Read How Our Chicago Stone Polishing Professionals Reversed the Damage of Vinegar on This Limestone Shower Floor

April 27, 2017

A Chicago resident had started to notice that there was a lot of mineral buildup on the tile floor in her shower. They no longer looked like they used to, so in an attempt to fix the irritating problem, she looked online for a solution. She came across a website that recommended to leave paper towels soaked in vinegar on the floor and that would help remove it. Little did she know that this would only make matters worse. Desperate, she called a friend to ask her what she should do. Her friend had hired us a while back to polish her bathroom's marble countertops. She knew we did all types of hard surface restoration work and that our Chicago stone polishing professionals did an excellent job. She gave us a call after hanging up with her friend and booked an appointment for a free evaluation and quote.


When Sir Grout Chicago's specialists got there, she explained to them what she had done. The team described to her how limestone is mostly composed of calcium carbonate, making it susceptible to acidic solutions and causing the etching that she saw as a result of soaking the floor with vinegar. Now the floor appeared stained and far worse off than before. What many people don't seem to know is that vinegar is actually acetic acid, and albeit extremely diluted, it is still an acid, so it erodes the stone. The result? Etch marks. Even though etching may look like stains, it is a physical change on the stone's surface. When the vinegar and the limestone tiles came in contact, the calcium carbonate in the stone reacted with the acid. This chemical reaction changed the physical composition of the stone and, of course, its appearance.

As our client listened to our explanation, she looked mortified. She thought of the expression "etched in stone" and imagined for a moment that there was nothing we would be able to do to fix her shower's floor. We quickly reassured her that a polishing service would fix the problem and we would seal the stone surface to protect it against mineral buildup and other agents. She was relieved to know that we could repair her shower back to normal, so we set a date to carry out the job.

On the date set, we arrived at her home bright and early to start working her shower. First, we honed the entire shower floor to a semi-gloss finish. Honing mechanically resurfaces the stone using abrasives and water to achieve a uniform appearance and sheen and prepares the surface for the stone polishing process. Once the stone polishing process was completed, we proceeded with the sealing process. To seal the limestone floor, we buffed on our proprietary, water-based, polymer sealer Tile Armor. This sealer provides maximum protection against stains and spills for this type of stone. Additionally, this product is nontoxic and safe for everyone in the family, including pets.

The result? You can see the difference in the pictures above. Needless is to say, our client was happy with the outcome knowing she wouldn't have to replace the entire floor. As usual, we offered our two cents of wisdom on the subject and recommended that she should only use quality products designed to clean and maintain natural stone's shine.

If you need the help of a honing and polishing specialist to bring back the luster of your natural stone surfaces, give us a call at (773) 923-2084 or fill out the "Request a Quote" form on this page to set up a date for a free evaluation.

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