Cleaning Marble Kitchen Island Spotting

QUESTION:

I have a kitchen island marble top that is white. What looks like water spots and "splash like" marks have started to appear on the surface. It does not go away with simple sponge washing and drying with towel. Any suggestions on how to polish to regain its luster? We recently moved here and have never had marble surfaces before.

ANSWER:

Thanks for the picture. What you have is called "etching." Marble is sensitive to acidic foods/drinks like fruit juice, coffee, soda, wine, vinegar and harsh cleaning products.

That's why it is usually not recommended for a kitchen countertop.

These are not stains and sealing won't stop it. A little bit of the surface marble gets corroded and destroyed when in contact with acids creating dull and discolored light spots. Avoiding contact is the only real prevention.

Also, you can't "clean" it in the usual manner because there is nothing to clean, but...

You can repair it!

Maybe it's just the picture angle, but your marble looks honed... not a shiny polish.

The repair solutions are different for polished vs. honed marble and you don't want to mix them up.

If your marble is indeed polished and shiny (not just a sheen) then using MB-11 Marble Polishing Powder will do the trick.

If they are honed then you'll need to follow the instructions in the Removing Etch Marks Manual.

But since you have marble in the kitchen and don't know about marble maintenance you'd be better off getting the Cleaning Marble Secrets Guide.

It has all the info about removing etch marks and a ton more covering everything you need to know to properly protect, clean, maintain and repair marble with the most effective simple solutions possible.

Good Luck,
Ryan

P.S. Get all the facts, answers, explanations and simple solutions with step-by-step instructions for any issue, problem or question with our Granite & Marble Maintenance Manuals.

I highly recommend MB Stone Care Products to maintain all your marble, stone and granite countertops and floors in optimal condition. I've used other good products (Stone Tech, Miracle) but found MB Stone Care is the most reliable and effective.