Vinegar Stains on Travertine Countertop

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Vinegar Stains on Travertine Countertop

QUESTION:

How do I remove vinegar stains from my travertine counter tops?

ANSWER:

That depends on whether the surface is polished or honed.

If you didn't know, travertine is a calcite-based stone (like marble and limestone) and is thus sensitive to acids like vinegar and many other foods.

The vinegar will corrode the travertine creating dull and/or discolored spots... called "etching."

If polished use SCP- Marble Polishing Paste, which is specifically made for this purpose and is very easy to use. Will remove most etch and scratch marks unless very severe (then you'd need to hire a pro).

If honed you'll need to hire a marble maintenance professional to re-hone the area or you can follow the directions in the Removing Etch Marks Manual.

Good Luck,
Ryan

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

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

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Vinegar Stains on Travertine Countertop

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Bar Keeper's Friend is now my friend!
by: Anonymous

My housekeeper used a vinegar and water mixture to clean my travertine floor after I told her not to. She must have spilled it and let it sit because it made terrible etching in a splatter pattern. I tried Bar Keeper's Friend and it worked! I've already scrubbed it 4 times and it needs another time or two to get it all off, but it looks so much better already!

I used the powder form (cleanser and polish).

====Admin comment: Yes, this can work, BUT it's risky and your probably got a little lucky because Barkeeper's friend is acidic just like vinegar and you potentially could end up with an even bigger etch mark.

I understand that it eliminated the visible spot, but it did not "remove" anything.... let me explain:

The vinegar did not stain... it etched the travertine, which is a completely different issue. So, there wasn't anything "on" your travertine. Quite the opposite.

Etching is a corrosive chemical reaction. The acid in the vinegar ate away the travertine, exposing more raw travertine under the surface finish, which caused a difference in the color creating a visible spot that many mistake as a stain... but it isn't.

What the barkeeper's friend actually did was slightly etch and (because the powder is abrasive) sand away a surface layer of stone around the vinegar spot... it's a crude form of "re-finishing" the stone.

The effect is that the easily noticeable line where the vinegar had etched was erased or blended (rather than removed or taken off the stone) so the etched area is now not as visible or even completely invisible.

Hard to explain... but you essentially increased the area that was etched, but also sanded away the damaged stone, so it blends with the rest of the floor and becomes unnoticeable.

Again, nothing was removed and the less risky technique is to simply sand out and blend etch marks on honed/tumbled travertine rather than use an acidic abrasive. Foot traffic will help to further blend in time.

It's great that you were able to achieve the results you wanted, but it's a delicate dance to use an acid on travertine or marble. Sometimes stone is treated with acids, but never for cleaning purposes, so I would not use BKF as a regular cleaner for travertine or any stone... it's acidic and will etch.

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Vinegar Stains on Travertine Countertop

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Vinegar Stains on Travertine Countertop