Mrs. Clean's House Cleaning Forum

[jmismith]

Hi,

I recently purchased a new home. It is very nice but all of the floors and tops are natural stone and I have never owned natural stone before. I have 2 problems and I am gun shy about dealing with them because all I see is use neutral cleaner?...so all that I use is water.

Problem #1- My cat has unrinated at least twice on the Travertine floor (in the same spot). I have scrubbed , soaked, and I even purchased the "neutral stone cleaner" and soaked with that, but I cannot get rid of the smell. Would it be ok to use vinegar or baking soda?

Problem #2- The Kitchen countertops are granite and are quite dull, they have a film on them and never wipe clean. I am eager to buff them to a high gloss but I can't find a suitable product. I called the pro's, (the installation company) they advised that my granite was just naturally dull, and I could cut the haze with windex. Do you agree with that?

I like your site because I can relate to being easily distracted and somewhat bored with cleaning, I really like to do it efficiently, so thanks for the tips!

Phoenix AZ

[mrscleannw]

Hi jmismith. Welcome to Mrs. Clean!

It sounds like you have a very nice home. Stone floors are wonderful, but you are right it is very tricky to clean.

As you probably read on my site, never ever use vinegar on marble or limestone (travertine). Vinegar works great on wood and laminate floors, but it will instantly ruin marble and travertine. Any acidic product, be it vinegar, lemon juice, orange juice, etc. when spilled on these surfaces, will be damaged as the acid etches and dissolves the surface and will permanently remove the beautiful shine.

Etched and damaged stone can only be restored by the use of tin oxide, (another abrasive acid) applied by a professional with special buffing equipment with a diamond abrasive cleaning pad.

Etching happens fast too, depending on the acidity level of the product that comes in contact with the stone, so even the quickest response to spills may be too late to stop some damage.

So needless to say, do not use vinegar.

Baking soda is the exact opposite of an acid, it is an alkaline. Though I have not personally experienced damage from an alkaline stain, the fact that every reputable piece of literature on cleaning states only use pH neutral cleaner, makes me think this will also damage the stone as well.

So what can you try to lift the stain and odor?
I?d recommend trying medical strength hydrogen peroxide (from the drug store), which is almost neutral pH.

Hydrogen peroxide is mildly alkaline, and is used as a deodorizer and is almost as good of an oxidizer as bleach. Hydrogen peroxide breaks down into plain water when exposed to sunlight.

So I?d try making a poultice using whiting or even cream of tartar or corn starch mixed with hydrogen peroxide. Cover the stain with the mixture and put some plastic wrap over it to keep it damp. Let the poultice sit between 1 to 48 hours, depending on the age and level of the stain. The poultice should help draw out the stain and odor. You should test this mixture in an inconspicuous place first to ensure that there is no damage to the surface of the stone.

Once you get the stain and odor out, invest in a high quality sealer, then wipe and buff those floors with it to assist in repelling any future accidents. Then clean the stone regularly with either plain water, neural pH cleaner made specifically for stone. We use plain water with just a dash of Murphy?s oil soap to clean stone floors. (I got that tip from a marble company)

As far as the granite goes, (I?m assuming these granite countertops are new, is this true?) Windex is a good first try especially since the installers recommended it, but is not likely to do much more than plain water.
Most haze or steaks on granite is caused by sealers, or other residue on the surface of the granite. Granite surfaces can also be resined, which is a more permanent type of sealer.

According to professional granite contractors I contacted, to remove any residue try wiping the granite (using a clean, white rag) with denatured alcohol, followed by plain unscented acetone. Both of these products are available in home improvement stores. This solution should remove any remaining residue or contaminates. (I do recommend you test this first, in an inconspicuous place first)

Good luck!

[jmismith]

I just wanted to give you some feedback. The peroxide worked great on my Travertine. It didn't effect the finish at all and the smell and stain is completely gone. Thanks a lot.


Phoenix Arizona

[JeannaLW]

I am resurrecting this older post because I have a similar problem! I have a very large stone tiled floor in my office that gets lots of foot traffic. It's beautiful when it's clean, but heavy mud is tracked in regularly. The tiles are not glazed and have a lovely texture to them -- that catches all the mud! I sweep at least daily and mop regularly, but lately it seems that all I'm doing is moving the mud around. The floor area is quite large so it's difficult to hand-wash it.

I typically Swiffer (I have to change the pad 3 times each mopping!), though I've recently tried a traditional looped-string mop, frequently changing the water-and-pine-sol mixture (about five water changes from one end of the room to the other). That helped a little, but only a little. There's still a light brown haze over the whole floor from liquified mud.

I don't doubt if I could get on my knees with a good cleanser and a scrub brush and change the water every five square feet, it'd be beautiful again -- but that would take an inordinate amount of time and difficulty. Is there an easier way?

[ash_work]

I live in India and my entire house has stone flooring. We use plain salt water for cleaning and it does a great job.