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February 20, 2022Does marble flooring stain easily? Marble flooring provides any space with elegance and timeless style. It’s an excellent choice for high-traffic areas or rooms that see a lot of activity because it naturally stands up to wear and tear. Plus, marble flooring is very easy to clean with the proper care.
But when accidents do happen, here are some tips on how you can help restore marble floors without too much trouble. Read on – Does Marble Flooring Stain Easily?
Table of Contents
How Marble Flooring Stains
Marble is composed of calcium carbonate (limestone) with small magnesium, iron oxide, and clay deposits. Any acidic liquids spilled on the surface quickly react with these minerals in the stone, resulting in discoloration. Although all marbles are susceptible to staining, certain types tend to be more resistant to discoloration than others.
Protecting Marble Floors
It’s best to take precautions to protect marble floors before accidents happen. Serving food and drinks on the floor is never a good idea; neither is placing hot objects like vases or candles directly on marble. If you must clean up spills immediately, use cold water because hot fluids cause stains much faster.
The longer an affected area stays wet, the more difficult it will be to remove the stain. Sticky substances like juice, soda pop, and wine should be removed immediately with ice cubes, then cleaned as soon as possible with soap and water. Warm water can also aid in removing food particles stuck between the veining of the marble.
How To Remove Stains
With the proper care, stains are easy to remove. The sooner you get to them, the easier it will be. First, scrape away any excess liquid with a spoon or dull blade. Next, make a cleaning solution using two teaspoons of liquid hand dishwashing detergent mixed with 1 quart of water.
Then scrub the area with a soft bristle brush and rinse well by repeatedly wiping with a wet sponge or cloth. If any debris remains after rinsing, gently use an old toothbrush to dislodge it; be careful not to scratch your floors and always rinse with cold water afterward.
Does Marble Flooring Stain Easily? –
Marble flooring polishing tips
1. Clean the marble flooring again
Before you start polishing, make sure to clean the floor thoroughly once more. This is because any dust particles on the surface of a marble floor will be agitated while being polished and may cause bubbles or streaks in your final polish coat.
Use a vacuum cleaner with a brush attachment to remove any dust from the stone’s surface before applying your polisher, and keep it away from the floor during the entire polishing process.
2. Mark out areas that need special attention
Marble floors tend to have darker parts around grout lines, at corners and edges, or under furniture that is not frequently moved or along walls with less light exposure. Apply masking tape around these areas to indicate them so that you can focus on polishing these particular sections more thoroughly later.
3. Use the proper marble polishing
The kind of marble flooring polish you use is crucial in determining how shiny your polished marble will ultimately be. Different marble floor polishers are available – liquid or cream stone polishes, pastes, or powders, all with varying degrees of abrasiveness and chemical reactions when applied to a surface.
Make sure you read the labels carefully before using any product on your floors for safety purposes and their effect on the finish produced by your polished marble floors.
4. Do NOT step on the marble floor
It is essential to ensure that no weight is placed on the marble floor during or before it has dried entirely after being polished or treated – especially if using either a liquid or cream polish.
Hitting even a small amount of water underfoot may cause severe slips and falls later when walking across the polished surfaces of your polished marble floors, so avoid stepping on them until they have dried out thoroughly.
5. Protect your eyes and skin
If any chemical reactions occur with the polishing products you are using, there is a definite possibility that some of it may splash or spray upwards if not applied properly. Therefore, it is essential to wear protective glasses and gloves while applying your marble flooring polish to avoid any mishaps with these chemicals.
Also, ensure that ventilation in the room is good so that the chemical fumes do not become a problem for anyone who might enter it after you have finished polishing your polished marble floors.
6. Work from top to bottom
Start by applying the polish at a high point above where you will be working on your marble floors – this way, any dripping or spills will flow downwards towards an area below your feet instead of away from them while you polish.
Use sweeping motions across the surface of the marble flooring in a downwards direction, and only change direction when your reach the end of an area.
7. Polish in small sections at a time
When polishing any marble floor, try to work on it in smaller areas – these are usually around 4-5 square meters or less – at any one time to prevent the polish from drying out too much before you have even finished applying it to all the different parts of the floor.
The best way to do this is by dividing up your large polished marble floors into four or five equal parts with masking tape so that you can complete each section separately without overlapping another while leaving enough time for them to dry before moving onto another part of your polished marble floors. Once these sections are dry, you can then move on to the next area and continue polishing.
8. Use a buffer
Using a floor buffer (also known as an electric polisher) is another good way to achieve a high-shine polished marble finish on your floors. The electric polisher comprises rotating brushes that apply polish evenly across surfaces and help speed up the drying process between different sections for faster overall results when working with your polished marble floors.
9. Buff it well
It takes time and effort to produce shining polished marble flooring products at home, so do not rush the buffing phase after applying your stone polish by using either a machine or hand tools like steel wool.
Using only one type of tool, such as steel wool, to remove excess marble floor polish can cause scratching to your polished marble floors, so this should always be avoided. Using a machine is the best way to achieve a smooth shine on your polished marble floors – it is also easier and safer to use than doing it by hand.
10. Keep up with regular care of your polished marble floors
The best way to make sure that you maintain a high-shine look for longer on your polished marble floors is by regularly using a liquid or cream stone polishing product every few weeks whenever required – this generally should not take more than 15-30 minutes per month, depending on how much traffic has been passing across them each month since they were last
Does Marble Flooring Stain Easily? – Conclusion
The type of stain you use to mark off an area or otherwise change the look of your flooring should remain easy enough to remove with nothing more than soap and water. Most stains are intended to last far longer than they should, depending on their contents, so getting it right the first time is essential.