Maintaining Marble Bathroom Countertops
by Glenda
QUESTION:I am moving into a house with new marble tile countertops in the bathrooms. The homeowner had them installed, but he is quite a do-it-yourselfer and I'm not sure how to take care of the marble.A well known personality has a book on cleaning everything and she said to not let toothpaste touch it, or makeup or perfume,or... Seems like that would be impossible in a bathroom. The surface is nicely polished, but I don't know how to keep the grout clean. What can I use as a cleaner? Is a water glass going to leave rings? There is no medicine chest or shelf for water glasses or toothbrush holders. There is a mirror all the way to the splash guard, so I would have to have it removed to put a shelf in. It's attached with some kind of adhesive, so that would be a lot of work to remove the mirror, replace it with another and build a shelf. I am thinking trays and baskets to protect the surface, but would that even rub the surface finish and leave dull marks? It's beautiful marble, but it seems a wrong material for a bathroom vanity with no shelf or cabinet to keep products from staining the surface. What do you suggest? Thanks Glenda ANSWER:True, things like toothpaste, perfume, mouth wash, etc. can sometimes be acidic enough to etch (dull) polished marble.Also, most common brand-name household cleaners will damage and dull marble. I can tell you that even though there are several types of products that can etch marble, that the occurrence of etching on bathroom countertop is pretty low compared to say a marble kitchen countertop. Most problems occur from using the wrong cleaning products. But, yes... you'll need to get some decorative trays and put the rubber dots (buy at hardware store... don't use the felt ones because they will get wet) on the bottom to diminish scratching. And you can get shelves that simply stand on the countertop. I would not use baskets because they will get wet and although polished marble is not very absorbent and does not stain easy (despite what you read that it does) wicker baskets will tend to stain when in constant contact with the surface in a wet environment. If you do happen to etch the marble and get a dull spot, you can use SCP: Marble Polishing Paste to remove the spot and get the shine back. This product works very well for that. And no, water in a glass will not leave a ring, but you'd be surprised how easy contents inside a cup can get to the outside and form a ring if they are acidic like coffee, soda, alcohol, wine, etc. For general cleaning I recommend Stone PLUS Cleaner. For the grout I'd use INTENSIVE Concentrated Tile & Grout cleaner. Both products (in fact all products we recommend) are made specifically for cleaning marble and stone, are non-damaging and safe for marble maintenance. 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.
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