Carrera Marble Countertops Brown Stains

by tom
(los angeles, ca)

QUESTION:

my recently installed carrera marble countertops have several light brownish-gray "stains" about 5-6 inches in diameter. Are these normal in carrera marble?

ANSWER:

Well, it's certainly possible for marble countertops to be stained. It's not as easy as the internet would lead people to believe, but definitely occurs.

Of course, something must stain them. So, no it's not "normal" for stains to just develop. You need to ask yourself what the marble countertop has been exposed to that could have stained it.

Could be dirty water from old pipes left on the surface.

Whatever has stained the marble countertop, traditional cleaning methods will not remove the stains.

You'll have to follow the step-by-step instructions in the Removing Granite & Marble Stains ebook.

One curious fact that sometimes results in rusty stains is that Carrera marble and other white marbles contain iron deposits. If these are consistently exposed to water long enough to oxidize the iron, then the rusty water is carried to the surface and can stain.

This is much more common on floors, where a flood or leak could saturate the marble or trap water under the tiles providing enough moisture to oxidize the iron deposits within.

Any water a countertop is exposed to usually evaporates quickly and pretty rare for it to saturate the marble enough to cause this problem.

Another possible explanation is the adhesive (or additives to the glue) used to install the marble countertops has absorbed and leached through to the surface. Not good.

Sometimes these will disappear, but often they are permanent.

You may have luck removing or diminishing the stains following the ebook directions, but since the adhesive is coming from the underside the stain is full thickness and could just continue to rise to the surface and re-stain.

If this seems to be the case, certainly take it up with your fabricator/installer.