Tumbled Marble Undergoes Remarkable Transformation After a Stone Cleaning Service in Lake Forest, Chicago

June 23, 2017

There are several reasons why tumbled marble is an excellent choice to embellish a rustic kitchen—its chalky and worn look fits perfectly with that type of country style design. This homeowner, a successful entrepreneur from Lake Forest, Illinois, felt proud of the kitchen renovations he had done a few years ago. He remodeled the traditional American-style kitchen to a charming, warm, rustic room with alder wood cabinets and a mute-colored, tumbled marble floor.


However, after years of daily wear and foot-traffic, the weathered look of the marble tiles started to deteriorate; dirt accumulated around the rough textures of the stone, darkening it and dulling its colors. The homeowner wanted the floor to restore the neat appearance it had when it was first installed. So he called Sir Grout Chicago, the stone cleaning company in Lake Forest he had hired a few months back to clean the travertine floors of his commercial property. At Sir Grout Chicago, we were glad to hear from our Lake Forest client again—we listened to his problem and agreed to take a look at the floors.

Our team of stone restoration experts went to the Lake Forest residence on the day scheduled to examine the kitchen floor. At first sight, we noticed all the embedded grime in the tumbled tiles and grout lines. Even though stains and etches are not as visible on rustic surfaces like this one as they are on honed and polished marble, this kind of stone is still very porous and soft, so regular maintenance is imperative to keep it in good condition.

During the consultation, we learned from our client that he had never re-sealed the stone tiles after they were installed. Consequently, the sealant had worn out a long time ago, leaving the surface unprotected against dirt and spills. Our long-time client also explained how the grout once was similar to the tiles' shade, but over the years it became so dark and he found it unappealing. No matter what he or his wife did or what products they bought to fix it, the grout remained dark.

Unfortunately, most products on the market aren't effective or safe for grout. Also, improper cleaning methods like mopping the floors with a dirty mop or the use of soap-based or acidic cleaning products won't help to restore an un-sealed marble floor. After our diagnosis, we came up with the perfect plan to restore this beautiful marble floor—a professional stone cleaning service to remove the accumulated dirt and a stone sealing process to protect the tiles from etching or staining again. The client agreed to our proposal and asked us to start the process as soon as possible.

We returned to the property a few days later to start the restoration job. Once we identified which stone cleaning products were ideal for these marble tiles, we started the process by applying our proprietary cleaner to loosen the embedded dirt and grime. Secondly, we used a soft brush vertical system to remove the dirt entirely. For the areas where dirt was difficult to remove, we relied on vapor steam cleaning. As the job progressed, the marble and the grout lines were losing their dark appearance and returning to their original color. After deep cleaning every corner of the kitchen floor and ensuring the surface was dry and free of waxes or coatings, we sealed the entire surface with Sir Grout's proprietary solvent based stone and grout sealer called Stone Armor. This product is meant to protect natural stones like marble from etching and staining and give the floor a new, refreshed look.

The procedure was a success. The grout lines weren't dark and grimy anymore; instead they had the same shade as the marble tiles, no more stains and dark spots dirtied the surface. Given that tumbling a stone mutes its colors, a sealing procedure is essential to deepen the colors of the tiles. Thanks to our penetrating sealer, the floor recovered the natural shade it initially had. Besides, our sealant made the tiles and grout resistant to stains, etching, water, and spills.

As part of our service, we walked the client through a marble care and maintenance guide to help him maintain the renewed floor. Kitchens are constantly deal with many liquids like wine, acidic juices, coffee, and vinegar that can stain marble practically instantaneously. To prevent it, sealing the surface regularly is imperative. As we usually recommend, we told the client to frequently check the state of the sealing by dropping some liquid on the surface, if the stone absorbs the liquid, then it needs to be re-sealed as soon as possible. Also, to avoid the stone coming in contact with damaging liquids, we strongly advised to clean spills as soon as they occur to prevent them from getting absorbed by the surface. Finally, we also recommended the client to use a soap-less, pH-neutral cleaner to clean the floor, since those ones don't leave a sticky residue that traps dirt.

Do you want to refresh the marble in your kitchen, living room, or any other space in your house? Sir Grout Chicago is your all-time solution—we have state-of-the-art technology to restore any kind of hard surface, including natural stones, ceramic, wood, and outdoor surfaces. Call us at (773) 923-2084 or fill out the "Request a Quote" form on this website to set up a free, in-home consultation today!

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