Marble is the premiere choice of material when it comes to surfaces in your home, such as kitchen counters or bathroom tile. For those of us that love the look of marble and don’t want to break the bank, there’s always the option of imitation marble. Since there’s marble involved in the manufacturing of imitation marble, you might think that cleaning your new surface might be tricky, but fear not! Once you know what you’re doing, making sure your marble is clean and shiny, you can follow a few simple steps:
Maintenance
In sports, they say that the best defense is a good offense, and the same is true of keeping your marble looking amazing. Since marble is naturally porous, it’s highly susceptible to staining or water damage if any liquid is left on too long. If you know you’re going to be handling anything with liquid near your marble, place a cloth on the marble surface to prevent any contact. In the event that you have marble in your shower, or something does spill, then just wipe it off as quick as possible to prevent any staining or water damage.
Keep it Light
When dealing with marble, you never want to use any abrasive or acidic chemicals to clean the surface, and the same is true with imitation marble. Your best bet is to use an all-purpose disinfectant and a good cloth, such as a terry cloth, and just wipe down the surface. As mentioned earlier, you don’t want your marble surface to stay wet too long, so moving all of the items that may be on your counter before you start cleaning is a great way to save time.
Stains and Dull
In the off chance that your marble surfaces have become stained or less lustrous than they once were, then that’s all right too. For stains, including water stains, nothing works better than plain vinegar. You’ll want to use the vinegar in the same way that you would do basic cleaning: quickly! As for the dull surface, car or counter wax will do the trick. Mr. Miyagi said it best, “Wax on, wax off.â€
So while imitation marble isn’t the real thing 100%, with some basic cleaning and maintenance, your home surfaces can look like you shelled out the money for top-notch materials. If you’re smart about keeping up your counters, they’ll look beautiful for years to come.