Help- hard water stains on slate tile

[prisbrey]

Hello!
We began renting a home a few months ago. In the master bathroom there is beautiful slate tiling on the floor and in the shower. It is the rough, natural stone. I have no idea how it was sealed. Since we moved, in the tiles in the shower have looked worse and worse as the hard water stains have increased. We do not have a water softener, and the owner is not interested in installing one. I called the previous renter to ask what she did to clean it. She said she just used regular cleaner. I was skeptical whether I should use that on slate, but tried anyway, and it didn't seem to help. What can I do? I don't care to spend a great deal of money on it as it is not our home, but I would like to keep it looking nice. If anyone has any suggestions, I would really appreciate it. Thank you!

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[SABoyt]

Sue and Bek, you are probably going to need an acidic product to remove the hard water and calcium buildups. Can you seratch it with your fingernail? Does some of it come off? If so, Zep professional CLR will probably give you good results. Just test first to be sure that what you have is not acid sensitive. Do this by placing a small drop of the cleaner on the tile and see if it "fizzes". It probably will on the grout but that's ok. If it doesn't, continue on with the cleaning. Spray on the CLR and scrub with a medium bristle nylon brush. Keep scrubbing until the stains are gone. Rinse thoroughly.

[cx]

Welcome, Bek. :)

I've split your post from that very old thread where I found it. Avoids confusion. We got plenty room for new threads. :)

[prisbrey]

Thank you! Is Zep professional CLR something I can pick up at a Home Depot, or do I need to look at some more specialized type of store?

[prisbrey]

One more question- What type of care do I need to give a slate shower enclosure? Do I need to be towel drying it every time someone showers to cut back on hard water marks?

[Davestone]

You should seal the tiles, but bring the ph back to normal after the acid cleaning with some ammonia water.If you want to clean it frequently, and use a squeegee be my guest,i never did,just gave it a good cleaning occasionally.

[SABoyt]

Bek, you should be able to find it at home depot or a True Value hardware store.