Marble Table Lime Stain
by Beverly
QUESTION:Hello! I recently bought my marble center table which I only use for guests. The first time I had guests over, one of them accidently placed a lime on the marble. Now I have a white stain and I have only tried to take it out with soap and water but have not succeeded. I'm afraid to try something harsh. Can you please help?ANSWER:Yes I can Beverly! Unbeknownst to your guest, lime juice like most fruit juice is acidic. Marble is a calcite based stone that reacts with acids instantly. The acid corrodes or eats into the stone... called "etching."Very common problem with marble. Too often people are not properly educated by sales reps on how to care for marble. Nothing you can do about it except use coasters, etc. to avoid contact with acidic foods and don't use harsh chemicals to clean... use a specially formulated marble cleaner. It's also a common mis-perception that sealing solves this issue...wrong. Sealing has nothing to do with etching. Sealing marble will only retard substances being absorbed and staining. Etching is completely different. To remove the little lime spot and restore the color and shine you'll need to use marble polishing cream. You can sometimes find the right stuff at your hardware store (it must be specifically for etch marks) or you can buy it online at our products page. Just follow the directions and it should do the trick; however, if the etching is severe, it may require professional restoration. That gets expensive, so try the polish first... for small spots it usually works great. Let us know how it goes with the comment link at the bottom of this page. Good Luck, Ryan |
