathroom floor, with a curb in between.
It is not easy to find products without acid, but I did find one brand called Cleure, which offers a full range. I just ordered it so can’t recommend it quite yet, but I am hopeful. I’m willing to change products to protect the floor, but I will advise my architect that he needs to warn his clients before suggesting limestone in a shower.
We remodeled my mom’s home at the same time, and used the same tile, but as hers is very light colored, no etching is visible, although I’m sure its there.
Thanks again for your information!
Hi Ian!
I have a fine honed tile floor in the bar area of my house, and several months ago I was careless enough to drop an entire bottle of Guinness on it. Not only did I waste a great beer, I also left a large, unsightly mark that looks like the finish, or sealer was stripped off.
I mopped it up right away with towels, and then used a sponge mop with water and a household cleaner to get the “sticky” off.
I’m pretty sure it was the Guinness that left the mark – it’s the same shape the beer splash made.
Can you (PLEASE!!!) tell me how to fix this?
Thank you,
Deb
Hi Deb,
You know I am not 100% sure but I think that Guinness, like most alcoholic drinks is acidid. You do not state what your floor is other than telling me the finish is fine honed – so I am guessing limestone, or some other calcium based stone. In which case it is acid sensitive, the very fine honed surface is very flat, smooth and almost reflective. The acidic beer has etched away the finer particles and chemically ‘roughened up’ the surface, think if it as having taken the honed finish back down again to a non-honed finish.
Deal with any stain that may or may not be present first (deep clean with an alkaline cleaner). Then you will l have to carry out a local repair to that tile using either some honing powder and a white nylon pad (by hand or on a small hand machine) or by using some hand diamond pads. It is difficult to advise you properly as I don’t know the precise finish of your stone and every stone or stone type responds different ly to various grits anyway but I would think you want to be in the range of 400 to 600 grit with either the diamonds or powder, you may have to start lower to remove the damage then work back up to 5/600 to achieve the same degree of hone. I would do all of the affected tile.
Hope this helps
Ian
I moved into a beautiful condo in Sept 2012. I never noticed the condition of the limestone floor (I had carpet in former place) It is 12 years since floor put in by an owner of granite and tile. I am actually ashamed of how my floor looks — so many scratchy looking tiles (not all) and these are not natural markings! Plain water does nothing. Would steam cleaning by a professional help? Thanks for any help.
Hi Jean,
I am a bit confused by your post, I think you are saying you have inherited a 12 year old limestone floor that now looks marked, maybe scratched etc?
In any case, I would think that a limestone floor of that age, if it has not been well maintained by the previous owner, is probably well over due a through deep clean. I would do this first, when clean, you can see if there are any real scratch marks, and decide what, if anything to do about them. I would also look at getting the floor resealed then also.
You may or may not require a professional to do the cleaning part, it all depends on your time, equipment you may have available and how confident you feel. Applying a sealer is also not too hard, but rectifying scratches really needs a pro – or you could get a pro restoration company to quote you on a complete deep clean and reseal, plus advise on any scratch repairs.
Hope this helps
Ian
Thank you Ian for taking the time to comment.
I had read all that you mentioned previously on the internet. I am not in a position to do any of those treatments and it would be very expensive. The previous owner was in the tile and granite business and I am shocked the tile was not cleaned and resealed. Having had carpet in previous home, I know nothing about natural stone tile maintenance. I read not to use anything acid when doing a normal cleaning so guess just soap and water.
Hi Jean,
if you cannot get the stone resurfaced, you can at least get a high alkaline cleaner and give it a deep clean:
Gently sweep or vacuum the floor
pre wet the floor – just by going over it with a dampened mop
apply a diluted high alkaline cleaner (like Xtreme Clean) to the recommended strength (see bottle instructions) and mop onto the floor, keeping it away from any water sensitive areas like kitchen unit end panels, wood floors and adjacent carpets etc.
leave the cleaner to dwell on the floor for 10 to 15 minutes – apply more it it appears to be drying out in the time.
give the floor a good scrub with a white nylon pad, or a scrubbing brush (or the same on a machine if you can hire one) – pay particular attention to the grout joints
pick up the now dirty solution with a mop or a wet vac if you can hire one.
now a really important part, rinse the floor,change the water in your mop bucket, and rinse the mop clean under the tap. Now apply fresh water to the floor and mop up.
Get and old towel and wrap it around the mop or a broom – or just do it by hand – just dry the floor (this avoids water marks – just like when you wash glass etc)
let it dry before you evaluate the results
Hope this helps
Ian
Thank you Ian.
I happen to be an 80 yr old widow who is also crippled. So I could not follow those instructions. I plan to get a quote from company that polishes the marble floors in lobby of my condominium. This floor was never resealed in my estimation. Daily I go over it with a large Rubbermaid mop and guess I should just use plain water to do more than that.
Completing the restoration of a farm house in West Wales, with open plan ground floor of 175 sq m . Would prefer natural stone floor but am very concerned with the sealing of the stone and the cycle of re sealing the floor to maintain the surface. Assuming reasonable family traffic after how many years might we have to re seal the floor and how many working hours would the job require? We favour either a Slate or a Limestone floor but would a porcelain tile be far more simple to maintain ? Any advice would be welcome.
Cheers. Stephen
Hi Jean,
OK, no problem, one of the ‘joys’ of email and the like are that we do not always get the full picture!
OK, get a quote from a couple of reputable firms. Ask them for references, the goods ones will have a portfolio of work they are proud to show you, ask them also for the numbers of 3 past customers and give them a call – that usually sorts the genuine good contractors out
best of luck
Ian
Hi Stephen,
A few questions there, first thing I have to say is this: there is no such thing as a maintenance-free floor. Whether tile, stone, wood, carpet or concrete – that is a fact.
OK, so you have choices, knowing that all floors will require some maintenance might make it easier to focus more on the type of look and feel you want.
Having said that, there are pros and cons to each of the three materials you mention:
Slate is hard, durable, and usually has low water absorption, can be sealed with with either a coating sealer (for a sheen) if riven, or an impregnator (for a natural, mat appearance) But can be hard to clean after installation and the colours are dark.
Limestone is soft(er) porous and definitely needs sealing with an impregnator, it is susceptible to acid attack (wine, mustard, orange juice etc) but is light, comes in many colours
Porcelain – CAN be much easier – as it may not require sealing, and its dense nature means it is hard wearing, and easy to clean. Comes in may colours and finishes and will last a long time. However, there are so many porcelains out there and the range of qualities is massive, and not always obvious, some porcelains are a nightmare to clean, some need sealing and some stain even after they have been sealed.
Sealers themselves will vary, good impregnators can last over 15 years, but say on a hard slate, an impregnator might last 8 to 10 years in the environment you describe, provided you care for it and use mild cleaning chemicals. A coating sealer on the other hand may last between 6 months and 3 years.
On limestone, if the limestone is very soft, I would say 5 to 8 years for a good impregnator – even the ones that say ‘up to 15 or 20 years’ – the key phrase is ‘up to’ much depends on the hardness of the stone that is being sealed.
Hope this helps
Ian
Thank you Ian.
I googled : firms in Fort Pierce, FL area that do cleaning and sealing of limestone floors and everything but what I was looking for came up. Exasperating.
It is so nice to come in contact with someone as caring as you are.
Jean
You’re Welcome
Ian