How To Take Care Of Your Stone
Marble is considered to be one of the most luxurious materials that you can use in your home. It offers you a unique level of beauty and style that often cannot be found in other countertop materials. As elegant as it is, however, it also is one of the most fragile and requires a great deal of maintenance. You can keep your marble counters in good condition and maintain their usefulness for years by understanding how and when to polish them.
Polishing Marble Counters
When it comes to polishing your marble counters, you may believe that you must invest in expensive cleaners and waxes. In truth, you can make your own marble polish right home for a very low price. Baking soda and warm water are all you need to create a polish for your marble that is very effective, very affordable, and safe to use on even the most fragile of marble surfaces.
To create your marble polish, you should mix three tablespoons of baking soda into a quart of warm water. You should then apply it liberally to your marble surface, working it in with a soft cloth or sponge. Rather than wipe it off right away, you can make the most of your polish by allowing it to set and dry for about five hours.
After five hours have lapsed, you should then use clean warm water to rinse the countertop and then dry it with another clean, soft cloth. You will end up with marble counters that are clean, polished, and full of natural shine.
Marble Polish Benefits
One of the primary benefits of polishing your marble frequently centers on maintaining your counters’ natural beauty. As elegant as it looks in the store when you choose it, marble can deteriorate over time if you fail to take care of it properly. It can become dull and cloudy, in fact. By polishing your counters regularly, you keep your counters looking new, shiny, and beautiful. Polishing your marble takes a relatively short amount of time and does not require a lot of physical effort.
Another advantage of regularly polishing your marble involves keeping them sanitary. Marble is an extremely absorbent material. It can soak in and retain germs and bacteria for infinite periods of time unless you clean and polish them regularly. When you want to avoid cross contaminating your food or contracting food poisoning after eating off the marble counter’s surface, you should polish your counters regularly to keep them as sanitary as possible.
Finally, regularly polishing your marble keeps your counters intact for years. Marble can be expensive. When you want a good return on your investment, you must take care to ensure that it is properly cared for at all times. By polishing it, you ensure that your marble lasts longer and gives you the years of worth that you need to get that good return on the money you spent for it. This care also ensures that you do not have to have it replaced or repaired anytime soon.
When to Polish Your Marble
If you are unsure how often you should polish your marble counters, you can decide by considering how often you use them and what they look like during the week. If you use them only occasionally, you can probably get away with polishing them only once a month. If you prepare food or sit at your counters every day, however, you may want to polish them at least once a week. This care will guarantee that your counters avoid the dull appearance that could make them a detriment to your kitchen.
You should also polish them anytime you see signs of damage or wear and tear. As noted, marble is very absorbent. If you spill a cup of wine or coffee on its surface, for example, it will retain the color of the beverage until you clean it thoroughly. You can remove a stain by using mild soap and water, or even bleach for tougher stains, and then using your homemade polish to finish the job.
It should be noted as well that if you polish your counters regularly that you may want to invest in a quality marble sealant to further protect your counters. Marble sealant can be found at any home improvement store. It seals in the polish and helps your counters retain their natural beauty.
Marble is a popular choice for a home’s kitchen counters. You can keep yours intact by learning how and when to polish them.