granite and travertine with water spots and other problems

I have granite countertops in the kitchen and baths which are sealed (brand name?) and travertine shower stalls and floors in the bathrooms which are sealed with Miracle Sealant. The house is new and we've been living in it for 6 months. The granite and travertine have water spots and the travertine has a white film on the bottom shower stall that does not scratch off with my finernail. Should I use MB-1 on both floors, MB-5 on both countertops and MB-11 on both the granite and travertine to remove the water spots and the white film? I would like to properly maintain these beautiful surfaces. Also, could I use just one product, either the MB-1 or MB-5 on both the floors and the countertops? Please correct my product choices if I have chose incorrectly. Thank you so much for your help. P.S. There's no grout or caulk missing in the showers. We have softened water.

 

Dear Rene:

 

“ I have granite countertops in the kitchen and baths which are sealed ”

 

Thank goodness for that! I was afraid for a second that they were not sealed!! Let's just hope that your “granite” could be actually sealed… But, hey, you never know: let's seal everything in sight that doesn't move and be happy!

 

“ and travertine shower stalls and floors in the bathrooms which are sealed with Miracle Sealant. ”

 

Thank goodness for that. Never mind that stone installed in a wet environment should never be sealed. Hey, you never know, while nobody's is taking a shower, maybe some lunatic in the family is going to sneak in there and rub patiently some wet coffee grounds or cooking oil onto the stone until it will finally get stained…! But fear not: nothing bad can happen now. Not with the Miracle on the job!! J

 

“ The granite and travertine have water spots ”

 

Forget the travertine for a minute. Why does your granite have any “water spot”? Why don't you start by telling me what kind of “granite” you have? Is it black for any chance?... I mean, do you think for a minute that all granites are the same, just of a different color?!?... So, please, answer me, because no mercantile granite should ever develop any “water stain”.

 

And now the travertine. Let me take a wild guess: your “water spots” are duller than the rest of the stone, right? Well, I have news for you: they're not stains at all and they were certainly not created by water. They are marks of corrosion (etching) that anything with a pH activity – mostly on the acidic side – have created on contact. Of course, there's no sealer for stone on planet Earth, Miracle or not, that could do the first thing to prevent such type of surface damages. Only some basic stone care intelligence could; but that, unfortunately, does not come in a bottle.

 

“ the travertine has a white film on the bottom shower stall that does not scratch off with my finernail. ”

 

That could very well be the residue of the Miracle thing that might have not been removed completely from the surface of the stone before it had a chance to dry, and that had no business being there to begin with. Or it could be some serious structural problem (bad installation). Let's hope that's just the Miracle stuff.

 

“ Should I use MB-1 on both floors ”

 

Not in the shower, of course. MB-1 is only for “regular” floors, not for a shower stall. But if you have “water spots” it will not clean them. Like I said, they're surface damages.

 

“ and MB-11 on both the granite and travertine to remove the water spots and the white film? ”

 

MB-11 will not work on any granite. It will not remove the white film – whatever it is – off of the travertine floor in your shower, either. I will not comment any further on the granite issue until you tell me which granite you have. But back to MB-11, it will only work on the “water spots” (if they're not too many and not too severe) on the travertine, if it was originally polished.

 

“ I would like to properly maintain these beautiful surfaces. ”

 

I might be wrong, but I'm afraid that you messed them up a bit too much with all that sealer and stuff, and, above all, lack of stone care information to hope to fix everything with the right maintenance products now. I do realize that it's not your fault, but the question that begs to be asked is, “How come that you're so (specifically) ignorant about stone and its requirements, after having dealt with the merchants that sold it to you and the setter and fabricators that installed in your home?” Do you understand where I'm coming from? It may sound that I was harsh on you. In fact, I'm harsh at this entire despicable situation where stone dealers and fabricators and setters are just as ignorant about the stones they sell and process and install as the end-users they get paid from. There's no justification for that.

 

Regardless of the fact that MB-1 and MB-5 are two different products with different functions, I believe that at this stage you need to consult with a reputable stone restoration contractor in your area.

Only after everything will be properly assessed and taken care of, will you start a sound maintenance program.

How?

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 10-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 .   Among a well of valuable information, in there you will also find priceless tips on how to properly install stone in a bathroom.

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Thank you  

Ciao and good luck,

Mauri zio Bertoli

 

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