Unsealed marble tiled floor damaged by white wine

A glass of white wine fell and shatterd on our kitchen floor. This has caused a stain rather like the shine being taken off part of the tiles. there is a central stain about 18 inches diameter and splash stains spread over about four feet diameter. I have not been able to locate anyone locally who could help. I would appreciate your help in solving this problem. I live in Norfolk, UK. Regards Mike

 

Dear Michael :

Polished marble in a kitchen, huh… Not a good idea! And nobody in your neck of the woods to service it… hmmm… It makes it even worse!

The fact the stone was not sealed has nothing to do with it, not to mention that most polished marble can't be technically sealed to begin with: just too darn dense to take any impregnator (a.k.a. sealer) in.

What you have is acid etching: a mark of corrosion created by the acidity of the wine (acetic acid). Marble, which is mainly calcium carbonate (a.k.a. calcite) is very sensitive to acidic substances and readily react to any type of acid in the way you have experienced. And that's the very reason why polished marble does not belong in a kitchen.

What to do?

I really don't know.

To your saying there are no professional stone restoration contractors there, so I really don't know what to tell you. Maybe (hopefully) the stone dealer you purchased your tiles from carries a polishing powder for marble to enable you doing the repair yourself. And if even that is not available… you're just out of luck, I'm afraid. L

 

And that is one more piece of evidence that the world needs marblecleaning.org!

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Ciao and good luck,

Mauri z io Bertoli

 

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