Marble & Onyx
Calcite-based and acid-sensitive. Clean with pH-neutral products only, blot spills immediately, and keep coasters under anything citrus, wine, or vinegar based.
Expert Surface Care
Luxury Marble & Natural Stone Care Guide
Natural stone rewards patience and punishes improvisation. Most of the damage we are asked to correct in DMV-area homes — dull rings around a faucet, cloudy patches beside a cooktop, flaking along a shower curb — was caused by a well-intentioned cleaning product rather than by wear. This guide covers what each stone tolerates, how to spot trouble early, and when a surface needs a professional rather than another wipe-down.
Know Your Stone
Travertine & Limestone
Porous and prone to pitting. Keep filled holes intact, avoid abrasive pads, and reseal more frequently in kitchens and bathrooms.
Granite & Quartzite
Far more acid-tolerant, but still porous. Oil and pigment are the real risks; a good sealer and prompt blotting handle almost everything.
Engineered Quartz
Non-porous and never needs sealing, but the resin binder scorches. Keep hot pans off it and skip solvent-based cleaners.
The Three Failures We See Most
Etching
A dull, slightly rough patch where something acidic sat. It is corrosion, not a stain, so no amount of cleaning will lift it. Prevent it by keeping citrus, wine, vinegar, and conventional bathroom sprays off calcite stone, and by blotting rather than wiping spills so the acid is not dragged across a wider area.
Spalling
Flaking or chipping that lifts away from the surface, driven by moisture moving through the slab and salts crystallising beneath the finish. It is a building problem wearing a stone costume: find the water source first. Sealing over active spalling traps the moisture and makes the damage worse.
Stun Marks
Small white clouds under the polish, left by impact that fractured the crystal structure below the surface. Because the damage is beneath the finish, only professional honing and repolishing will reduce it — cleaning cannot.
A Simple Routine
Weekly Care That Preserves
- Dust with a dry microfiber cloth before anything wet touches the stone — grit is what scratches polish.
- Clean with warm water and a pH-neutral stone cleaner, then dry the surface so mineral deposits cannot form.
- Blot spills immediately; never wipe, which spreads acid or pigment across a larger area.
- Keep felt pads under decorative objects and trivets under anything hot.
- Test the sealer twice a year with the five-minute water test and reseal when the stone darkens.
Avoid entirely: vinegar, lemon, bleach, ammonia, generic all-purpose sprays, scouring powders, and any pad rougher than a soft microfiber cloth.
Frequently Asked
Stone Care Questions
How often should marble countertops be sealed?
Most polished marble benefits from resealing every 6 to 12 months, and honed marble closer to every 6 months because its open surface absorbs more readily. A simple test: place a few drops of water on the stone and wait five minutes. If the stone darkens where the water sat, the sealer has worn through and it is time to reseal.
What causes etch marks on marble, and can they be removed?
Etch marks are not stains — they are microscopic corrosion where an acid (lemon, wine, vinegar, tomato, many household cleaners) has dissolved the calcium carbonate in the stone. Light etching on polished marble can often be re-polished out with a marble polishing compound. Deep or widespread etching needs professional honing and refinishing.
What is marble spalling and what should I do about it?
Spalling is when flakes or chips lift away from the stone surface, usually because moisture has migrated through the slab and salts have crystallised just beneath the finish. It signals a moisture source rather than a surface problem, so the leak, splash zone, or trapped humidity has to be resolved first. Do not scrub or seal over spalling — sealing traps the moisture and accelerates the damage.
What are stun marks on marble?
Stun marks are small white clouds under the polished surface, caused by impact — a dropped pan or a hard object striking the slab — that fractures the crystals just below the finish. Because the damage sits under the surface, cleaning will not lift it; only professional honing and repolishing can reduce its appearance.
Can I use vinegar or an all-purpose cleaner on natural stone?
No. Vinegar, lemon, bleach, and most all-purpose sprays are acidic or alkaline enough to etch and dull calcite stones such as marble, travertine, limestone, and onyx. Use a pH-neutral stone cleaner and warm water, applied with a soft microfiber cloth.
How do I remove an oil stain from natural stone?
Oil needs to be drawn out rather than wiped off. A poultice — a paste of an absorbent powder and the appropriate solvent, covered and left to dry over several hours — pulls the oil back to the surface. Deep or old stains often need more than one application, and coloured stones should always be spot-tested first.
Do you offer stone-safe cleaning in the DMV area?
Yes. Soleil Cleaning Co. provides material-specific cleaning for homes and offices across Maryland, Washington, DC, and Northern Virginia, including marble, granite, quartz, fine wood, and custom cabinetry. Request a complimentary estimate and we will build a plan around your finishes.
Care Built Around Your Finishes
We clean marble, granite, quartz, fine wood, and custom cabinetry across Maryland, DC, and Northern Virginia — with products chosen for the material, not the schedule.