Marble floor etched by cleaning ladies

[PandaBear]

Since we were too busy at home recently and the house is getting dirty, we decided to find a cleaning co to help clean the house on an as needed basis. The ladies that my wife found on yelp came and spend a lot of time cleaning. They did a good job except they uses something that etched the marble floor in the bathroom. They denied using anything but water but there're now shoe marks and bottle marks on the floor. I lived in this house for 8 years and at night I'd go barefoot to not wake up the family, so I know the floor pretty well and we always use only water to clean. I called a couple company and they have minimum job of $300 or $400 to come out (although they will give free quote). The floor seems to still "seal" as water sort of not get absorbed into the stone or behave differently on the "etched" part of the floor. I want to know if I can polish the mark out myself and if I do, do I need to seal / coat / impregnate the floor again after polishing? How good will the result be if I only use a car polisher. What products work or not work? Thanks.

 

[Donald]

Marble is very soft compared to other stones. I would use only products labeled for marble. Did you have a sealer?

 

[Bandito440]

Yes, marble is a very soft material. If you really want to, you can polish it. First, I would try stripping whatever sealer is on there now and apply a new coat that provides a glossy finish.

 

[PandaBear]

I am not 100% sure, but I think compare to some unsealed marble I've experienced in the past this marble floor is sealed, and it seems like only the sealant is etched. The gloss of the floor is affected but not the color of the floor, if that makes any sense.

 

[SteveSRT8]

They used something acidic in PH. Only alkaline cleaners or neutral ones on marble and most natural stone. Have it stripped and professionally polished. There are nearly fool proof diamond pads for a regular floor machine that come in grits from 800 to 11000, these will remove an incredibly small amount of material and allow you to choose the gloss level. Mechanical shine = long life. Chemical shine = short life.

 

[PandaBear]

What they told my wife originally was that they used a diluted amount of pine sol to clean floors, saying that despite pine sol is not recommended for marble a tiny amount is ok. They then changed their story to using just water because my wife told them not to use anything, etc. Is it possible to rent a floor machine and DIY? or use a car wax polisher with polish? What about sealing afterward? Can that be DIY?

 

[andyd]

Just as there are oil guys here. I'll bet there are marble freaks out there who could give you good advice.

 

[PandaBear]

A marble guy just came over and looked at the floor. His conclusion is the floor is mainly wear and tear scratches and some acid splash from cleaning of another area (shower stall) and shoe mark from cleaning lady stepped into those area. Would cost $325 after discount to polish and seal the 45 sqft total, and would probably last about 1 year with sandy clothes from childcare sand box.