Material
Marble
Porous calcium carbonate that absorbs stains into the stone and is etched by any acid, so the method is a poultice and the forbidden list is short and absolute.
- SurfacePorous
- WashingSpot only
- Colour run riskLow
- Reviewed1 September 2026
What marble can and cannot take
- Heat Use with care
- Water and soaking Use with care
- Acids, including vinegar Avoid
- Strong alkalis Use with care
- Solvents Use with care
- Chlorine bleach Use with care
- Abrasives Avoid
Always test on a hidden area first and let it dry before you treat the visible mark.
General rules for marble
Two different things go wrong on marble and they need opposite responses.
A stain is something absorbed into the pores, and it is drawn back out with a poultice: a paste of an absorbent powder and the right liquid, left on for hours or days. Etching is acid having eaten the polished surface, it looks like a dull patch rather than a dark one, and no cleaner reverses it because there is nothing left to remove. Work out which one you have before you start.
Routine cleaning is a neutral cleaner or a little mild washing up liquid in warm water, and nothing with grit in it.
Check the label
Marble is calcium carbonate, so acid dissolves the surface rather than merely marking it. Vinegar, lemon juice, limescale remover and acidic bathroom sprays are all excluded, and that is not a matter of dilution or contact time.
Stains on marble
- Baby sick Lift off solids, wipe with a cool damp cloth and a drop of washing-up liquid, then wipe again with clean wate...
- Blood Wipe fresh blood off with cold water and a little washing up liquid. Anything that has soaked in needs a poul...
- Body oil Lift free oil from marble, then clean a small area with a maker-approved mild detergent solution and a soft c...
- Breast milk Blot the spill, identify the finish and use a controlled cold clean only where permitted. Where the maker per...
- Bronzer Lift loose bronzer from marble before it is rubbed in. Blot cream bronzer, follow the material or care label,...
- Coffee Wipe coffee off marble promptly with a soft cloth. Identify stone, sealer and adjacent grout before choosing...
- Concealer Lift the concealer from Marble, clean with neutral stone cleaner or very dilute washing-up liquid, rinse and...
- Cooking grease Blot cooking grease from Marble, absorb surface oil, wash gently with mild detergent and judge when dry. A re...
- Deodorant Wipe the film off with warm water and a few drops of washing up liquid on a soft cloth, then rinse with clean...
- Hair dye Blot immediately, wipe with a soft cloth and a labelled pH-neutral marble cleaner, then wipe with cool clean...
- Lipstick Lift lipstick from Marble, clean with neutral stone cleaner or very dilute washing-up liquid, rinse and dry....
- Motor oil Blot motor oil from Marble, absorb surface oil, wash gently with mild detergent and judge when dry. A remaini...
- Nail polish Lift free polish gently if the face permits contact. A maker-approved mild damp wipe can clear loose residue,...
- Period blood Blot it immediately, then wash the area with cold water and a little washing up liquid. If a shadow is left,...
- Pet urine Blot, wash with a pH-neutral stone cleaner or a very small amount of mild washing up liquid in cool water, ri...
- Sweat Blot, wipe with cool water and dry. If a film remains, use a pH-neutral or marble-labelled cleaner. Never use...
- Tomato sauce Lift tomato sauce from Marble, then wipe or blot inwards with a tested cool detergent solution. Remove residu...
Cleaners on marble
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Bicarbonate of soda
Yes, safe
It is close to neutral and not abrasive when it is used as a wet paste rather than scrubbed dry, which is why the stone trade body specifies it as the poultice powder for oil on marble.
-
Household chlorine bleach
Only with caution
It is not an acid, so it does not etch, but it can discolour stone and there is a better option. Hydrogen peroxide is what the stone trade body specifies for an organic stain on marble.
-
Hydrogen peroxide
Yes, with a pre-test
The stone trade body names hydrogen peroxide as the treatment for organic stains on stone, applied as a poultice. It is not an acid, so it does not etch, but it can lighten darker and coloured marbles.
-
Methylated spirit
Only with caution
Solvents are used on stone as part of a poultice rather than as a wipe, because wiping drives the oil sideways into the stone. It will not etch marble the way an acid does, but it can dull a sealer.
Marble is a stone that behaves chemically. It is mostly calcium carbonate, which reacts with acid, and it is porous, which means liquids go into it rather than sitting on it.
A sealer buys time, it does not prevent anything
An impregnating sealer slows absorption so a spill can be wiped before it soaks in. It sits below the surface, so it does nothing at all about etching, which happens at the surface the moment an acid touches it.
Stains come out slowly or not at all
A poultice pulls an absorbed stain back out over a day or two, and often needs repeating. That is the honest timescale. Anything promising an immediate result on a stain that is genuinely in the stone is describing a surface mark.
Similar materials
Sources
What we checked and when. Where a manufacturer instruction disagrees with anything here, follow the manufacturer.
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Cleaning products for natural stone, Natural Stone Institute
trade body
Trade body statement that lemon, vinegar and other acids dull or etch calcareous stone, that scouring powders and creams scratch it, and that the correct routine clean is a neutral cleaner, stone soap or mild washing up liquid in warm water.
Checked 1 September 2026
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Remove stains from stone applications, Natural Stone Institute
trade body
Trade body method for organic stains on stone using hydrogen peroxide, and the poultice technique of a cleaner mixed with a white absorbent powder to the consistency of a paste, spread a quarter of an inch thick and left for 24 to 48 hours. Also states that bleach and ammonia must never be mixed.
Checked 1 September 2026
-
Marble sealers prevent stains, not etching, Nova Stone Care
specialist
Stone care specialist explaining that a sealer buys time against staining but cannot stop etching, because acid reacts with the calcium carbonate at the surface rather than inside the pores.
Checked 1 September 2026
-
Poultices for a stained marble surface, Olson Cleaning
specialist
Stone restoration specialist describing a bicarbonate of soda paste with a few drops of hydrogen peroxide left on overnight and lifted with a firm plastic spatula, and calling in a stone professional for what it does not shift.
Checked 1 September 2026