Hazy Film On New Marble Floor

QUESTION:

We just has a marble (natural polished stone) floor & tub surround installed in our bathroom. There is a haze on the tile from the install process that needs to be cleaned off before it is sealed. What is the best way to do this? Thank you!

ANSWER:

Hopefully it isn't grout haze that has dried on your polished marble floor. Removing grout that has dried on the marble surface requires using chemicals that could etch (dull) the polish.

First, use acetone. Acetone won't damage your stone at all and is very good for cleaning everything from the surface.

If the acetone does not work, then it is probably grout haze and for that I'd get the installers back in to remove the grout haze and re-polish the stone if damaged during the grout haze cleaning.

Sealing

It's quite possible that your polished marble does NOT need sealing. Polished marble is highly resistant to staining.... it just isn't very absorbent contrary to popular myth.

So, test it using water to see how absorbent it is.

Remember, sealing does nothing to prevent etching (corrosion due to a reaction with acids) of the polish. The primary reason to seal is to decrease rate of absorption by the stone. It doesn't make the marble stain-proof. So, sealing a stone that is not very absorbent to begin with does not gain you much except a possible big problem.

If you try to seal a stone that is not very absorbent, then the sealer will just dry on the surface (and not below the surface in the pores like its supposed to) leaving a dull streaky haze that must be removed using nasty chemicals.

So, you only want to seal if the marble really needs it and can "take" a sealer. Also, considering that you aren't going to be spilling a lot of coffee, oil or wine in your bathroom, sealing is often useless overkill. Test it.

Good Luck,
Ryan

I highly recommend MB Stone Care Products to maintain all your marble, stone and granite countertops and floors in optimal condition. I've used other good products (Stone Tech, Miracle) but found MB Stone Care is the most reliable and effective.