White Marble Turned Yellow

QUESTION:

We didn't know that we had marble counter tops in our bathroom. The marble is white in color but has turned yellow. What can we do to get the yellow color of the counters?

ANSWER:

If you are noticing a general yellowing across the countertop, then I'm betting that what you have is "cultured" marble and not real marble.

Cultured marble is made from ground up marble molded into shapes and covered with a protective and colored coating that is designed to "look" like marble.

How to tell... is your sink integrated into the countertop? Cultured marble. Look under the edges and inside the cabinet at the underside... Do you see where the coating ends? Is the countertop just gray underneath? Cultured marble.

Real marble does not just yellow unless someone pours oil all over it or it is exposed to constant moisture (most common on floors and in showers).

If in fact you do have real marble, please take and upload a picture, ask the question again and provide as many details as possible and I'll do my best to diagnose.

Unfortunately, there's no resonable cure for yellowing cultured marble. It's common... happens over time. Theoretically, you could have the coating removed and re-applied (not an expert here), but the best solution in my opinion would be to just replace it.

Hope this helps,
Ryan