Brown Stain in White Marble Shower

QUESTION:

The White/Grey marble on my shower walls is getting veins of brown...how do I fix it?

ANSWER:

What you are describing sounds like a problem that is somewhat unique to white marble.

White marble often has deposits of iron. If water leaches into the core of the marble tile and contacts these deposits, the iron will rust and bleed to the surface causing brown, orange or yellow spots.

Usually the problem occurs in showers and on floors because there is water under or behind the tiles. The water could be from a leak, cracks in a foundation or grout or poor tile installation in a shower allowing water to get behind the tiles.

Water from the shower itself typically will not cause this because it dries out quickly.

It really requires a constant source of moisture to become a problem.

Inspect your shower, especially the grout lines closely for cracks, voids, etc.

If you find cracks, then do not use the shower for a week to let it dry out thoroughly. Check if you notice any dampness anywhere at this point.

Hopefully you can repair cracks to solve the problem, but you may have to rip it out and re-install it to correct a problem of water getting behind the tile.

One other explanation is that the tiles were installed with cement rather than white glue. Sometimes the presence of iron in cements can cause a yellowing.

I'm leaning toward the iron deposits though since it follows the veins.

You may be able to get the stains out using a poultice for rust stains. You'll find complete instructions on how to do this in the Removing Stains Guide.

But this could only be a temporary fix. Again, it usually occurs because of water behind the tile. So, until that problem is fixed, the rust color will continue to bleed through.

I know this answer is a bummer, but if you do find evidence of water behind the tiles, then you may have some recourse with your installer.

Good Luck,
Ryan

P.S. Get all the facts, answers, explanations and simple solutions with step-by-step instructions for any problem or question with our Granite & Marble Maintenance Manuals.

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