Marble Worktop Care and Maintenance: The Michelessi Guide

Marble is calcium carbonate: a dense but slightly porous stone that reacts with acids. This is the source of the two problems typical of a marble worktop, and it is worth telling them apart from the start, because they are treated differently.

• Etching: a drop of lemon juice or vinegar dissolves a hair-thin layer of the surface and leaves a dull mark, most visible on polished finishes. It is not dirt: at that spot the stone itself has changed.
• Staining: oil, wine or coffee seep into the pores and colour the stone from within. This is where the sealer earns its keep, slowing absorption and giving you time to wipe.

Everything else — the colour, the veining, the coolness under the hand — does not change with the years. We have been working marble and natural stone in our Aprilia workshop since 1976, and nearly every question about care comes down to a few good habits.

• Wipe with a soft cloth, warm water and a few drops of pH-neutral soap (a mild washing-up liquid is fine); rinse and dry, so no streaks remain.
• Wipe up spills straight away: tomato sauce, citrus juice, wine, fizzy drinks, vinegar. It is a matter of minutes, not hours.
• Use a chopping board and trivets: marble copes well with heat, but a boiling pan set down suddenly can dull a polished finish.
• Once a week, a cleaner made for natural stone (always pH-neutral) maintains the sealer and refreshes the surface.
• Avoid scouring pads and powders: on polished marble they leave micro-scratches that flatten the reflection.

The rule is simple: no acids, no harsh products. In particular, keep away from the worktop:

• lemon, vinegar, wine, tomato, fizzy drinks: wipe them up at once and never let them sit;
• limescale removers, descalers and bathroom cleaners: they are acidic by definition and etch marble within seconds;
• bleach, ammonia and heavy-duty degreasers: they do not etch like acids, but they strip the sealer and, over time, dull pale marbles;
• steel wool, abrasive powders, knives without a board;
• oil bottles and perfume flasks left without a saucer: the base leaves a ring that nobody can account for afterwards.

Before doing anything, look at the mark in raking light. If it sits inside the stone and is darker than the marble, it is a stain; if it is a dull patch level with the surface, it is etching and belongs to the section on polishing below.

The poultice is the most effective home remedy: spread a paste of bicarbonate of soda and water about half a centimetre thick over the stain, cover it with cling film and leave it for twenty-four hours; then lift it off, rinse and dry. If a stain survives two poultices, do not escalate to ever-stronger chemicals: a marble worktop can almost always be recovered in the workshop.

Before delivery, the worktop receives an impregnating sealer in our workshop: a product that penetrates the pores without forming a film, leaves the stone looking exactly as it did and makes it water- and oil-repellent. It does not make marble immune to acids — no sealer does — but it slows the absorption of stains and buys you the time to act.

To know when to renew it, use the water-drop test: pour a little water on the worktop and wait a few minutes. If the drop stays beaded, the protection is still working; if it spreads and darkens the stone, it is time to reseal. In a kitchen used every day this usually means once a year, more often around the sink and the hob. Application is simple: clean, dry surface, product spread with a cloth, excess wiped off after a few minutes.

The finish decides how much the signs of use show. We discuss them on the finishes page, but in the kitchen the comparison comes down to this:

• Polished: the deepest colour and veining, but every etch mark and micro-scratch shows more, because it breaks the reflection.
• Honed (matt): a satin surface that hides marks well; the wisest choice for a worktop that actually gets used.
• Brushed: gently textured under the hand, the most forgiving of all over time.

The good news is that marble is one of the few kitchen materials that can be renewed: a surface scratch, an acid mark or an overall dullness is removed with fresh honing or polishing, carried out by our craftsmen with water-fed machines, in the workshop or on site depending on the case. The worktop returns to its first-day condition without replacing anything. Worktops in Dekton or quartz are indifferent to acids, but a deep mark on them is there for good.

A marble worktop does not 'wear out': it changes. Over the years the surface takes on a soft patina, the edges mellow, and that veil of life is exactly what makes the counters of old pastry shops and family homes so precious. For it to age gracefully, three choices count, made before rather than after:

• The right marble: dense, fine-grained marbles handle kitchen life better than heavily veined or crystalline ones; we guide you through our marbles and natural stones.
• The thickness: worktops are usually made in 2 or 3 centimetres, with worked edges that resist knocks and do not chip.
• The finish: honed or brushed for those who cook every day, polished for those who want the mirror and are prepared to look after it.

With these three choices and the habits above, a marble worktop accompanies a bespoke kitchen for its whole life, and at the end it is re-polished rather than replaced.

Can I clean marble with vinegar or lemon?

No, never: they are acids and etch the calcium carbonate, leaving dull marks that stay until the surface is re-polished. Use only warm water and neutral soap, or a cleaner made for natural stone.

How often should the sealer be renewed?

Usually once a year in a kitchen used daily. The test is simple: if a drop of water no longer beads but darkens the stone, it is time to reseal.

Can a dull mark from lemon be removed?

Yes. It is not a stain but etching of the surface: it is removed by fresh honing or polishing, in the workshop or on site depending on the case, and the worktop becomes uniform again.

Polished or honed marble for a kitchen worktop?

For those who cook every day we recommend a honed or brushed finish, which hides the signs of use better. Polished marble offers more depth of colour but asks for more care.

If you are unsure about a stain, about resealing or about which marble to choose for your kitchen, write to us or call: we have been working marble in our Aprilia workshop, between Rome and Latina, since 1976, and we will tell you frankly what can be done and how. You will find telephone, WhatsApp and email on our contacts page.