Repair Marble Table Top Glass Rings

by Puja Sharma
(berlin, Germany)

QUESTIONS:

I have a large 8 seating dining table that I dont know if it is marble or granite. Everytime I place a glass of water on it the ring at the bottom of the glass gets left behind, but slowly dissappears.

For some reason some of the "ring" stains are still there and not shifting. Also in another place I tried cleaning the table with a anti bacterial multipurpose kitchen cleaner by accident and now i have spray marks left behind on the table that have removed the shine that was once on the table.

Please help, I have now moved to berlin and need to get it fixed as my table does not look as beautiful as it once did.

It is a coffee/mocha colour with a "grainy" pattern?

ANSWER:

Your table is made of marble (or travertine or limestone, which are all the same family).

Marble is sensitive to acidic foods and drinks and can be easily damaged by most common and brand-name home cleaning products.

You should only use products safe for cleaning marble.

So, acids and most cleaners will corrode marble eating away at the surface. It's called etching.

When you set a glass on it the condensation will form a glass ring on the table, which can absorb creating a darker spot until it evaporates and dissappears.

However, if the drink is acidic, then the condensation will carry some of the liquid that gets on the outside of the glass when drinking down to the table and etch it.

Also, residue from some dishwashing soaps which are acidic can be transmitted to the table via condensation.

The simple thing to do is just use coasters, placemats and trivets to avoid problems with etching

Learn more about etching and marble polishing (click here).

For a polished marble surface etching can be repaired using the Marble Polish / Etch Remover available in the US.

I'd suggest contacting a local stone warehouse for a possible suggestion for a local product.

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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