How to Properly Clean Marble

By Tammy | June 30, 2016

If you have beautiful marble floors, tiles, countertops, etc. in your home you may be wondering why it has lost its luster or high glossy shine and what you can do to restore it.

Many times marble owners see their marble become what they describe as cloudy and think that it is dirty and in need of a good deep cleaning. Marble is natural stone but is a soft stone, because of this it it can become dull and scratched easily. When this happens your marble actually could use a polishing and refinishing rather than a cleaning.

When marble becomes rough and scratched the light rays reflecting off of it become scattered giving a dull and cloudy appearance making the marble feel like it may have a milky layer of dirt on the top of it.

A new fresh piece of marble that is polished and fresh will reflect light and give off that nice highly reflective glossy looking finish that everyone loves about marble . It’s kind of the same concept as with water. When the wind is blowing and there are ripples on the surface of a body of water it is difficult to see the reflection,but when the wind is calm and the surface of the water is calm the reflection off of the surface of water is amazing and shiny like glass. In order to restore marble’s shine you need to smooth it out with a good polishing.

So once you have restored your marble how do you keep it looking beautiful?

Keep everyday cleaning simple: use a soft cloth, microfiber is good for this and warm distilled water. Simply wipe down the counters and then go back over with a dry cloth to make sure all the water is off the surface as marble will show water spots
When you are expecting guests get your marble looking really good by using a ph neutral dish soap or clear ammonia with water and rinse thoroughly so no residue is left behind. Acetone can be used on dark marble as well and hydrogen peroxide does well on lighter marble.
Make sure to clean up any stains asap. When you clean,use the rule of blotting as rubbing can cause scratching. If a stain remains after simple absorbing into a clean towel use a commercial spot cleaner made especially for marble.
Protect marble from harsh enemies. Marble is a stone but it’s not like granite, you still need to use coasters under glassware and hot pads under dishes. If you have a marble eating surface consider using place mats.
Polish with a chamois on a regular basis. To keep luster it is good to regularly polish marble.
Seal your marble to give it an extra barrier of protection. Make sure you know what kind of sealant is already on your marble. Sealant needs to be reapplied and it is good to have a professional marble sealing once every year or two.

For more information on natural stone care please feel free to browse our website or contact us anytime. We have thirty plus years in the carpet and tile care business.