Removing Bleach Stains from Marble

Marble is a porous stone, which by its very nature is easily stained. Most stains can be easily removed. There are some stains, though, that are hard to remove, and one of those stains is bleach. Actually, bleach doesn't stain the marble; it causes etching, which is a common problem with marble. Because of problems like the etching marble should never be used as a kitchen floor.

Etching is when the stone comes in contact with substances like juice, alcohol, bleach, or other acidic substances. When it comes into contact with a polished marble it immediately destroys the finish or polish, leaving in its place a nice dull spot.

Fortunately small areas or spots can be repaired by using a product called Stone Care Pro; you should be able to get at your local flooring company. This product isn't expensive and works great. There is also a product that can repair small etchings called SCP: Marble Polishing Paste. The paste works really well on polished marble and is easy to use. For honed marble there really isn't any product that can fix the problem. Honed marble will need to be re-honed.

If the bleach stain is larger than just a spot then you can try a couple of different ways to correct the problem. The first thing you will want to do is to wipe up the spill. Then contact your local flooring dealer. Explain to him what happened and, if possible, take a sample of the marble with you. Different marbles have different finishes on them. It may just be the finish that was ruined and not marble itself. The dealer should be able to tell you if that is the case.

If the marble floor is fairly new it still may be under warranty. Before doing anything else check with your dealer where you bought the floor. The warranty may cover the cost of replacing or fixing the bleached marble. However, if you have already tried using different chemicals in an attempt to remove the stain, you may have voided the warranty.

If there is no other way to remove the stain then one solution would be to etch (stain) the whole floor. This will create an even stain over the entire floor. The floor won't have the same look as it did before the stain happened, but to someone who didn't know it would appear as though is was the natural finish of the floor. This solution is cheaper than replacing the entire floor.