Brownish stain on polished white marble

[KChurch1]

We were asked to look at some stains on a polished white marble floor in a bathroom and entryway. The homeowner would like to save some money by attempting to remove the stains themselves. I recommended Fred's stain removal report.
The stains in the entry way were easy to identify.... stains from over watering potted plants... most likely iron (rust) stains.
The bathroom also has similar color staining around the toilet... all of the tiles around the toilet are affected which leads me to believe that the stain may be caused from a faulty wax ring.. and the toilet is leaking under the stone? Does that sound like a good assumption? When a stain comes from underneath the stone like this... is it possible to poultice out? Or would it be better to replace these damaged tiles?
I told the homeowner that whatever poultice they use to remove the rust stains... it will most likely etch the stone and need repolishing. They'll hire us for that portion of the job...
What do you think about the stains? Will they have much luck?

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[kemguru]

Sounds right to me, Karen :)

Etching the polished marble would actually help when using a poultice. That way the surface would be opened up, improving stain removal. But that doesn’t matter in your case. They need to repair that leak. Sounds like water is running over the flange, picking up minerals, then depositing them in/under the marble.

I prefer sodium citrate in a poultice for rust removal. ;)

[Steven Hauser]

I would probably recommend replacing the tiles around the toilet.

Steven

[doitright]

Thing first thing I would do, would lift the toilet. I have been working on a job that I remounted the toilet (and got a good seal believe me). The city had sewer company flush out the sewer pipes, and used so much pressure that it blew the water right out of the bowl, and blew the integrity of the new seal. I'll clean and remount, no big deal.

Karen, I can almost guarantee you that the seal is bad. Remove (or have removed) the toilet. Steven's idea to replace (the marble) is probably going to be the best & definitely the fastest (if you have the material). Poulticing almost always works, but can be very time demanding. If you don't clean the part under the bowl, more than likely it will eventually bleed through!

I have had clients assist in the poulticing procedure, that has saved me time, and them money! I promote it. I do the application, let them do the plastic removal, drying, poultice removal, and rinsing. ;)

[kemguru]

What a crappy job! :D