|
| Please believe that I have searched, never finding a definitive answer. One very informative site suggests WARM distilled water for daily use. Really? I would troop downstairs to heat up this water, etc. Not gonna happen. I am aware of all the things not to use., but how do I safely clean my gorgeous, new, honed marble vanity top , and polished marble floors? A damp micro cloth may be enough for the counter, but a bathroom floor requires more, surely. This seems to be a question old as forum time, so I feel a bit silly asking,but not found a really good answer. Is it as simple as using a PH neutral product? Is it easy to find such a thing., and be certain that it is not an acidic one?i. please advise, and big TIAs |
Follow-Up Postings:
|
| i use stone cleaner... i'm sure it's sold where you purchased your marble or wherever marble and granite is sold. |
|
- Posted by beekeeperswife (My Page) on Thu, Apr 26, 12 at 13:04
| did you post this on Kitchen Forum? I know you will get an answer there! nice to see you back ;) |
|
| You can use 409 Natural Stone Cleaner for Granite & Marble. It's approved by the Marble Institute of America. |
|
| Thanks so much all....and for the welcome back, beekeeper's! Think I've been hoping to find some Mrs. Meyers, et al, product I could pick up at my market. Now, if there is a marble safe mirror cleaner please share that as well( yes, I am greedy , I know). Thanks again everyone. |
|
- Posted by lukkiirish (My Page) on Fri, Apr 27, 12 at 20:23
| Before you do anything make sure its sealed properly. The PO of our house installed a beautiful marble floor in our powder room and didn't seal it and by the time we moved in it was completely etched. grrrr.... Glass Plus is safe for marble, granite and other stones. The one thing I don't like about it is the smell. http://www.glassplus.com/questions.shtml |
|
- Posted by lizbeth-gardener (My Page) on Sat, Apr 28, 12 at 10:47
| I clean my mirrors with nothing but water and a good micro cloth. |
|
| Mostly water, but I do have a marble cleaner made by the maker of my sealer -- Stone Tech, so I know they work well together. |
|
- Posted by justgotabme (My Page) on Sat, Apr 28, 12 at 23:55
| I use my Bissell steam cleaner on our polished marble floors and a magic eraser sponge and hot water for the vanity tops on a regular basis, but also have a hand held steamer. I avoid chemicals of any kind if at all possible because of allergies. |
|
| Lukki....glass plus? Great. Something easy to get! Lacatx and lizbeth........surprised water alone ( with microcloth) cleans mirrors, but I will def. try it. Just gottabeme , never used a magic eraser sponge, but can't think the marble ( honed and sealed) would need steaming or magic....unless one of the grands makes a mess.......wondering why yours do, and if mine will down the road? Thanks for good tips. I would not worry but for my house cleaners. They will be cleaning new bathroom for the first time , and I' m sure their window cleaner is of the windex variety. I will get glass plus for them and then I will try water / micro cloth. Many thanks all! |
|
- Posted by lukkiirish (My Page) on Tue, May 1, 12 at 11:50
| Yup and it works really good, Also if you add a little vinegar in with the water works great on mirrors. I've used newspapers to wipe them off since I was a kid and it works great. I'm a big fan of windex but recently learned that if some of the spray gets behind the glass, it ruins the mirrors. |
|
| Ok lukki , now you've scared me. Your suggestion of vinegar .....you do know that's a no no for marble, right? So, gotta ask if you're sure Glass Plus is fine for it? |
|
- Posted by daisychain01 (My Page) on Wed, May 2, 12 at 7:24
| Norwex sells special (and, of course, expensive) microfibre cloths that are antimicrobial and all you use is water with them. Their glass cloth cleans mirrors perfectly without any cleaners. I am not affiliated with Norwex at all, but have just placed an order with a co-workers cousin after at least 10 people had spontaneously start shouting Norwex's praises to me. Everyone from other co-workers to shopkeepers. I was looking for a new cabinet to hold my cleaning supplies and the sales lady tried to talk me out of it, saying I should switch to Norwex instead and then I wouldn't need a whole lot of cleaners and different cloths. I laughed and asked her if she sold the stuff she was so enthusiastic (she didn't). Like I said, I haven't received mine yet, but I can check back and let you know if it is as miraculous as others have said. |
|
- Posted by lukkiirish (My Page) on Wed, May 2, 12 at 7:32
