Do Marble Floor Tiles Need To Be Sealed

Porous means susceptible to liquids.

Do marble floor tiles need to be sealed. Sealing is done to strengthen tile or grout s defenses against dirt spills and erosion of grout but not all tile needs to be sealed. Additionally you typically need to seal marble to prevent staining and you are very unlikely to stain the marble tiles in your shower with just regular bath products. The same process used to seal marble floors can also be used to keep a marble countertop sealed against stains. Polished marble shouldn t need sealing before you apply.

No need to polish marble prior to sealing unless you are repairing etch marks. The marble tile should be sealed using a neutral ph breathable sealer after installation. Better to repair first but you can always re apply a sealer to any spots where etch marks were repaired. This will ensure that the finished project has an evenly spaced appearance.

Sweep and clean the floor tile prior to sealing. Unlike in your kitchen dining room or on your floors you aren t likely to use anything in your shower that will stain the marble tiles. After putting each marble tile on the mortar place a 1 16 inch tile spacer between it and the next tile. This is especially likely if the spill is not cleaned up immediately.

Not only is unnecessary to seal marble in a shower it is possibly counterproductive. If your tile is ceramic or porcelain it probably won t need to be sealed. They rarely come in contact with liquids that can stain and if they do in most cases water will be running and will just wash the potential stain down the drain. Honed granite surfaces might require additional sealing because the granite is not protected by the polish and is more prone to staining.

While not all marbles are delicate most are highly absorbent and thus easy to stain and etch. The process for sealing a marble floor is relatively easy and should take less than an hour with each application. This is usually polished marble installed as larger slabs and not as individually cut tiles. In contrast some of the light colors might need to be sealed as often as once every 6 months.

Marble is a porous material. When the mortar is dry seal the marble. Sealers don t form a topical coating so it won t trap dust or dirt but you want a surface free of gunk or. Before you consider sealing your tile keep in mind that there is marble that does not need to be sealed.

However rough cut marble is much more porous than polished marble and can be a candidate for sealing. How to seal marble floors before grouting. If say for instance you were to spill a glass of wine the wine might seep through the surface of a marble floor and eventually cause it to stain or discolor. In most cases marble showers do not need marble sealers.

Unlike a ceramic or porcelain tile floor it s not just the grout lines where sealing is critical but the entire surface.