Marble, the beautiful and ethereal material, is a star of kitchen countertops and considered as good as granite countertops. But how do you maintain it to make it look brand new for longer? Here’s everything you need to know.

Clean The Surface Every Day

If you want to protect your countertops from damage and stains, then you need to clean them every single day. Cleaning marble countertops is a must because cooking and preparing food brings a lot of stains, spills, and dried-up debris that you need to get rid of.

Cleaning the countertops after a day of cooking and working will ensure that there are no permanent stains, and the shine of marble, which is the primary selling factor and the most beautiful feature of the natural stone, will be preserved.

Seal Them

Marble is a natural stone and you know what that means. It is extremely porous and it can absorb any liquid and moisture present on the surface. That’s a really bad thing because this means that stains will become permanent and the only way to rectify this mistake is to have the countertops professionally fixed. Well, this can be prevented if you take some measures beforehand.

For instance, you can seal marble countertops with a clear sealant and your countertops will be safe from all kinds of damage. A sealant works like a filler and fills up the open pores of marble so that nothing can get inside the stone.

Clean Up The Spills

One of the things that can lead to damage and ruin the countertops for good, is the delay in cleaning up the spills of foods and liquids from the countertop surface. This one simple thing can lead to ugly and permanent stains that are almost impossible to remove.

So, whatever you do, when you see a spill on the countertops and the marble isn’t sealed, you need to clean it up right away, because that can prevent you from a lot of trouble in the future.

Protect Them From Heat

Marble, although it’s a very durable natural stone, can get damaged by heat and because of its very light color, the black heat stains will be even more prominent and that’s not a good look at all. So, it’s better to be safe than sorry and use cutting boards, trivets, and even coasters, if you’re preparing hot food directly on the countertops.

These things work like an insulated boundary between the scorching hot food and the marble countertops. If your countertops fall victim to heat stains, you will need to replace them because heat stains are permanent and can’t be removed if too much time has passed.

How To Get Rid Of Stains?

Let’s say you get a teeny tiny stain on your seemingly spotless marble countertops NC. Nothing to worry about! You can fix it. All you need for this is a bit of tape to tape off the area that you’ll be working on and some sandpaper.

First, tape the area off where the stain is, so that the sandpaper doesn’t go beyond the working area then using a mild sandpaper, run it on the material back and forth and the stain will start to diminish. Lastly, put some clear varnish on top of the sanded area and remove the tape. Your countertops have been saved.

How To Prevent Accidents

Now you know all of the ways by which you can protect your countertops from permanent damage, stains, and whatnot. However, you also need to prevent these things from even possibly damaging your countertops, and this is where care comes in.

You need to take good care of your countertops and maintain them as necessary because that’s the only way by which your marble countertops will last for longer and will continue to make your kitchen look like a thing of beauty. Here are some things to keep in mind:

Avoid Staining Foods

One of the biggest disadvantages of marble is the fact that it is very light in color and even the slightest stain will show. So, to prevent stains from occurring in the first place, there are a couple of things that you need to do.

You need to avoid staining foods like beetroots, wine, lemon, citrus, and oranges, or at least prevent cutting or using them directly on the surface of the white marble countertops. These things will stain the countertops and the results won’t be very nice, so use cutting boards or plates.

Don’t Use Harsh Chemicals

Harsh chemicals like ammonia and Sulphur are present in a lot of cleaners that are meant for countertops. These cleaners aren’t always the best because first, they can damage the countertops to no extent and second, they’re not good for your health either.

These cleaners can have lingering odors that can irritate the respiratory tract and can also penetrate the food that you’re preparing on the countertops, so that’s not a good thing at all. These chemicals can also be quite hazardous for children and you shouldn’t invest in them at all.

Bleach Is A No

If you come up with the bright idea of cleaning your marble countertops with a dash of bleach because it will whiten the stone even more, then you couldn’t be more wrong. Bleach should be avoided at all costs, wherever marble countertops are concerned. You shouldn’t clean the countertops directly with harsh bleach, because you’ll end up ruining the countertops for good.

If you want to incorporate bleach in cleaning natural stone countertops, then you can add just a teaspoon of it into your cleaning solution. Mix it well and use a wet washcloth to clean up the mess and spills on the countertops. It’s not smart to use concentrated bleach on fragile marble countertops. Even this small amount should not be frequently used. Instead, use cleaners made for marble cleaning.

Avoid Acids

Marble is calcium carbonate and if you’ve paid attention in science class before, then you would know that acid and calcium carbonate react violently together. So, if you’re thinking about using acidic cleaners for your marble countertops, then stop yourself right there, because you’re deliberately ruining your countertops.

Try to opt for a pH-balanced cleaner, because those things don’t have acid in them at all and they will get the job done too. Always avoid harsh chemicals because they will end up doing more bad than good and your countertops will be ruined for good and that’s not what you want.

Keep It Simple

There’s no need for you to buy those specialty cleaners and products that clean marble countertops. You can easily get the job done with the things you already have at home. All you need, to make your cleaning solution, is some detergent and lukewarm water.

Mix the two until you have a solution. Put it in a spray bottle and use it with a soft sponge or microfiber cloth. Your marble countertops will be brand new in no time.

Conclusion

Marble might be a beautiful material, but it sure is hard to keep its beauty maintained. These tips and tricks will prove to be helpful. However, if your marble countertop is older than 30 years, you should consider countertop replacement Durham NC.