May not be the chemical at all but the scrub pad. Marble is calcium
carbonate and subject to etching by acidic materials but it can also be
easily abraided by a scrub brush or pad or what have you that is
sufficiently abrasive. Especially if the process is repetative. An
abrasive scrub pad with an equivalent of 220 grit would be quite enough to
cause damage to the marble.


"Sue" wrote in message
. net...
I posted the following last evening........and after that post I began to
have trouble receiving messages. I never did know what happened but would
like to try again. If you responded to the original post would you please
respond again. Or tell me how I find and download my orginial post and any
responses.


My master bathroom is finished with marble tiles. Sometime last year I
believed my housekeeper had use some caustic cleaner that took the shine
off the tiles and left a dull surface on the floor and the step down into
the roman tub/shower, a bench in the shower area, and for about a foot up
from the tubfloor along the wall opposite the step into the tub. At the
time I assumed she had used Tilex to clean the grout. I had the tiles
restored ($450.00) and took all the 'caustic' cleaners and put them in
cabinets she would not access to. The only cleaners my housekeeper has
had available to her since then were 'Method' products, Softscrub and
Windex. Method is a brand name of a environmentally friendly line of
household cleaners that clearly states they are safe for granite and
marble. And which I have used
in the master bathroom for years with great success.
Several months have passed and the tiles have been damaged in the exact
areas in the exact way they were previously. And I believe by something
the housekeeper is using because I noticed it a day after she had last
been here. It was not immediately visually noticeable -the damage is more
noticeable when I squeegee the area after showering. The squeegee drags
on the dull, damaged area where it glides over the shinny, polished,
undamaged area.
In an effort to determine what was going on I used an extra tile that I
had
and poured Tilex, chlorine bleach, Windex, Method Bathroom & Tile Cleaner,
ammonia full strength onto the extra tile. And I left the agents on the
tile far longer than my housekeeper would in the process of normal
cleaning - the only agent that did damage was the Tilex (which remember
she
doesn't have access to) and it didn't leave a dull finish as I have
described. It simply left the outline of the 'puddle' of the product that
was placed on the tile.
Any suggestions as to what is happening here?