Travertine tile in shower eroding

Q. The home we bought 3 years ago came with tumbled travertine tiles on the shower walls and floor. We were really worried about maintaining it, but we sealed it with something from Costco (before I found your forum!) and it seemed to be doing ok. Recently, however, I've been finding what I thought was chipped grout on the shower floor and today I noticed that it was actually coming from 2 of the wall tiles! They both have pits that have gotten rather large from erosion. Sand-like material flakes off the areas easily if touched. Is there any way to repair this without having the tiles replaced completely? Thanks for any advice you can give!

 

A. First, what are you using for cleaning? I hope nothing acidic. Make sure you are using a good, marble safe pH neutral cleaner.

 

It is natural for tumbled travertine to have pitting on the surface. When it was installed the installers likely filled the pits with grout as they were grouting the joints. The grout in the fills can fall out but can easily be refilled. You can fill them yourself or call a  bona fide stone refinishing pro who can check out your shower stall and give you the correct guidance in the care of it and take care of the fill issues.

 

You can find a stone restoration / maintenance contractor oin your area by going to the Find a PRO section at www.stoneandtilepros.com.

 

Stu Rosen