Marble is known for being porous and difficult to maintain, but it’s actually pretty easy to remove stains from marble if you know this little cleaning trick!
I know that design experts often say to stay away from marble and opt for surfaces like quartz instead because marble is porous and absorbs unsightly stains like coffee stains, wine glass rings, and fruit-juice stains pretty easily, but you just can’t convince me that anything compares to the beauty of natural marble, if with the risk of discoloration that comes along with it. There’s just nothing better. At this point, I’m actually pretty convinced that when we eventually redo our kitchen, I’m going to have to go with marble countertops because I won’t truly be happy with anything else. Although our current butcher block counters are still doing just fine, for now. If you love white marble, too, but have been nervous about using it for worktops in your home or for furniture, I have a helpful cleaning trick to share with you that will make you very happy. Here’s how to remove stains from marble!
The First Way to Remove Stains From Marble
OK, before I get into the real “cleaning tutorial” part of this post, I need to point out one less-obvious way to remove stains from marble that you may not have known about, and that’s the power of time. That’s right, instead of using store-bought or homemade cleaners, just do nothing and wait it out, but continue to use your marble surfaces as normal.
You know how when you cut strawberries on your wooden cutting board, at first the wood is bright red, but after a little while and some regular use, the stains just kind of fade away? It works like that. Your marble will definitely patina over time, and these ignored stains may contribute to the patina a bit, but after awhile, they’ll be pretty much undetectable. Actually, completely undetectable. I’ve had blueberry stains, and juice rings and all kinds of things on my marble side tables that I’ve had for a few years, and I’ve actually only actively removed certain stains a few times. I mostly just wipe the table off and ignore the stains, and soon they disappear on their own. This little table is probably one of the most used surfaces in our house, but it just seems to get more and more beautiful as time goes on.
Another Often-Overlooked House Cleaning Task: How to Clean Range Hood Filters
DIY Marble Stain Remover: Clean Marble Using a Poultice
First of all, what’s a poultice? If you’ve never heard this term before, it’s basically a big mass of some kind of paste, applied either to skin for medicinal purposes, or applied to something for penetrating and cleaning difficult stains.
You probably already have everything you need for your poultice right in your home! This particular poultice works really well on most food-based stains that you’ll get on your marble regularly.
You’ll need:
- Baking soda
- Water
- Dish soap
- Something to cover them and keep the moisture in the poultice, like a small piece of plastic wrap or a reusable beeswax wrap should work too for a waste-free option.
More kitchen cleaning guidance: How to Properly Clean a Le Creuset Dutch Oven
Marble Stain Removal Procedure
Mix about two to three tablespoons of bicarbonate of soda in a small bowl, along with about a teaspoon of dishwashing liquid. Add just enough water to make a thick paste.
Apply the paste to your stained marble surface, making sure to cover the stain completely.
Cover the stain or spill and let it sit for about 24 hours.
After the 24 hours are up, wipe and rinse away the poultice residue with a damp cloth, and check to see how much of the stain has been removed. Repeat the process if any staining remains. There is no need to rub or scrub; just let the poultice do its thing, slowly but surely.
That’s it! Super easy and effective. Just another example of the magic of baking soda.
Have you ever tried removing a stain from marble with this method? Do you have something else you do that seems to work just as well?
Read next: 7 Things You Can Easily Clean With Denture Tablets
Courtenay Hartford is the author of creeklinehouse.com, a blog based on her adventures renovating a 120-year-old farmhouse in rural Ontario, Canada. On her blog, Courtenay shares interior design tips based on her own farmhouse and her work as founder and stylist of the interior photography firm Art & Spaces. She also writes about her farmhouse garden, plant-based recipes, family travel, and homekeeping best practices. Courtenay is the author of the book The Cleaning Ninja and has been featured in numerous magazines including Country Sampler Farmhouse Style, Better Homes and Gardens, Parents Magazine, Real Simple, and Our Homes.