Help! Limestone tiles ‘etched’ by white vinegar!

Tywoodpk

Help, please! 

A friend said she could help me clean the grout between what I thought was marble but turned out to be limestone floor tiles.

Unfortunately, she used white vinegar, which has reacted with the calcium in the tiles and ‘etched’, for want of a better word, the tiles.  I hope you can see it in the picture.  

I understand that the tiles involved now need to be honed, using some sort of pad on a grinder.   Is this something I can do myself, and if so, what pad should I use?  Or should I just get a company in to do it?  There’s 42sqm, so I doubt it will be cheap. 

EricL

Hello @Tywoodpk

Thank you very much for sharing your question about your limestone flooring. The white vinegar you used has a very high concentration of acetic acid and has produced a chemical etching reaction with the floor sealer. Unfortunately, we don't know what kind of sealer was used to seal your limestone floor. This means that if we were to seal any section of your floor it will come out in a different tone and will be even more noticeable.

Buffing the area is an option, but one that I would probably not recommend. Since the surface of the limestone is now open, any wax, oil or detergent will enter the pores of the limestone and will be difficult to remove. This will again be in contrast with the rest of your floor. I'm sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but I'm afraid your only option is to have it professionally buffed and sealed.

I suggest speaking to a flooring specialist and asking them if there is a repair option for the damaged sealer. I also recommend asking them about the current condition of the sealer on your floor and seeing if they can do a partial restoration.   

If you have any other questions we can help with, please let us know.

Eric