How To Clean Marble Floors – A Complete Guide!
By Urban Company
5 min read
Jan 09, 2024
So, you’ve managed to get your home to look exactly like the mood board you’d started out with! Congratulations! You’ve used marble on the floors because ...
So, you’ve managed to get your home to look exactly like the mood board you’d started out with! Congratulations! You’ve used marble on the floors because you love the stone’s timeless elegance and beauty. But now you are faced with the daunting task of how to
clean marble floors. To make your marble floors gleam, you will need to know the proper techniques and cleaners.
What is the proper way to clean marble floors?
1. Dust and sweep regularly
2. Mop with mild soapy water
3. Rinse off the soapy residue
4. Polish (optional)
1.
Dust and sweep regularly
In most Indian homes, dusting and sweeping is a regular occurrence. So that’s a good thing. Dust and dirt are abrasive and lead to scratches on your marble floor. Remember dust and dirt can come from anywhere. This is especially true when you’re living in cities where construction work is in full swing or if your home is just off the main street. Dry dusting and sweeping is an excellent first step to clean marble floor at home.
2. Mop with mild soapy water
Mopping is also yet another regular occurrence in most Indian homes. However, to clean marble floor at home you need to ensure your cleaning chemicals aren’t terribly hard because they can damage the stone.
When you’re cleaning marble floors, you could consider using a mild pH-balanced dish soap, the kinds you use to clean your utensils with warm water. You can also go for a specialized marble cleaner and mix that with warm water to create a soapy solution that can be used to mop up the marble floors in your home.
Needless to say, you need to be careful with the mop. The dunk-and-clean technique you see in the movies may look great on the screen and could well work in large public areas. But there is a correct way to use the mop and it involves wringing the mop after you’ve dunked it in the water. When you start cleaning, the mop should not be soaking wet but rather damp so that excess moisture can prevent from seeping into the porous surface of the marble. Ultimately, when you’re mopping the marble floor at home, make sure to pay special attention to any spots or spills
3.
Rinse off the soapy residue
Typically, after mopping the floors, you turn on the fan and let them dry, right? Don’t do this when you’re trying to clean marble floors at home. Once you have mopped the marble floor, use a clean damp cloth or mop to rinse off the soapy residue. Again, you are doing this so you don’t leave behind any moisture on the marble. Remember, this is a porous stone and if you leave any moisture, it can lead to the formation of water spots that can dull the marble’s shine over time.
4.
Polishing (Optional)
You should be good even if you follow the first four steps to clean marble floors at home. However, if you’d like to go a step further, you could consider polishing your marble floors. You can polish the marble floors using one of the high-quality marble polishes available in the market today. Make sure to apply the polish as instructed on the product label and buff the floor to a brilliant shine with a clean, soft cloth.
What is the best cleaner for marble floors?
Your pH-balanced dishwashing soap is the best cleaner to clean marble floors at home. This is not only the most easily accessible cleaner for marble floors but also incredibly effective. It is, however, crucial to remember that your dishwashing soap is pH-balanced because any cleaner that has high acid or alkaline content will most definitely harm your marble’s surface over time.
If you’re looking for better TLC for your marble floors, you could consider investing in a marble cleaner. These are readily available in the market and an excellent choice for deep cleaning and removing any stains.
Remember that you should never use harsh, abrasive cleaners, vinegar, lemon juice, or any acidic substances on your marble floors because they will etch the surface and ruin the shine sooner rather than later.
Can I use baking soda to clean marble floors?
Yes, you can use baking soda to clean marble floors, but you must use it sparingly. When used for cleaning natural stones, baking soda can be terribly effective, but that is also because it’s quite abrasive. So, if you have to use baking soda to clean marble floors, make sure to use it sparingly and only when you have run out of all options. Which is to say, when you’ve spilt something on your marble floor that doesn’t come off.
How to clean tough stains on marble floors
1. Make a baking soda paste
2. Apply it gently on the stains
3. Rinse and dry
Baking soda makes for an excellent cleaning solution for tough stains on marble floors, but be sure to use it sparingly because it is abrasive and can ruin the stone’s shine. Here is how to use baking soda to clean tough stains on marble floors:
1. Make a baking soda paste
Mix a small amount of baking soda with water to create a thick paste. Make sure that the paste isn’t very gritty because that can damage the marble. The baking soda paste has to be smooth and consistent.
2. Apply it gently on the stains
Now, apply the baking soda paste to the stains on your marble floor. Then, use a soft cloth or a sponge and gently scrub the area using a circular motion. Do not use excessive pressure and, if you’re using the vessel-cleaning sponge, most definitely avoid using its rough end to clean the stain.
3. Rinse and dry
After you’ve removed the stain or dirt, rinse the area thoroughly with clean water and dry it with a soft cloth to prevent water spots.
It is absolutely crucial to remember that baking soda should not be used for regular cleaning of marble floors at home. Reserve this for days when you’ve spilt, say, haldi or something else that’s left a stain you cannot otherwise remove.
Marble surfaces bring an aura of luxury and timelessness to your home, but maintaining their shine requires proper care. The best way to do this is to clean your marble floors regularly.
Obviously, it would help a great deal not to spill things on the floor so you could reconsider using marble floors in the kitchen, as these tend to lose shine the fastest. This is also one of the reasons why interior decorators recommend against marble on kitchen platforms and nudge you towards granite.
But, sometimes, the heart wants what the heart wants, and you end up with marble floors. Thankfully, you now know how to clean marble floors at home.