Yellow/Brown stain on Carrara Marble
Marble rust stain
QUESTION:Hi, we have White Carrara Marble in our steam shower. A brownish stain has begun to appear on the bench slab. Not sure what it could be. It started out very faint and has gotten brighter and appears to maybe be growing. Only two things I can think of.1) I washed my hair after it was colored and some hair color came out and may have landed on the slab. (however it would not have sat on it.) 2) A damp towel was on it for a couple days and it would not have had a chance to dry during that time. ANSWER:Many white marbles and especially Carrara contain small deposits of iron.If these deposits are exposed to water, they can rust and leach through to the surface causing the yellow/brown stains. Now, the marble would have to get somewhat saturated for this to happen. If water remains on the surface for hours it could absorb enough to rust the iron and then as the rusty water evaporates it is brought back to the surface. The other, more common cause is water getting trapped underneath the tile (or slab in this case) due to voids or cracks in the grout... or otherwise poor installation. You can remove the rust stain following the procedures in the Removing Granite & Marble Stains ebook, but the stain will return until you stop the source of water. So, let the shower dry out completely for a few days, inspect your grout for cracks and fix any voids. Also, use a squeegee after every shower to remove excess water and allow for quick drying. If the stain continues to return, then most likely you have a faulty install and need to tear it out and start over making sure all seams are perfect and water is not getting trapped under the slab. 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. |
