Cleaning Slate tiles in shower..Anyone have success?


Juicegoose

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The wife and I recently bought a home and the slate shower looked great. over the last couple months though we have noticed that the grout and slate tiles have begun to get a white water staining to them. We've tried the scrubbing power of the bubbles and also soft scrub but nothing has helped. Before I hire someone I wanted to see if anyone had had to clean their slate shower before and what worked for them. All help is greatly appreciated. Thanks.

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Mike thanks for the sealing advice. I spoke with a tile restoration guy today and he stated that most of the time new construction houses don't have the tile sealed. He stated that usually the tile guys get 2-4 bucks a tile to install the slate but less then a buck a tile to seal it. Add that to the fact that they have to let everything dry once complete before they can seal and it just rarely gets sealed. Go figure

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Seal it. Before you do though if you still got the stains you seal them in is bad :) If the magic eraser does not work there are a couple of acids that if done right will take off the stains but before you do that exhaust the over the counter stuff. Then if nothing works (CLR Lime away etc) Get a pro to do it. I never worked on slate but have on other stone and know that some types of stone will react differently and an acid may not work where a caustic will. way to test would be a small out of site place with a stain try some baking soda on it or then some vinegar. Whichever works on the stain but does not stain the slate will be the way to go. Hope this points you in the right direction.

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I disagree with everyone that says seal it, I have seen more bloched seal jobs than problem free ones. To seal the stone it has to be 100 percent dry or the moisture will try to push through the sealer, and if that happens it is nealer impossible to remove the sealer. And as an added plus you have seal it every couple years. It is just asking for problems especially in a shower, moisture + sealer = bad. If you have slate actual real stone not proclein that looks like stone you can use muriaic acid, dilute with water a be careful very caustic, and vent the room. We do alot of slate patios and outdoor kitchens with slate tops. The muraic acid helps clean the stone from any motar scum and makes it more crisps. But beings it is inside I would use acid as a last resort. Hope this helps.

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