Removing limescale/water marks from slate floor

[beanzine]

Hello there,

Have just moved in to a new house; the bathroom has slate tiles (dark grey, uneven surfaces) which appear to have heavy limescale on them (white/ light grey areas over the surface) as if water has leaked regularly and died in leaving the marks.

I am heaving terrible problems removing any of the scale; am using QMT Stoneclean, neat/undiluted and scrubed in. No change.

Does anyone have any suggestions how I can remove the limescale? Am currently looking at a product called BAL Heavy Duty Tile Cleaner but dont want to waste more money if its not going to work.

(Ripping up the floor and replacing it is not an option unfortunatley)

Much appreciated if anyone could give me some advice/tips etc on removing the limescale,
Dave

 

[wivers]

When installing natural stone it has to be correctly sealed to prevent the tile becoming stained. If the tiles weren't sealed correctly and have stained i don't think there's much you can do to remove it. I can't imagine the tiler laying them without sealing them though.

 

[Dan]

It might not be 'limescale' mate. It could be due to somebody using the wrong sealer / cleaner on the tiles in the past and it's discoloured them.

I'd perhaps try and go over the whole thing with a good sealer, then see if they still seem to have the white haze on them.

You have to use PH neutral products on natural stones.

 

[wivers]

The first slate floor i laid didn't seal properly. When i grouted it (Charcoal) the grout stained the tiles and they ended up looking like velvet carpet tiles. You live and learn. I still have the pic's.

 

[Leatherface]

I ahve seen this before - it MAY be possible that the sealer used was not suitable for an area of constant wetting. Some sealers tend to go patchy white when exposed to water for prolonged periods of time. Try phoning Specialist Tiling Products in Harrorate - they supply LTP sealers - they should be able to help.

 

[UKTT Darren]

Try HG extra, , realy strong slate cleaner, if that dont work dont think anything will, sounds to me the guy hasnt sealed them at all in the first place, try the hg then a good sealer as dan says

 

[enduro]

I found that slate must not be damp when u seal it.

 

[beanzine]

Many thanks for all the advice and suggestions;

Have tried the product i had again and still no shift. I have contacted the chap who had the house before; he told me there was a leak from his toilet for a few months and the marks appeared to start about then, however, he thinks they may have started before that. He had the floor put in for him by a local "tiler", so he has no idea if the tiles were sealed or not.

Am a bit confused now: are the marks limescale from the water that was on the floor for the few months, or are they marks from the tiles not having been sealed properly? Is there a way of teling the difference? Does it matter?

Can I ask the chap who suggested using HG extra why he thinks this may be good, as it appears to be a grout/cement mark remover? Would this remove limescale if the marks were indeed limescale? and if not, why this product (as am sure the marks are not from cement/grout)?

again, any help appreciated
can post photo of marks if that would clarify anything

thanks again
Dave

 

[guy1976]

i would have thought if it would remove cement &grout it would also remove limescale

 

[Leatherface]

I repeat - it may not be anything the tiler has done wrong. Some sealers for example you will find are not suitable for outside - because they react over a period of time when exposed to water for long periods - this causes white patches that are very hard to remove. If there has been a water leak for a considerable period of time - this would replicate outside conditions - hence cause the staining

 

[beanzine]

Many thanks,
Will give the HG extra a go and get back to you all.

Your help is very much appreciated,
thanks

Dave

 

[Dan]

Some of the threads in the tiling forum that have had a lot of views are being bumped up into current discussion. Just walk on by if it's not your flavour right now. Perhaps it'll help somebody out one day, and they become members, and then they post a thread, and professional tilers respond, and then you learn something from them...? Maybe?