Small white circular marks

White circular marks generally no larger than ½ an inch in diameter and more normally ¼ “ across.

ROOT CAUSE: Localized crushing of stone crystals through the application of force by something of weight with a sharp focusing edge being dropped on the surface, or stiletto heels. This is different from wear marks where one has removed a part of the surface through abrasion with a material trapped underfoot creating a small scratch where material is missing. In this case, the stone has been locally crushed or pulverized through the application of blunt force.

ANSWER: Stun marks go down well below the surface and tend to broaden in width and lighten in color the deeper one grinds into the stone.

(for more understanding click here) – This makes stiletto heels more damaging than sneakers by the ratio of heel to heel. A 150 lb person with a small 8 in long shoe with an average cross-section of 4” would generate 150 lb / ((8/12) x (4/12)) = 150 / (32/12) = 56 psi, but if the stiletto heel has a cross section of 3/8” x 3/8” that pressure jumps to 1066 psi with each clicking step. That’s enough pressure to drive a piece of sand to create a small scratch in the surface, and on some softer marble stones to micro-crush the surface leaving an area of crushed stone in the surface.

SOLUTION: As such these are neither CLEANABLE nor SERVICEABLE without replacing the tile. These are associated with the brittleness of the stone crystal in combination with the presence of someone wearing stiletto heals making this material a poor selection for the walk ways within the building.

Install a runner in the walkways to help absorb the impact or replace the stones in the walkway area with stones with a greater strength, such as granite.

Products
No cleaner will remove or resolve this problem, however poor cleaner selection in an effort to find a cleaner than solve this problem can result in the addition of waxes to the floor or the introduction of acids which would had insult to injury. As such, recognizing what is causing this problem, will enable you and your staff to establish a suitable management policy while refraining from adding to the problem through inappropriate cleaner use.

MARBLELIFE MARBLE & TRAVERTINE CLEANER or MARBLELIFE FLOOR CLEANER will both maintain your stone surface without contributing any additional problems.

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