Marble Countertop Dull and Dirty

by Georgia Raga
(Artesia, NM)

QUESTION:
We had marble countertops installed in our bathroom and kitchen along with a backsplash. From day one, it all looks dull and dirty. Could this be because the sealant was improperly applied? How can I get it clean and protected? Please advise.
Thank you.

ANSWER:
Georgia, without seeing the marble countertops it is difficult for me to say exactly what the problem might be, but newly installed countertops should not look "dull and dirty."

It could be a sealer issue... either a very bad batch of sealer or the sealer that was applied was not meant to seal marble or stone and has corroded and/or etched the surface, damaging the polish, so it now looks dull.

Frankly, this is not too likely unless the installer was not truly experienced with marble... but this is not likely either or you would almost certainly see flaws in the fit and finish of the entire job.

Installing marble countertops is not a DIY/handyman sort of job. You can mess it up real easy.

Also, if the countertops were dusty and dirty after the install and were not cleaned prior to applying the sealer, then the sealer could have trapped the dust, etc. If so, the sealer would have to be stripped, the marble cleaned and sealer re-applied.

From your question I gather that you noticed the problem right away and both marble countertops were unifomly dull and dirty... correct?

OK, but let's go back to the beginning and look at some other possibilities....

Did you pick out the marble yourself?

Was it dirty and dull in the warehouse?

If not, are you certain the exact same marble slabs you picked out were cut and installed in your house?

Did you put anything on the countertops? Wipe them off.... clean them?

Did you have your house cleaned or did the installer/contractor have your house cleaned? If so, they may have cleaned the marble with an acidic cleaner that etched the polish dulling the shine.

Are you sure that your marble countertops are not "honed" (a flat matte finish) rather than "polished" (shiny)?

If none of the above are issues and you are certain the marble was shiny and clean when you picked it out and that you or someone you hired didn't use a damaging chemical on them, then I'd say you have to go back to your installer and ask to have the marble re-polished and/or diagnose and correct the issue.

A couple of other rare possibilities... some marbles do not take a polish that well... in other words, some types of marble do not get as shiny as others and that is just the nature of that particular marble (not too likely based on your description).

Also, sometimes a quarry will apply a fiberglass backing along with a resin coating to certain marble slabs that are more fragile than most. The resin is usually applied prior to polishing though and generally not an issue at installation, but you never know... the resin could be causing the undesirable appearance.

As for the marble countertops looking "dirty" ... I really can't say (possibly resin or sealing over dust). If the problem is apparent in a photo, then take a picture, use the question form to upload the photo and possibly I can better pinpoint the culprit.

But definitely present the issue to your installer and have them come out to take a closer look.

Let me know what happens by using the comment link at the bottom of this page.

All the best,
Ryan