Marble showers are one of the most difficult types of showers to clean and maintain. Marble is an extremely beautiful but sensitive stone that can be damaged with a wide range of cleaners that were not designed for cleaning marble. Often times people scratch, etch and discolor the marble tiles while cleaning them and then a professional stone restoration company will be required to restore the original look and shine of the marble tiles.
One of the most difficult aspects of cleaning marble showers is removing the soap scum that has accumulated on the marble tiles and the grout. Most consumer level soap scum removers are simply acidic cleaners that will dissolve the alkaline soap scum so that the soap scum can easily be scrubbed away. When cleaning marble you can never use any type of acidic products or they will etch the finish of the marble. Therefore it is necessary to use a professional level soap scum remover that is non acidic and is safe to use on stone tiles. Professional soap scum removers are effective at dissolving soap scum but they are also a lot more expensive than normal consumer level acidic soap scum removers.
When cleaning the grout in a marble shower you can also not use any type of acidic cleaners. Also many alkaline cleaners that are safe for cleaning ceramic tile and grout will also cause the marble tiles to loose a lot of their polished appearance. You should only use alkaline cleaners that were specifically designed for cleaning tile, grout and stone when cleaning the grout between marble tiles.
Many people are disappointed in the cleaning results when cleaning their marble shower. Marble that is installed in a shower will be subjected to a lot of water. Over time the water can start to eat away at the marble and cause it to loose a lot of the polished look it had when it was first installed. Usually what looks like dirt and grime on the marble tiles is actually just the wear and tear of the marble tiles when they are subjected to daily water use. In most cases a stone restoration professional will be required to polish the marble tiles to bring back the original polished appearance of the marble.
Usually when cleaning a marble shower you will also notice black mold in the caulking between the tile planes. It is a good idea to caulk your marble shower after you have cleaned and polished it. Caulking the shower will give your shower a clean and sanitary look that it can not get with cleaning and polishing alone.