cleaning marble floor,, i need help!!! HELP!!!

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bleacho

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Nov 28, 2006
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its not really the forum to ask this, but all of you have given out some great tips, and advise, and im desperate !!!!
i have marble flooring in my entrance, dining room, and hallways.. i can see dirt imbedded slightly, as well as the luster gone... i dont know how to clean and get them looking shiny, and new.. anyone have any suggestions?
Thanks in advance everyone.. hope to hear some suggestions..
Steve
 
Whatever you do, do not use vinegar! If the floor is marble, vinegar will etch the finish. My house has a white marble floor in the upstairs hallway. Years ago I cleaned the ceramic tile in the bathroom with vinegar water, and without thinking, just went onto the marble hall floor, and continued. DAMN!! The shine on the marble was GONE! I was horrified! Called a marble and stone place and they had to come out and repolish the entire floor!I am talking about a heavy duty grinder used with water, and a 3 stage polishing. They used a large metal ring about 3 ft circle that had sides on it about 3 inches high. They used the grinder inside that metal ring. That was to keep the water/compound spatter down. What a mess that still made! There was white polish dots sprayed all over everything!

I only use hot water, or a mix of hot water and Murphys Oil Soap to clean that floor about twice per year now. I then do a light wax on the floor with liquid car wax after the floor has dried. Seems to help it resist scratches, and the floor wipes clean with a damp rag. I do a damp rag clean up to the floor weekly. It is important to keep a marble floor grit free. Marble is a soft stone that scratches easily. Granite on the other hand is much more durable,and is almost impossible to scratch.

If I were you, I would try a good cleaning and a light wax. If that does not do the trick, you could always have the floor repolished. It is a mess though.....
 
rickr

thanks, murphy's may do the trick.. never thought of using car wax to polish them up..
i will try, and thanks,,
im not one for mess, and considered having them prfessionally done. didnt realize the process was so messy. thanks again..
Steve
 
You're may have to call a natural stone restoration service and have the floor ground and polished, depending on how far gone they are. Marble, like all natural stone flooring, wears and loses its shine as tiny scratches in the marble's surface dull it's finish. I have natural terrazzo floors in my house, which contain marble and granite embedded within a cement base. To bring back the shine on these 50 year old floors, they had to be wet ground with a diamond pad, and then polished. It was worth every penny. The floors came out beautiful. The nice thing is that the guy who did the floors said that if you take care of them, it really never has to be done again. It helps to take your shoes off before walking on them, too, because you track in abrasive materials on shoes from outside that can mar the finish on the floors. So far, after a year, they still look new.

Natural stone is not indestructable, it has a finish that can be penetrated by cleaning solvents, and that finish can be destroyed and dulled. Never use anything with an acid base, like vinegar or lemon, on marble, it will penetrate its finish and destroy it. All natural cleaners like Simple Green are the way to go....just a small amount on a properly finished floor is all you need (1 tbsp/gallon of water). You'll be amazed at how the floors stay clean with just sweeping or vacuuming once they're refinished.

I hope that helps somewhat! And shop around for services...I fouond the prices varied dramatically for the exact same service....from $4 a sq foot down to $1.60 a sq ft. I went with the $1.60 sevice, and they did a brilliant job.
 
I've had good luck with a Henkel product called Sofix on Crema Marfil. It leaves a protective coating. Had marble in the kitchen and bathrooms and it is high maintenence to prevent the damage that is described above. Very beautiful though. The Sofix was a lifesaver in those high activity areas. Scroll through the link noted below to view.

Also, the Lowes & Home Depot offer stone floor cleaning preparations. Often janitorial supply firms have something too. If your floors really don't get soiled; Rick & Andrew's methods will do the trick.

 
I agree with

Andrew... I have a marble floor in my half bath and stone floor in the master bath. Simple Green actually makes a great stone,granite and marble cleaner. Its a fairly new product and you can find it at Lowe's, Ace or Home Depot..