| LOL Don't be scared, I was talking about using vinegar on MIRRORS, not the marble. A tiny bit in your water is great for cleaning mirrors (along with newspaper); even Windex has an option with vinegar. Glass Plus is safe for a lot of things (including both mirrors and marble). I've copied the list but you can also check out their site, linked below. Acrylic |
Here is a link that might be useful: glassplus website
|
| Thanks for more on Glass plus, lukki. I did know you meant the vinegar for mirrors, but think I didn't explain that my worry is that cleaners will over spray and mar the marble vanity tops below.....so no vinegar! I will give them GP...thanks again for that info! Wow daisy, I will look for the Norwex . Hmmm, I wonder how they differ from the regular auto shop, cheap variety...other than antibacterial, which I don't care about. Do post after yours come, please! |
|
- Posted by lukkiirish (My Page) on Wed, May 2, 12 at 11:31
| Ahhh! Ok! You got me there, hadn't thought of that and very glad you did! I also forgot to suggest water and alcohol if you prefer a simple home made remedy. I use this a lot on my floors and counters as well and is also recommended for both marble and mirrors. If you do an internet search you'll see a lot of professionals suggest it. This is a snippet from one site I found. , Marble and Other Stone Countertops Granite, marble and other stone countertops can be cleaned beautifully with isopropyl alcohol (rubbing alcohol) and water. Mix 1 part water with 1 part alcohol in a spray bottle and then spray it on the surface and wipe clean. The alcohol will help to disinfect the surface and will leave your countertops shiny and beautiful. If you prefer you can use vodka in place of the rubbing alcohol. Do not use acidic cleaners like vinegar on stone countertops since they can etch the surface. |
|
| lukkiirish, sealing the marble floors would not have prevented them from etching or wearing and loosing shine. |
|
- Posted by lukkiirish (My Page) on Wed, May 2, 12 at 12:46
| Yeah, I just saw that too in some of the articles I got caught up reading. Sad too because even etched it's a nice looking stone, rich and dark. I'm sure it was even prettier when it was first installed. They never even bothered to grout it. It was etched, ungrouted and unsealed when we moved in. :c( |
|
| OK, no grout is weird -- just a dirt trap. You could grout it and then have someone come and re-polish it. Polishing is not an easy DIY (we have an Oreck orbiter, so I tried their marble polish in our foyer before we did the wood floors), but you can have folks come out and do the job for a lot less than replacing flooring. Honing is easier to DIY if you wanted to try evening it out and then possibly using an enhancing sealer to bring out the dark color. If you are uncertain, try to find a tile in the same or similar stone and do a test or two or three. If you like it, it is worth looking into restoring it. |
|
- Posted by lukkiirish (My Page) on Wed, May 2, 12 at 15:27
| I know. No grout. ??? The PO's were DIYer's that didn't know how to diy. Lots of terrible custom faux finishes as well as a custom plaster mess they did on the walls in that same bathroom. It looked like a poorly done stucco job. We fixed the walls and had the flooring grouted/sealed. I just never thought about having it refinished so that's a great suggestion! I'll have to look into it. (Thanks!) It's very pretty, looks black at a distance but in light has a chocolate tone. Would be really lovely honed. |
|
| Sounds like you should have gotten a good deal on the house and you and the house will both benefit from giving it some much needed TLC. |
|
- Posted by lukkiirish (My Page) on Wed, May 2, 12 at 18:56
| Well it was a foreclosure but we bought at the peak of the market in 2006 (unfortunately) We've since given it the TLC it needed and have pretty much redone every room. The marble is in a tiny powder room, and it doesn't look bad, it could just look better. But yeah, we've definitely been able to put our own stamp on it. :c) |
Please Note: Only registered members are able to post messages to this forum. If you are a member, please log in. If you aren't yet a member, join now!
Return to the Home Decorating Forum
Instructions
- You must be a registered member and logged in to post messages on our forums.
- Posting is a two-step process. Once you have composed your message, you will be taken to the preview page. You will then have a chance to review the contents and make changes.
- After posting your message, you may need to refresh the forum page in order to see it.
- It is illegal to post copyrighted material without the owner's consent.
- HTML codes are allowed in the message field only.
- No advertising is allowed in any of the forums.
- If you would like to practice posting or uploading photos, please visit our Test forum.
- If you need assistance, please Contact Us and we will be happy to help.