How can I safely remove mildew in the grout lines in my marble shower. I currently use MB soap film remover in there. Also, the cleaning ladies come every two weeks and the film doesn't come off well after that amount of time. Can I use something daily to help that along? I hate cleaning showers, so I don't usually do it; I wait for the ladies to come and do it. :)

 

Dear Debbie:

First off, a soap film remover is not designed to clean mildew stain. For that you'd need a mildew stain remover rated for natural stone like MB-9.

That said, I'm a little concerned (actually, a lot) about your report of the fact that just a couple of week after cleaning you have a heavy build-up of “soap scum” and mildew. There's no plausible reason for that: soap film accumulation occurs over a few months, not a couple of weeks. Ad so does mildew.

However, if you have a structural issue – and here is where my concern is – the problem is not poor housekeeping, but something different and, alas, more serious; and it is certainly not by trying to solve the perceived problem that you'd be able to solve the real one.

Take a look at your grout and/or caulk lines; is there any grout missing and or cracked? Or did the installer feel like being “Italian” that day and installed your marble tiles butt-joint? If this is the cas e – and I sure hope that I'm wrong on this one – then the real problem is that you have water behind and under your tiles and the migration of the moisture from behind and under the tiles creates excessive “soap scum” (which is actually efflorescence) and mildew.

If the tiles were set butt-joint (close to one another with no provision for a grout gap), then the only solution is, alas, a jack-hammer. If instead there's room for grout but it came off in some places, let me know and, depending how serious the situation is, I will tell you what to do.

Like I said before, I sincerely hope that my diagnosis is wrong, but the way your report is worded is somehow alarming and I wanted to anticipate a different possibility.

May I ask you now to please read and e-sign our Statement of Purpose at: http://www.marblecleaning.org/purpose.htm?

Ciao and good luck,

Mauri z io Bertoli

 

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