Need advice re cleaning hard water stains off of marble

[Rubyfruit]

We've been in our house for less than a year and the master shower looks terrible! The stains are just awful. I tried for over an hour today scrubbing with Lime Away and Soft Scrub to no avail.

Does anybody have any advice?

 

[sunstruck]

CRL I think it's called. Works every time.

 

[Guest]

Straight Muriatic acid will take off anything. Just be ready to rinse it off.
You can get it at any hardware store, just make sure it's rating is under 20 degree baume (that's weak) and apply it carefully.

 

[Azwed]

CRL I think it's called. Works every time.

Yeah that should work but if you use it too much it might start to remove the some of the marble away. Marble is a calcium carbonate based mineral and the CLR or CRL might start to disolve it after a while.

 

[riff]

I was gonna say muratic acid too.

BUT BE CAREFUL. That shit can hurt you.

 

[michaelmt1]

Try Lemon Juice !

Mike

 

[Rubyfruit]

I've seen CRL - I'll try that.

Any advice on sealing the marble so it doesn't happen again?

Was I supposed to do that when we moved in?

I talked to Culligan today about putting in a soft water unit and would like to do that when we can scrap together the cash.

 

[sunstruck]

after the eye and upper lip disasters I think Ruby should stay away from anything with ACID in the name. I like her face the way it is.

 

[Guest]

I was gonna say muratic acid too.

BUT BE CAREFUL. That shit can hurt you.

I just bought 16 gallons to clean my pool. It doesn't hurt the marble as long as you rinse it carefully, and 18 degree or lower, I can pour right over my skin with no affect. I might be too used to it though...

 

[sunstruck]

water softeners run about 3g, but it'll be well spent. Hard water sucks the life out of your hair skin and clothes.

 

[#1tankcomander]

Ruby Dear.....

It's CLR.....(calcium, lime and rust) Let it set for a couple hours and wipe clean!!!!!

If that dosen't work, have hubby shoot a load on the stain and rub real hard......OOps that's a remidy for something else!!!!

Seriously try CLR!! If you don't have it at your local grocery, then PM me and I'll send some. It's great stuff, get the rust stains off the driveway!!!!

#1

PS Marksgirl still wants to take you on the playground and whip your ass!!!!!!!

Love ya babe!!

 

[Suzi]

Aw nuts....

...and I was gonna suggest baking soda and bleach...lol. Silly me!

 

[daniella469]

Mix moulding plaster and pure bleach to a toothpaste like consistency. Wear rubber gloves. Spread the paste over the stain about 6mm thick and allow it to stand for approximately 30 mins. Remove the paste and wash tile marble with clean water. This may require multiple treatments until tile stain is fully removed. Moulding plaster can be purchased at hardware store.
What ever you do...NEVER clean marble or granite with vinegar!


From the CLR people:

Can CLR be used on marble or synthetic marble?
No. The active ingredients in CLR will have a reaction with the marble.

 

[april-wine]

Wondering how to get inside Ruby's shower.........

 

[Weird Harold]

Any advice on sealing the marble so it doesn't happen again?

The first link froma google search on "Marble Sealer":

http://www.stonecare.com/

I didn't check it out, but the synopsis from google mentions marble cleaners and marble sealers. I would suppose that there's a lot of good information about the care and feeding of Marble bathrooms there.

 

[Rubyfruit]

Can CLR be used on marble or synthetic marble?
No. The active ingredients in CLR will have a reaction with the marble.

Well shit. That totally sucks. To be honest, I'm afraid to look at the Lime Away directions, because my shower actually looks worse after using it. I hope I didn't cause permanent damage.

Your moulding plaster solution sounds really time consuming, but it may be worth a try.

Thanks for the link, Harold. I'll check it out.

 

[Guru]

 

[Rubyfruit]

Guru, I'm willing to give it a go, in the name of science and all.

April, if I invite you into my shower, can I hand you a scrub brush?

I think I'll keep the muratic acid suggestion as a last resort.

 

[CAROSI]

Any product that is designed to get water spots off your car will work on the marble.


I'll come over and show you

 

[michaelmt1]

I still think you should try the lemon juice its fairly mild and it should remove the stains.

Remember top wash it off though it is a mild natural acid.

Mike

 

[patient1]

I used to sell water systems.

Marble is compressed limestone , more or less. They're both calcium carbonate. So:

Calcium, Lime, &Rust
Lime Away
Iron Out
Muratic Acid brickcleaner

are all acids that are likely to eat marble. The trouble with marble is that it's a bit porus, & not as hard as granite. We're used to dealing with porcelain , which isn't porus. A virus can't even pass into glazed porcelain.

 

[patient1]

I won't promise anything can remove a year's worth of hard water stains from real marble.

Are these red rust/ iron stains, or calcium/magnesium off-white crap? & is it red marble or white or gray?

In other cleaning applications, distilled water alone may work wanders, even if you just soak a wash cloth or rag in it & let it soak your trouble spot. Remember that logically, everything dissolved in water to enter your house, & it shoukd be able to be re-dissolved in "empty"water.

 

[Azwed]

From the CLR people:

Can CLR be used on marble or synthetic marble?
No. The active ingredients in CLR will have a reaction with the marble.

Yeah I thought it might. I wonder how sever a reaction it is. All that should happen is that a small bit of marble is disolved. I think you would be ok as long as you don't use it a lot.

 

[ksmybuttons]

I did a Green Cleaning search and this is what I got:

To clean marble

Dip a cloth in turpentine and rub over marble to clean and brighten it.

This is the site:
http://www.riverhouse.com.au/recipes/green_hints.html#To clean marble

I like to start "green" when I clean.

 

[Guru]