How To Clean/Reseal Tumble Marble Shower Gunk
by Amy Kelly
QUESTION:Our tumbled marble shower was sealed a year ago when it was new, with Miracle 511 Seal & Enhance. I clean it with Stone Care International's Countertop Spray Cleaner but somehow that seems insufficient.My question is, does it need resealing after a year, and with what, the original Miracle stuff? We also have some Miracle 511 Impregnator that I don't think we ever used - it says it is a "penetrating sealer for tile, marble, and grout" and that is a "Water, Stain, and Slip protector." At this point, which of these should we use and if both, in what order? Also, is there a better cleaner than the one I mentioned above? Sienna Gold is the color of the marble - I do not know the name of the "maker." (I know - it's not "made" it's quarried or whatever.) ANSWER:For the most part showers don't "need" to be sealed. Sealing is to protect against staining and for all intents and purposes staining rarely happens in a shower, unless you like to drink coffee and eat hot dogs in there!The other argument is how well can a stone "breath" once a sealer is applied. Sealer technology is advancing and many sealers let the stone breath better, but in a constantly wet environment sealing can potentially trap moisture in the marble, which is not good. And with tumbled marble you already have plenty of traction... the sealer won't improve that. I'd say forget the sealing, but to answer your question, the 511 impregnator is a straight sealer. If you did happen to get a true stain in the shower you can use a poultice to remove it without much trouble. Seal it if you want to, but you really aren't gaining much by doing so. The color enhancer is a different story. Most enhancers will seal a little, but the real job is to give a tumbled marble, etc. that "wet look." No need to do that again unless you really want to darken the color, but since it has been done once it's hard to say how much darker it would get. Cleaning the gunk: I'd recommend MB-3 Soap Scum Remover . It's safe for marble and will cut right through the gunk. Good Luck, Ryan P.S. Get all the facts, answers, explanations and simple solutions with step-by-step instructions in Cleaning Marble Secrets the complete marble maintenance manual.  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. |
