pink tinge/mildew in areas of the grount on travertine shower floor

[lpandrock]

Hi All,

A few months ago I had my bath re-modeled which included the travertine walk in shower...Brian at Ceramictec worked his magic and did a fantastic job!!!..I am noticing though that the floor (which are the small 2x2 I believe) tumbled travertine are starting to get a pink tinge/mildew in areas of the grout...after EVERY use the entire walls and floors are squeegeed but i know there is some moisture still left on areas between the tile on the grout...its gonna happen.

My question is...is there anything I can buy, or make, to fix and prevent this from the big box stores or my local tile outlet?

I have been using a brand Stone Specific (good product???) from HD and it seems to clean and re-seal?...but am still getting the pink mildew in areas on the floor.

And yes..the travertine and grout has had 3 treatments of DUPONT sealer after the grout cured.

Please let me know your thoughts and hopefully its something I can take care of with some household stuff or easy to obtain treatment locally.

Thx again..Lance
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I think this is it..but how do I clean it from the travertine grout?
Serratia marcescens is a species of Gram-negative, rod-shaped bacteria in the family Enterobacteriaceae.

Due to its ubiquitous presence in the environment, and its preference for damp conditions, S. marcescens is commonly found growing in bathrooms (especially on tile grout, shower corners, toilet water line, and basin), where it manifests as a pink discoloration and slimy film feeding off phosphorous containing materials or fatty substances (such as soap and shampoo residue). Once established, complete eradication of the organism is often difficult, but can be accomplished by application of a bleach-based disinfectant. Rinsing and drying surfaces after use can also prevent the establishment of the bacteria by removing its food source and making the environment less hospitable.

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[ccarlisle]

Think you got it...up here we have the same thing on the shower curtain. A good shot of undiluted bleach got rid of it. To see whether you're right or not, put some bleach on a Q-Tip and paint a section of grout. Within 20', you'll know.

[lpandrock]

wasnt sure how travertine and bleach were friends

[ccarlisle]

Well, nor am I absolutely sure bleach and travertine are friends...that's why I said try it on the grout with a QTip. Ohterwise I would have said just apply it. But do a quick test in an obsure part to make sure.

Having said that, most bleaches I know have an alkaline pH which in theory is safe on travertine (notwithstanding active alkalinity and all that) but a test will confirm for you one way of the other.

[Stone Dude]

when using bleach I would recommend doing a test first like Ccarlisle has suggested, and then maybe using a diluted solution of bleach and hot water.

[Seattle Tile Cleaning]

Acidic bleach was never designed for use on natural stone and grout and can stain your stone and after time will eat away at your grout. Why dont you use a professional mildew stain remover designed for stone and grout that you can use periodically and will not damage your stone and grout. One product I recommend is mb-9 which can be had at mbstone.com.

[Stone Dude]

Troy, guess what MB-9 has in it....wait for it.......wait for it....BLEACH! not bleach exactly poured into the bottle, but enough of the properties to constitute it as bleach. from the mouth of Maurizio himself "Bleach? haha, this is stronger than bleach"

bleach is fine if you dilute it.

[lpandrock]

stonedude...what would be the ratio of water to bleach for the travertine?

[ccarlisle]

Who said anything about acidic bleach?? and enlighten us all on what exactly is an "acidic bleach", chemically, in this context? or are you thinking of wood deck brighteners?

I was referring to what most of us call 'bleach' and that is an 4% alkaline solution of sodium hypochlorite in water. I suggested a trial with this in an inconspicuous spot on a QTip. Didn't say anything about the tile apart from the fact that I didn't know how it would react; I have a pretty good idea, though. That test would have told us in a few minutes whether or not the pinkinsh colorations was indeed s. marceasens or not...

I think we all know the reactions of acids on travertine and that some commercial products are available that do the same job. Mine was a practical, quick, efficient and cost effective test, that's all. Thereafter, if you care to proceed with a bleach-centered operation, then I would have recommended a proper dilution.

[Stone Dude]

lpandrock, I would start with about 20% bleach and hot water. if its not strong enough add a bit more bleach, but like Ccarlisle said do a test with straight bleach first so you know what youre looking for.