Five habits that wreck stone, and five that keep it.
Most of the damage we are called to is not an accident. It is a habit repeated for a year. Here are the five we see most, and the five that prevent them.
Marble, limestone and travertine are calcium carbonate. Everything below follows from that one fact: acid dissolves them, water and oil go into them, and grit scratches them.
The five that wreck it
Vinegar and the sprays. Vinegar, lemon, most bathroom sprays, descalers and "natural" cleaners are acidic, and acid etches marble on contact. The cleaner looks like it worked; the dull patch is the stone dissolving.
Leaving it unsealed. An unsealed bench darkens when wet and takes oil and wine into its pores. The tell is simple: water that darkens the stone instead of beading on it.
Scouring pads and powders. They scratch a polished finish, and once it is scratched the whole surface reads as patchy. Soft microfibre only.
Waiting. Stone wears slowly and then looks tired all at once, and by then a polish has become a restoration. A lane honed at the first haze is a smaller job than the same lane a year later.
The repair kit. A generic filler dries the wrong colour, sits proud and catches the light; a home reseal over a dirty or etched surface locks the problem in. Deep repair and chip work is colour-matched and blended or it is visible.
The five that keep it
Dust before you mop. Grit under a mop is sandpaper. A dry microfibre mop or a hard-floor vacuum first, every time.
A neutral cleaner, little water. pH-neutral stone cleaner, diluted as directed, a well-wrung mop, water changed when it clouds. Excess product leaves a film that dulls the floor and attracts dirt.
Spills now, not later. Blot, do not wipe outward. Marble is porous and a five-minute spill is nothing; an overnight one is a stain.
Mats and felt. A mat long enough for three steps at each external door, felt under every chair and every object that lives on a bench.
Check the sealer, do not calendar it. A few drops of water for ten minutes: beading means fine, darkening means due. Benchtops and showers usually need it yearly; floors in quieter rooms go longer. The sealer reminder page will nudge you.
None of this is effort. It is the same ten minutes of cleaning done with the right bottle and the right cloth.
On this site
Related questions.
How soon can I use my benchtop after it is restored?
Soon after, and we tell you exactly when before we leave. The polishing itself leaves the surface ready to use immediately. What needs time is the sealer, which is applied last and needs to cure before the stone is exposed to water and oil. For most penetrating sealers that is a few hours to overnight, and we tell you the exact window before we leave. Light use, like putting the kettle on, is fine straight away. Chopping, spills and hot pans should wait until the sealer has cured. We leave a short care card on the bench with the cleaners that are safe on sealed stone and the ones that will undo the work.
How often should marble be sealed?
It depends on the surface and what it takes. A kitchen benchtop or a shower, which see acid, oil and water daily, are usually resealed every twelve months. A floor or a table in a lower-traffic room goes two years or more. The honest test is the water bead: a few drops left on the stone for ten minutes should sit up. If they soak in and darken the stone, the sealer has worn and it is time. We add every surface we seal to a reminder list and message you when yours is due, so you do not have to remember. A sealer is not a coating sitting on top. A penetrating sealer soaks into the stone and slows how fast liquids get in, which buys time to wipe a spill before it becomes a stain. It does not stop etching, because acid attacks the surface of the marble itself rather than soaking into it, and nothing short of changing the stone prevents that.