5 Important Tips on How to Take Care of Your Marble Benchtops
11 March 2021Marble benchtops are stunning additions to any kitchen decor, and they offer both fashionable and functional benefits. This elegant stone is available mainly in light colour tones of rose-pink, golden-beige and creamy-grey. Its characteristic rich veining or marbling adds depth and beauty to its lustrous surfaces. As a relatively soft stone, marble is porous and can absorb liquids and natural coloration from soft foods, which can cause staining.
As our natural stone experts at Granite World in Sunshine, North Victoria can advise you, marble benchtop surfaces must be sealed on a regular schedule to prevent unattractive stains, markings and other damage. Marble can also be adversely affected when exposed to extreme temperatures. It is essential to keep this fact in mind during busy food preparation and cooking times to avoid damaging the luxurious elegance of your kitchen’s marble surfaces.
Five Essential Tips for Taking Care of Your Radiant Marble Benchtops
By following a few basic steps, you can easily maintain the pure, innate beauty and allure of your kitchen’s stunning marble surfaces. Five major tips for taking excellent care of your glowing marble benchtops include the following:
1. Routine Cleaning. For regular cleaning of your marble benchtops, simply wipe them with a soft, smooth cloth or sponge using warm water and a gentle cleaning agent that is pH balanced. It is also safe to use a mixture of warm water and white vinegar or methylated spirits instead of a cleaning agent. Small amounts of these eco-friendly substances should be mixed with the water, at a ratio of 1:8. You can avoid any surface streaking of the marble by using these natural substances.
2. Stain Prevention. Since marble and other natural stones are porous, their surfaces must be sealed to help prevent scratches and stains. You should avoid placing strongly coloured or acidic foods and beverages directly on your marble benchtops. Items such as beets, strawberries, lemon juice, coffee, grape juice and food colouring can stain or mark your benchtop surfaces. Never leave metal items like cans, cooling racks or iron cookware on your marble benchtops to avoid stains from possible rust.
3. Heat Protection. It can be easy to forget that glowing marble surfaces can be damaged by excessive heat since natural stone is known to be sturdy and resilient. However, although marble is resistant to heat, it is not heat-proof. You should refrain from placing any extremely hot cooking vessels on your marble benchtops. Exposure to excessive heat can actually discolour and even crack the marble. Before placing any hot pots, pans of dishes on these natural stone surfaces, be sure to protect the marble with a durable trivet, hotplate or insulated cooling mat.
4. Scarring Protection. Refrain from using your lustrous marble benchtop as a cutting surface or chopping board. Aside from dulling your knife blades, you may dull the marble surface or even cause scarring. This is especially true if you are using heavy chopping knives. Many people designate certain areas of their kitchen food prepping space for cutting and chopping. If your logical area for using sharp knives is your benchtop, just be sure to place thick chopping boards on its marble surfaces before prepping.
5. Potential Weakness. Marble benchtops are quite strong and durable, but they may have potential weak spots. For example, small strips of stone that run across the front and back of a kitchen sink may crack or scar if heavy items are rested on them. If these areas are accidentally struck with heavy pots, pans or portable kitchen appliances, they may also incur damage. Always think of your marble benchtops as unique and beautiful items of kitchen decor to be treated with ultimate care.
Optimized by: Netwizard SEO
