Limeaway used on Travertine shower

Help...I just remodeled and replaced my old tile shower with a beautiful travertine stone. Without thinking I sprayed limeaway cleaner on the walls to removed the calcium buildup and hard water stains. Luckily I didn't use much but everywhere a drop landed on the stone it now has a white chalkey look. Have I destroyed the shower or is there any hope? I am just sick about it.

 

Dear Kay:

The cleaner you used is highly acidic and corroded the surface of your stone. But you already figured that out, didn't you?... L

Well, you did not destroy your shower stall, but it will take a stone restoration professional to bring it back to its original finish by lightly grinding (honing) the surface of the tiles and then polish them up with an appropriate polishing powder for calcareous rocks. Hey, it's only money!... J

Regardless of that, what concerns me is your report of “ the calcium buildup and hard water stains ”. Now, why would you have any calcium buildup and hard-water stains in a fairly new shower stall?... (And please, don't give me the “hard-water in my area” line! I've heard that one all too many times.) Are you sure that your grout and caulk lines are properly filled and not damaged in any way?

Just being suspicious... Bring this up with the stone restoration contracting company once they're there, because it could be very important.

Now 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 – like it should be intuitive – vastly more important than its sealing (if and when possible and/or advisable – which in the case of a travertine shower stall is not) 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 it from your dealer or installer. Don't become another statistic! By logging into the Helpful Hints section of our website at: http://www.marblecleaning.org/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.marblecleaning.org/literature.htm .  

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Thank you  

Ciao and good luck,

Mauri z io Bertoli

 

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