Marble floors are one of the most beautiful options out there for your home but maintaining their luster can be tricky. Here are 8 tips to help you clean your marble floors.
It's important to remember that despite its rock hard surface marble floors are a very porous and temperamental material. It doesn't necessarily require more attention than other flooring options but it does require some different techniques.
Since your marble floors didn't come with an instruction manual let us help you out with these 8 helpful tips on how to clean your marble floors.
1. Check Your Shoes
Remove any dust, dirt, and moisture from footwear, pets, rugs, and even from plain air circulation, the old-fashioned mop sweeper is your best bet for maintaining a shiny marble floors.
Don’t use cleaning or polishing spray on it but just as long as it is clean and dry, it can get your marble floors all shiny and sparkling. Do this on a regular basis to avoid the gritty substance from etching the floor.
2. Use the Right Cleaner
Ceramic tile cleaners are for ceramic tile floors – not for marble floors. As a natural stone, marble can easily get dull, stained, and damaged by these types of cleaners.
Use a general-purpose floor cleaner that is non-acidic and has a neutral pH. If you can’t get one from the local hardware store, warm water is enough to neutralize any dirt, spill, and residue.
3. Use Warm Water
Mopping your marble floor with basic warm water is good. But never let it air dry because it will leave ugly blotches all over. Make sure to wipe it with clean, untreated soft cloth to restore its sheen and brightness.
4. No Vacuums!
Any type of vacuum cleaner is a big no-no for marble floors. Its wheels, plastic and metal parts, as well as the hose or nozzle are abrasive enough to scratch your floor’s surface.
5. Don't Use Anything Abrasive
Don’t use scouring powders, cream cleaners, or alkaline products to remove stubborn stains. Though it can remove the stain, it can also damage your marble floor’s finish.
6. Be Sure to Seal It
Marble is a porous material and if you have unsealed marble floor, it is important to add a penetrating sealer after cleaning it. This can extend its life and appearance while reducing costly maintenance over time.
7. Use Felt
Adding felt matting or any non-abrasive barriers between light floor fixtures, trash receptacles, coat racks, hall trees and plants or anything that is in direct contact with your marble floor will provide extra protection.
8. Mats and Rugs are Your Friend
Walk-off mats and rugs on all entryways leading to your marble floors is a must. This will ensure that most of the gritty substances from foot traffic will go to the rugs and not on the marble floors.
Don’t just use any type of mats or rugs because they might cause a chemical reaction when in contact with your marble floors. Organic latex and natural rubber are both good rug pad materials plus they are non-slip and non-skid to avoid any accidents.
Tips for Spot Cleaning
Occasionally, there will be small stains or spills on the marble floor. If you’re short for time to do some thorough cleaning or mopping, here’s what you should do:
- For food stains caused by oily or greasy substances and tomato sauces, get a regular soft sponge dipped in warm, soapy water and then rub it gently. Add a little hydrogen peroxide if it doesn’t get off easily.
- For sugar-based stains, pour a few drops of liquid dish detergent on the same soft sponge and scrub the spot.
- As with any kind of spills and stains, rinse well with clean water and dry with a paper towel. Quick action goes a long way so it won’t get absorbed on your marble floor.
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