Good Luck.
 
marble

i have italian marble tables in my home (some black, some white) and i use car wax on them!!! it cleans very well and shines even better!!!! it does not hurt them at all, in fact that is what the manufacture suggested that i do.

michael
 
For cleaning marble and granite

Use a marble/granite cleaner available at your local flooring dealer. DO NOT USE ANYTING ELSE! DO NOT USE WAX, ETC.... If you want your stone to shine, use a marble/granite sealer polish. Mark
 
marble polish

Hi
my mother used to have a marble dinning table she got in the 50's. we had that table right up until it went into storage in 1986. my brother sold it he did not like it!!!
any how I used to use a product made by Godders called morble polish. it was a bit of work because it was a past wax. put it on with a soft cloth rubbing with soft circles doing a section at a time. let it dry and buff. by hand or a buffer and it always looked beautiful and very shinney. that table was used for every thing from playing cards to fancy dinners and took it all those years because of the godders marble polish. give it a try. they also made a very good furnature polish.
 
AquaMIx "Stone Enhancer" is concidered to be the "Rolls-Royce" of stone products by all the experts, and I agree.
The Expo Design Center USED to carry the whole AquaMIx line-up of products, but that may have changed under the (disasterous) leadership of their last CEO.

Just "Google" "Stone Enhancer" and track some down.

Always BEWARE of products that use the deceptive term "sealer"! ALL STONE is porous and CANNOT really be sealed-------and just the term "seal" implies some sort of protection that you will NEVER have with natural stone!

No matter what you do it will never change the fact that all natural stone requires special upkeep. AND it can NEVER be fully protected from staining!

IMO stone is fabulous! Hope you get yours back in balance and enjoy it!
 
Well, we do not hanve marble-floors in the house where we are linving in but have terrazzo on the staircase and the only way of getting it really clean without much effort (just wiping it with a wet mop and afterwards with a damp-dry) right down the pores of the material plus giving it a shiny appearance without polishing it is.....??
SOFT-SOAP! I use it for many things, like dayly bath-cleaning, kitchen-PVC-floor, staircase, balcony, against lice and caterpillars on our plants, on stains on the wool-carpet, kitchen cupboard cleaning, on tiles, doors, etc. and it's so cheap! 5kg for 6Euros and you need 1 tablespoon for a bucket of warm water!...and environmental friendly as well!!
Maybe that is a good cleaner for marble as well?
Ralf
 
We have marble in our foyer, we put it there because we wanted something that was low upkeep. Hmph!
Our Lab/Golden Retreiver loves to lay on the marble in the foyer. She always lays down in the same spot. Now, over the past few years you can see the spot where she lays down. The gloss is gone in the shape of the dog! Turns out her fur has acted like a brillo pad and worn away the finish!
We were told only to use very hot water and a clean terry cloth towel to wash the foyer once a year. And if anything spills on the marble to wipe it up immediately and flush with cold water. Marble is very pourous, and it also stains. Sucks stains up like a sponge. If you were to spill some wine on it, the stain would be there forever.
So much for low maintenance flooring. It may end up looking like crap, but it will last forever.
 
When brought indoors,all natural stone requires constant upkeep.
It is beautiful,and will wear inside just like it does outside, washed by rain and stained by other natural objects coming into contact with it.
Such is the beauty of nature.

I laugh when I hear natural stone salespeople tell prospective customers about how "low maintenance" stone is!

In a busy kitchen it is like a three year old----you'd better keep an eye on it!
 
Guys -

Everyone with natural stone flooring that has a good finish on it has to remember one thing (and I mean a good finish/polish) - any kind of abrasive, acetic or bleach based cleaner will erode the finish and expose the pore of the stone, which will suck dirt and grease in like a sponge. Remember, stone is porous...that finish protects it.

Simple Green have been around for years and years...I use it to clean grease spots off the garage floor, but its a natural, safe and gentle cleaner WHEN DILUTED (1 tbsp/gallon of water). Simple Green will not remove the finish, and in small concentrations, will not streak it either...especially important for high luster finishes. I've used Simple Green for almost 30 years, and it has never ruined anything, so it is safe for any type of washable surfaces. Be careful with it, however, because it's strong....dilute it correctly and you'll have no problems. It's natural stone's best friend. Remember, it's the finish/polished surface of the stone you want to protect. It will clean the greasiest kitchen mess, or garage floor, if used in a higher concentration, too.
 
Speaking of Simple Green. When I first got my old Volkswagen Squareback the interior was filthy beyond words. I washed the inside out with Simple Green. I could not believe how much of the dirt it took out. I thought I would have to replace the headliner in the car, but after Simple Green it looked as good as new!
 
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