Travertine Shower Floors

we don't have travertine, but my guest bathroom floors and shower walls are done with tumbled marble - also very porous. the tile came from Lowe's and they sold a product that they told me to use on any natural stone - it does pretty well. i forget the brand name, and don't know where i have stored the cleaner at the moment (we are still building, so things get moved around by the day!), but it says on the jug, "Marble & Stone Cleaner"....it is a goldish brown plastic gallon sized container, rectangular in shape, with a built-in handle, not like a bucket. they still carry it at our Lowe's, in the tile section, never looked where they keep the other cleaners.

best to you!
A.

Hello there,

I work for a tile and stone company in town. You are right you cant use just anything. You are going to have to scrub it unfortunately and get it resealed. Hopefully it was sealed by the installers whom put it in. My boss says that he beleives that it is probably etching into the travertine which means its not gonna come off easy! The scrubbing required to remove it will also remove the sealing! He said use a detergent like Tide! BUt definetly get it resealed!

Hi K.,
I too have a travertine shower. It is,however, new to us as we just bought this house. Anyway my husband sprayed a clorox/water mixture on it and then sprayed with water and it took the soap scum away.

I don't know this material but is there a way for you to contact the manufacturer or the installer and ask them? They often have tips on how to keep it clean.

Hi K.,
I was really curious to see what travertine really was, I love home improvement,,LOL Love to do my own too. Anyways I typed it into my search engine and this came up:

SHOWER STALLS

* DO Clean daily using a scrubbing tool like the one used at gas stations to clean your windshield in conjunction with a specialty product for stone, such as *MB STONE CARE MB-5 Marble, Granite & More Spray Cleaner, full strength.
* DO treat your shower walls with *MB STONE CARE MB-13 Polished Stone Dressing For extra protection and shine.
* DO use a specialty product like *MB STONE CARE MB-3 Soap Film Remover when an accumulation of soap film appears (waxy look and feeling), especially in the lower part of your stall. It also removes possible hard water mineral deposits, without damaging the stone surface.
* DO use a specialty product like *MB STONE CARE MB-9 Mildew Stain Remover if you have an occasional growth of mildew in your grout lines. It will not affect the delicate surface of polished marble and other delicate stones.

Then I typed in MB STONE CARE MB-3 Soap Film Remover and found it online. A quart of it costs 12.95. You might want to check this out. I've never had any stone floors period, much less in a shower, so just thought I'd send on the info I found online. Good Luck with what ever you find or do!

I would call the company that put the flooring in and ask them.

They have something at Lowes and Home Depot that is made especially for cleaning that. I don't have that but a friend does and she buys something from there to clean hers.

Good Morning K.,

I tried looking it up on line and found a company that sells Travertine tile. Here is an e-mail address from that site so you can write them for more information : ____@____.com and here is a site that gives you do's and don'ts: http://www.countertopspecialty.com/cleaning-travertine.html
I hope these can help you.

K.

I'm not familiar with travertine tile. I have ceramic? tile on my shower walls. It is not a flat, smooth surface like the old tile used to be. Anyway, I use Dawn dishwashing liquid on a magic eraser on the tile and glass and a small brush for grout. I do it while I'm in the shower once a week. It takes minutes, works great and is fairly inexpensive and mild. Plus no harsh chemical smell. This advice came from a professional window washer. Just an idea you can try.

I have tumbled marble in my shower and use 'Charlie Soap'. It is a wonderful cleaner, very mild but takes care of the tough stuff. You can buy it at Whole Foods. It is actually a laundry detergent, but can be used for any type of cleaning. My husband also uses it to clean his 4 wheeler when it is covered in mud. It is a 'do all' cleaner. Try it with a little scrubbing power and you will be surprised. Also re-seal your tile after cleaning several times a year.

I have a natural tumbled tile shower floor and i had to go to Home Depot and buy a tile and grout cleaner. I also had to scrub to get the soap scum off. Our builder also told us to re-seal the tile after about 6 mo. Good Luck.