White Marble Shower Stain
by Katrina
We have a spot on this white marble 'bench' in our shower that is about 7in x 2in that has yellowed from putting products on it. The rest of the shower is still beautiful but this area is right at the point where you step into the shower. How can I 'whiten' it back up? ANSWER: The yellow stain on your marble may be from oils and other chemicals in your soaps and shampoos, but there is another possibility... White marble (I'm assuming it's White Carrara) often contains iron minerals. If subjected to constant moisture the stone could absorb the water and the iron deposits will rust. The rust will migrate through the stone and eventually show up as yellow stains on the surface. Now you said the rest of the shower looks great... no stains.... so it is probably not a rust problem, but just keep that in mind if the solution I give you doesn't work. How to remove the stain? To properly remove a marble stain you must first know what type of substance caused it (oil, organic, biological, metal). Each requires a different "recipe" to fix it. I'm guessing its either an oil stain or some organic type stain. You will need to make a poultice which is a mixture of an absorbent substance with a chemical that essentially sucks the stain out of the marble. The chemical used depends on which type of stain. You'll find complete step-by-step instructions for cleaning marble (and all stone) stains or all types in the Removing Granite & Marble Stains e-book. Let me know how it goes using the "comments" link. Good Luck, Ryan |
