Marble
is a natural stone with immense beauty. A multitude of colors and
patterns make this natural stone the perfect selection for all times to
come. Marble is an expressive material and when carved into beautiful
artifacts, can enhance the look of the decor making it more elegant and
graceful. Being a natural product, it needs simple care and maintenance
for its lasting beauty and shine. Marble is generally polished and used
for fine building work, furniture, or decorative pieces. It varies in
color owing to its presence of iron oxides during the time of formation
of the stone. Tips for Cleaning
- Marble is etched by acids. As soon as anything gets split on marble, should be wiped off immediately.
- To polish dulled or etched surfaces, putty powder (tin oxide) should be used by rubbing on with a damp cloth, folding and refolding to clean damp areas.
- A poultice can be made from white absorbent material such as a napkin, blotter, paper towel or facial tissue and dampened with the chemical recommended to dissolve the stain. It is advised to leave poultice on the stain for 1 hour to 48 hours, depending on the age and depth of the stain. To keep the poultice, plastic wrap can be put over it.
- The stains of colors bleached from paper, tea, coffee, soft drinks or textiles on the marble item can be removed by poultice. It can be soaked with 20% peroxide and a few drops of ammonia and applied on the stain.
- The stains of lotion, vegetable oils, butter etc. can be covered by absorbent fine powder such as whiting or even corn starch. They can then be brushed to remove and more powder reapplied. This needs to be kept as it is for 24 hours. After this, they can be scrubbed with hot, detergent solution and stiff brush or wiped with ammonia-dampened cloth. If these alkaline solutions cannot remove the oil, a solvent can be tried. Make a poultice dampened with acetone or amyl acetate (available at drug stores), or with home dry cleaning fluid.
- The rust stains of metal items can be removed by using a commercial rust remover. Acids fruit juice, carbonated beverages or other acids will etch (remove shiny surface) if allowed to remain on marble. Then acid spill needs to be wiped off immediately with wet cloth. If surfaced is etched, polishing of marble may also be needed.
