Marble reacts to acidic spills by leaving the surface rough, which results in a dull surface. This is apparent on honed marble but more pronounced on a highly polished marble.
Ken from Pewaukee, WI found us on the Internet and asked us to come out and help him with his marble shower. The walls were dull from years of soap and shampoo use and the grout lines were “disgusting”. Although he consistently squeegeed his walls after use that did not remove the soap and shampoo residue which slowly dulled the marble.
We came in and quickly fixed the damage by restoring the marble walls bringing them to a high polish. Because most of the acidic products in a shower roll off the walls and don’t sit in one area and dwell, we were lucky enough to just polish out the marks with marble polish.
The grout was discolored and some of the caulk was cracked. We cleaned the grout with a marble safe cleaner and a small brush getting almost all back to a consistent color but had to replace the caulk to make sure the marble was protected from water. If water gets behind marble in a water environment many very serious problems can, and will, happen!
We use a specialty caulk that not only is silicone but also will not mold. Hat is not true of all silicone caulk!
The lesson here is that marble etches (or burns) when acidic products come in contact with it. It can be repaired professionally to is original, and sometime better, condition. No sealer prevents acidetching. Check out our FAQ section to read up on acid-etching, the use of sealers and how to properly clean marble.
