Thursday, June 11, 2009

Stain Removal Guide In Marble

Marble is a natural stone which can be used as a great material for decoration of home. It is highly porous due to which it is easily stained. However, it is essential to remove stains from the marble in order to maintain its beauty and luxurious design.

Here is a simple guideline for you to remove stains on marble stones. The first thing you can do is seal off the marbles in order to prevent stains. Use right sealers and bring out the elegance of this natural stone. Sealers help to repel water and dirt and increases stain resistance. It gets through the stone and reduces absorption, keeping staining agents and dirt on the surface of the stone.

Sealers should be applied periodically to protect the marble. However, sealers cannot protect the stone surface against grease, oil and such contaminants. Some sealers create a less durable top layer which increases your stone maintenance invariably. Sealers should not be applied externally because they trap moisture in the top layer of stone which leads to cracking of the surface during freeze thaw cycles.

Removing stains in marble is not quite easy. For removing stains, the process of staining should be reversed. Stains must be chemically broken down and reabsorbed in a different material known as Poultice. Poultice is a white powder. It is the right chemical that can reactivate the stain. However, it is important to identify what type of stain you have by choosing the right chemical. The test patches will be used if you still fail to identify the type of stain. This means you need to apply different chemical poultices for determining which one will be effective in removing the stain.

The poultice application is here for you to remove stains. Use distilled water to soak the stained area. The stone pores are filled by pre-wetting with water. This isolates the stain and speeds up the chemical reactivation. Next, premix the chemical and powder to form a thick paste. If a paper poultice is to be applied, then wet the paper in chemical and lift it up until it stops to dribble and then use it in the stained area.

Be careful to apply the poultice in the stained area only. Apply at least 1/4 inch thick poultice and overlap it on the stained area by 1 inch. The poultice should be covered up with plastic. The plastic needs to be taped down for sealing the edges. Then the poultice needs to be dried completely. It is this drying that pulls stains from stone in poultice material. Drying takes about 2 days. After all these, remove poultice from stain. Wash with clean water and dry with soft cloth. However, sometimes it may take 5 applications to remove stains.

So, if your marble ever gets stained use poultice to remove them. Though at times it may become difficult to remove, but keep on applying it for at least five times to get the best result. You can also use sealers to prevent stains to occur.

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