[Jeremy]

Cleaning Guru's. Got called in to a shopping mall in my area to rectify a problem with an existing tile. The tile is a brown marble. You can see that originally it was honed but this has now gone dull in the major walk ways. However the problem that is really what they called me for is that in certain places, the tile has got this white milky coat on the top. When the tile is wet this goes away immediatly but returns when dry.

It won't scratch off. How can I treat this.

Regards

[david_m]

hi there powdrell

the answer may well be to much detergent cleaner being used
and it has caused a pearl effect hence the whiteness

the first thing i would try is just plain water and vinger on a small patch
to see if that will break down the detergent on top of the tile  and nuteralise it.

next thing you could try is an all purpose hard floor  nutraliser
if indeed this is the cause.

if they are useing a bleach cleaner which is acidic which should never be used on stone
they have probily got a build up of bleach 

a good alkaline cleaner should sort  this problem i would go for allkalo
from solutions

remenber what ever you do,- do not make there problem yours
and test every thing first and ask what they have been cleaning and maintaining the floor with

   davy

 if you get it sorted please post back the final answer to your problem.

   

[David Lauder]

Powdrell

It could be etched! Marble contains calcium carbonate which makes it sensitive to acids. I would think that somebody has spilt something acidic on the tile, or somebody tried to clean the tile with a harsh chemical.

It is more than likely you will solve the problem by having the original stone surface restored i.e. give it the original honed or polished finish.

Please note that I do not believe this is a cleaning issue, but is a surface damage issue.

[Jeremy]

Yup David. I think your right. The problem has occurred over the last three months and I think that the chemicals being used may have changed.

So how do we go about restoring the tile. I noticed that in the corners, away from the traffic areas, the tile is very shiny and looks magnificent. In the walkways, the tile is dull with no shine and then in certain areas it's going white.

As a matter of interest, I was called out to another client that has a ceramic tile (I think) on the outside of the property. It looks as though the same thing has happened

[David Lauder]

Powdrell

You had better call in somebody who is trained in doing this, it is not something that can be explained and taught on this forum.

If you want give me a call on 07980 010890 and we can discuss it.

Regards

David Lauder