There’s so much to love about marble flooring but many homeowners are intimidated by what they view as a high-maintenance option. The truth is that as long as you know what to do and what not to do, maintaining a marble floor can be easier than you think. Read on to get the basics and then contact Fuller Stone Care at 310-944-9099 for help with marble restoration, cleaning, sealing, or polishing.
- Seal your marble
- Clean up spills as soon as they happen
- Use the right cleaners
- Don’t leave it wet after cleaning
- Dust the marble regularly
- Use baking soda to get stains on
- Put felt pads under the legs of your furniture
- Protect your floors from hard materials
- Take special care with marble floors in the bathroom
- Get repairs as soon as they’re needed
It is essential that you seal marble. While other natural stones don’t necessarily need to be sealed, marble is extremely porous. More so than granite, and more so than many types of stones. As a result, seal it to prevent it from staining.
Sealing is meant to give you more time to clean up spills, not to prevent stains altogether. As soon as possible, wipe up any juices, sodas, alcoholic drinks, or acidic beverages that are spilled on your marble floors.
You don’t want to use any cleaner that has acid in it, or cleaners that are abrasive. Skip cleaners with vinegar, those made for cleaning tubs and tiles, citrus cleaners, and multi-purpose cleaners. You can use ammonia but it must be very diluted. The best option is to use cleaning products made specifically for marble flooring.
If you do need to clean or mop the floor, your next step is to take a dry cloth and run it over the marble. If you leave water on it, even small traces of that water may have dirt and grime that could dull the marble.
Since marble is so porous, it can become scratched and stained from dry particles. Something as simple as dirt being tracked in by your shoes can lead to scratches. We recommend using microfiber dust mops, but if you vacuum, make sure you’re avoiding scratching the surface.
If there is a stain, just apply a combination of banking soda and water, leave it for at least two hours, and mop it up with a wet cloth.
Even soft wood can scratch marble. Protect your floors by using felt pads on the legs of your furniture.
If you have hard objects like umbrella stands or plants, make sure you have a rug or mat under them.
It’s essential to seal marble used in the bathroom and to use bath mats and rugs to cover as much of the floor as you can.
If your marble chips or cracks then you should have it repaired sooner rather than later. Leaving damage makes an easy way for germs, dirt, and stains to get deep into the marble.