Strange residue from Jerusalem Stone

[spooner68]

About I year ago I fixed some polished Jerusalem White Fossil polished tiles onto primed green plasterboard using Mapei keraflex maxi, grouted with BAL limestone grout, sealed with Lithofin Stainstop. All cleaned, polished and gorgeous.

A couple of months ago my customer told me that she was getting a white residue on the surface and a strange odour following a couple of steamy showers. Now the curious thing is that the residue has been wiped off a couple of times but only occurs outside the shower enclosure and not at all on the floor.

The smell is kind of like the seaside and the residue powdery and slightly crunchy.

Has anyone come across this before? I can only think that it's an issue with the fill as it's definitely not the grout and the main tile body has been polished. Odd.

Spoon

 

[DHTiling]

Hello...

It sounds very much like Efflorescence.

This can be salts within the stone or from the adhesive bed.

You will need to clean the tiles down and use a sealer t help stop the Efflorescence from being so rapid, usually it will subside to some degree..

Aqua mix EFF Ex is good.. also you could remove the said effected tiles and replace and check the substrate as well...for any signs of Etteringite..

 

[spooner68]

Thanks Dave, I did wonder about efflourescence but thought it only occurred when the setting was delayed by excessive moisture in the substrate or atmosphere. Both a negative on this one, however I am at a loss as to what else it could be. As for removing the effected tiles.......that would be about 24metres or so and lots of fixtures.

I'll give them a clean off with my Lithofin efflourescence remover and re-seal them and see what happens. Here's hoping.

Spoon

 

[DHTiling]

You can get efflorescence in any damp environment especially involving cement based products etc and even salts within the stone it's self..

Do as you say and brush off the residue and strip back.. then leave to dry.. then examine for more salts before sealing.. if it is all over the tiles then it is more than likely efflorescence.
But without actually seeing it at face value then the call is yours.

 

[The Legend; Phil Hobson RIP]

As Dave, sounds like efflorescence to me. Good luck

 

[Tenchman]

hi spooner, it will be efflorescence,as mentioned by members above. main reason is use of natural products like stone, very few of which are suitable for sustained contact with water as in a shower plus the use of chemicals from shampoo etc.

Unless the stone was sealed & grout to be absolutely waterproof then some of the water and cleaning products will have seeped into the stone and grout joints and reacted forcing salts-efflorescence to the surface.

You would need to dry out the area for at least a week remove any seal then treat with one of ant-efflorescence preparations see what effect that has then re-seal when you are sure that the treatment has taken and that the stone etc is bone dry.
test with a good moisture meter before re-sealing buy or hire one.
save taking everything out but it will be quite awhile before that shower can be used. it will be time against money .good luck with it.

 

[marty the tiler]

hi spooner has it made the face of the limestone sort of flaky and allso was the limestone from france and is it polished cheers

 

[marty the tiler]

had same probs stone bleeding went and got stone. lab tested and he said nothing will stick this stuff because all the marine silt and salts this stuff been under water long time nothing will stick this stuff take sample to marine lab get tested then take report to tile shop and see how u go. had job similar prob 160m2 in pub in melbourne in the end mapi covered whole job because they advised how to adhere stone .cheers

 

[spooner68]

Hi Marty, the stone is allegedly from a quarry in Jerusalem (told my client "my brother has the quarry he ships it to me" etc etc). This is also what the website says (jerusalem stone and mosaic, sunderland) where the main picture is of the kitchen floor I did with their stone. It's nice stuff actually.

The surface isn't flaky and the tiles are well fixed it just seems to be the filler thats coming away. It's powdery and a little crystalline (sharp on the fingertips) but as I said in an earler thread its on most of the walls outside the enclosure and not on the floor at all or the kitchen floor downstairs (65m). The walls are polished stone and the floors honed so maybe that makes a difference with the treatment during manufacture?

Can only think it's efflourescence and will work on it on that basis. The question is though should my customer be chasing the supplier for the cost of me cleaning and treating it again?

 

[marty the tiler]

yea why not mate cheers