marble cleaning accurate???

[housenut'swife]

I found this information on a "household hints" list and from things I have read here it doesn't seem like good info - but I thought I'd run it past y'all and see what you say about it.

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For heavier stains on marble, take three or four cakes of Ivory soap, cut them up and dissolve in hot water until you have a "slurry."
Paint this on the marble and let it sit for five days or so. If the
gunk starts to dry during that time, wet it down. At the end of the
period, wash it all off.
To remove lighter stains, sprinkle salt on a fresh cut lemon. Rub
very lightly over stain. Do not rub hard or you will ruin the
polished surface. Wash off with soap and water.

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any good?

thanks.

[John Bridge]

Hi Deb,

The lemmon and salt could be devastating to many species of marble and limestone, travertine . . .

I've heard the Ivory soap thing through the years, but Tim will tell you (I think) that there are many more effective materials that might be used as "poultice."

Dear Deb:
Why don't you try on a scrap piece of marble to spill some lemon juice and salt? Don't rub it, don't do anything: just let them sit there for, say 10 seconds. Wipe it dry and let me know if there is any finish left on the stone surface!
And about the Ivory soap thing?
What a crock of you-know-what!
You can get my guidelines for maintenance of residential stone installations by logging on the “Educational Literature” section of my web site listed below. They do carry a small price tag, but since we’re currently running a special promotion, you can have them for free just for the asking. But you’d better hurry up! Gimme a holler through the “Contact us” section!
Ciao and good luck,
Maurizio Bertoli

www.mbstone.com

MB Stone – Education before any sale!

[doitright]

Hi Deb

All I can say is bad advice. As John & Maurizio implied, a lemon alone will ruin the polished surface. I personally don't know if the salt will act as some type of barrier on the lemmon or not. I would't, try it on your floor though.

No mention was made on the type of stain. Everything needs to be properly evaluated before a solution can be derived.

[wmw]

hello, question on marble stain ,I have alot of marble that's white with a pearl swirl look to it.sorry I'don't know the name of it ,Anyway it has a rust looking stain on it,this tile has been outside for several year's.It is very nice tile all but the stain,tryed soap & water not no good,
sure got a goood deal in it by taking it all.(FREE) ,anyone got an ideal to cleaning this ,.>>>>Mark

[John Bridge]

Hi Mark,

Some of the white marble tiles have metal oxides in them. It's natural. Maybe that's what's going on.

[doitright]

It could be Rosa Aurora. I'm not qualified to give the mineral content. Being outside, it's very likely that something on it caused the rust stain.

Is the finish honed? (dull looking) If so, some of the iron out/rust removing chemicals may remove the stain. You may need to mix a poultice to allow the carrier to penetrate/dissolve, and the clay to draw the stain out.

[wmw]

Thank's fellows, I was told that this was alabama marble.That is several years old. they don't produce it anymore.
The stain does look like .It is also finshed honed.you are probley right doit right I think it is a mineral stain,
Sure would like to be able to clean it up,so please throw all the trick's you know at me >>>>Mark

[Steven Hauser]

Hi Mark,

Sorry No tricks,

Two options:
The only real solution that has no guarantee of success is to grind the surface and prepare a poultice if it appears the stain lightened some. This approach can work sometimes if and only if the stone wicked the minerals in.

If the stain is due to a chemical reaction or oxidation of minerals that are already in the stone then there is nothing you can do.

My .02