Is your marble table top lacking the luster and beauty it had when you first bought it? While this natural stone is durable, it’s more porous than other materials and prone to staining and etching. Discover how to remove stains from a marble table and keep it looking as luxurious as the day you bought it.
Marble is versatile and a popular stone for floors, countertops, and tables. It comes in varying styles, from white marble to exotic marble. There’s even less cultured marble, which is less expensive than marble and granite. Marble is a soft, sensitive stone susceptible to scratches and organic stains from food spills and hard water.
It’s essential to keep your marble countertop or table clean, whichever type you have. Cleaning polished marble day-to-day is relatively easy. Usually, all you need is some water and a soft cloth. But, a hard water stain or etch mark requires special cleaning techniques to ensure that you remove the stain without damaging the countertop.
Cleaning Marble to Remove Stains
Cleaning a marble floor or counter may seem intimidating since you fear you may damage the marble surface. Yet, you don’t have to worry about ruining your marble table if you use the proper stain removers.
How to Get Stains off a Marble Table
Soapy water is ideal for removing stains from a marble table when they’re minor. It’s a gentle and safe marble cleaner for your home and removes everyday dirt and food spills, leaving a sparkling clean surface.
Get a sponge wet with warm water and squirt a small amount of mild soap over the top. Rub the stained area with the sponge using a gentle back-and-forth motion. Rinse the sponge beneath running water until it runs clear, wring out the excess water, and wipe the marble again to remove the soapy residue. Buff the table dry with a towel to prevent streaks.
Removing Stains From a Marble Table
Hydrogen peroxide is great for removing organic stains, like water rings left on a marble table, and there are two ways to use it. Combine with ammonia or mix it with baking soda. Learn how to get stains off a marble table with peroxide.
The easiest way to use hydrogen peroxide to clean a water or rust stain is to combine it with ammonia. Pour a cup of peroxide into a container and add a cap full of ammonia. Apply the cleaner to the spot with a sponge and rinse it well with clean water.
Another way to utilize the power of peroxide is to mix it with baking soda. Make a cleaning paste by combining one part hydrogen peroxide with two parts baking soda. Rub the paste on the affected area with a sponge and leave it for a few minutes before rinsing.
Drying the table is essential, no matter which peroxide method you use. Leftover water droplets may leave more water marks from hard water deposits. Use a soft towel or cloth to buff the entire area dry after you clean the marble.
How to Remove Stains From a Marble Table
A poultice is excellent for getting stains off a marble table from hard water deposits. It slowly pulls the yellow stain out of the stone, making it easier to clean from the table or counter.
DIY poultices are perfect remedies for marble surfaces, and you don’t need to purchase them from the store. To make a homemade poultice, pour baking soda into a small container and add enough liquid soap to form a thick paste.
Spread the poultice over the stain, cover it with a sheet of plastic wrap, and leave it overnight. In the morning, scrub the paste off the marble with a damp sponge, rinse it with clean water, and buff it with a soft cloth.
Remove Marble Etching Stains With Steel Wool
Steel wool is not something you want to use for everyday marble cleaning, but it’s sometimes necessary to remove etching. Find out how to get stains off a marble table safely with this abrasive sponge.
Marble Etching Stain Removal
Super-fine steel wool is suitable for scrubbing stains off a granite table top. To remove light etching and water spots, rub dry steel wool over the affected area with mild force. Don’t press too hard, and avoid clean areas of marble. Continue rubbing until the water stain or etch mark is gone, and wipe the surface with a damp cloth.
Use Baking Soda to Clean a Marble Table
Baking soda is a great alternative for removing stains from a marble table naturally. It absorbs dirt and gently scours stubborn stains from the stone, and you probably have a box in the kitchen already.
Sodium bicarbonate, or baking soda, is ideal for washing stains off a marble table top. Sprinkle enough baking soda over the marble stain to cover it and rub the area with a damp sponge. Try not to press too hard since the powder is mildly abrasive.
Rinse the marble with clean water and dry it thoroughly with a soft towel. Check for remaining stains and repeat if necessary or use another cleaning method.
What Not to Use to Remove Marble Stains
While cleaning and polishing stains off a glossy marble table is relatively straightforward, some cleaners are unsafe for use on marble or granite countertops. Find out what to avoid when removing stain spots from marble to prevent damaging the stone.
Never use coarse steel wool to clean marble since it leaves scratches. If you must remove the etching with an abrasive, only use super fine steel wool.
Avoid cleaning marble with acidic cleaners. In addition, do not use straight chlorine bleach for sanitizing. Instead, use hydrogen peroxide to disinfect and clean marble countertops.
Use coasters and trivets to keep your marble counters and tables clean longer, and always use a cutting board when slicing food. Keep wine, tomato juice, lemons, and other acidic foods off the marble, and clean spills immediately.
Pay attention to how you prepare food on marble surfaces. For example, sliding pans and cutting boards across the countertop leave tiny scratches that get worse over time and lead to dulling.
The best way to protect your marble from future scratches and stains is to reseal it every three to six months. However, not all marble counters require regular sealing, so consult your manufacturer.
Nothing says style like a beautiful marble table, counter, or floor. Marble adds elegance to the space and looks great in any room. That said, marble only looks good if you maintain and keep it clean.
Fortunately, marble cleaning is not as challenging as you may think. Soapy water cleans minor marble stains, and a marble poultice removes stubborn water stains.
We hope you enjoyed learning how to remove stains from a marble table, and we’d love it if you’d share our tips for cleaning stains off marble surfaces with your friends and family on Pinterest and Facebook.