Cloudy Travertine Shower Floor

Hi Maurizio, We recently installed a travertine shower and sealed both the walls and floor. After the first shower, the floor sealer turned cloudy. From what I found on the internet, we should seal after the floor is completely cured and it was. We also found that the hazy cloudiness can come from mineral salts in the stone. Should I strip the sealer off the floor?

 

Dear Lenny:

First off, natural stone should never be sealed when installed in a wet environment, not even with my own sealer.

Second, “ We also found that the hazy cloudiness can come from mineral salts in the stone. ” I really don't know where you found that out, but it is totally false. Especially in the case of travertine, and especially considering that it was your first shower.

What I'm beginning to think – and please, correct me if I am wrong – is that you applied the sealer as if it were a sealer and not an impregnator. In other words, you applied the impregnator and then you let it dry on top of the stone.

If that's the case, you're gonna have a very hard time stripping it, because impregnators are not easy cookies to strip. It may take some strong chemical like Methylene Chloride, which is something that nobody could pay me enough to use, especially in the enclosure of a shower stall.

My suggestion is that you consult with the maker of the product and find out with them if they have a special stripper to get rid of their stuff. (Of course, they will swear that you must seal you shower stall or else. Hey, you never know: maybe somebody in your household is going to go banana and rub coffee and cooking oil on the walls of your stall until it gets stained!... L J )

After that, remember, it's never too early to think about the proper maintenance of your stone. The issue of what you'll be doing day in and day out to your stone is – as it should be intuitive – vastly more important than its sealing (if and when possible and/or advisable) and it's all too often neglected. As you can tell by reading many of this site's postings, you're not likely to get good information about routine care from your dealer or installer. Don't become another statistic! By logging into the Helpful Hints section of our website at:   http://www.mbstone.com/HH_promo/helpful_hints.htm , you will be able to get the short version of our maintenance guidelines at no charge. The full version of it – a 7-page document considered by many as an industry benchmark – is available in pay-per-download format in our Educational Literature section at:   http://www.mbstone.com/literature/literature.htm .  

And remember, every single penny of the cost of the literature will be used to support this site and its cause: your cause.

While you are in the “Helpful Hints” section, do spend some time reading all of the interesting FREE articles you'll find in there!

Finally, keep in mind that we need your support to help us helping you!

Will you please read and e-sign our Statement of Purpose at: http://www.marblecleaning.org/purpose.htm?    

By spreading the word about this valuable site among your friend & family and the stone trades' people you've been dealing with, you will be rendering everybody a valuable service!

Thank you  

Ciao and good luck,

Mauri zio Bertoli

 

www.marblecleaning.org – The only Consumers' Portal to the Stone Industry Establishment!