Dealing With Stains on Marble Kitchen Splashbacks

Does your home or office need an interior design upgrade? Learn tips and advice for creating the perfect space.

Dealing With Stains on Marble Kitchen Splashbacks

23 August 2016
 Categories: , Blog


If you are seeking stain removal solutions for your marble kitchen splashbacks, poultices can be gotten from most hardware stores and these come in handy in removing stains. In some occasions, doing it yourself can be a convenient way of ensuring your marble is stain free. However, you should first ensure that you are dealing with marble staining and not marble etching.

Differentiating between marble staining and marble etching

When it comes to irregularities on marble surfaces, there are two ways they can present themselves. The first is discolorations that are darker than the marble stone. In these instances, you will be dealing with a stain. The second irregularity is when the discoloration is lighter than the marble. With this presentation, it implies that the damage has mainly occurred on the surface and thus has nothing to do with how porous the marble is. Since its absorbency rate is not a factor, you will be dealing with etching. Etching typically occurs when the surface of the marble has come into contact with an acidic substance.

Most homeowners do not know the difference between these two, and this is where further damage can occur to the marble due to using the wrong cleaning agents. Staining tends to occur when substances such as wine, oil, coffee, ink and so on have been in contact with the splashbacks. Rust is also a common stain that one can find in marble. Stains penetrate the marble and that is why the discoloration will be darker than the colour of the stone.

Eliminating stains from your marble splashbacks

As aforementioned, the main method of stain removal on marble surfaces is through the use of poultices. Poultice is made up of absorbent mediums that have been mixed with chemicals. The chemicals incorporated into the medium will depend on the specific type of stain that one is trying to get rid of. The poultice functions to reabsorb the stain from the marble. The chemicals incorporated into the poultice will combat the stain. Once the stain has been broken down, the agent will then suck it out of the marble.

The most common ingredients that will be found in poultices tend to be hydrogen peroxide and talcum powder. However, this is not mandatory and will not work with all types of stains. Some stains, such as ink, are better off removed with denatured alcohol. In the event that the stain was caused by oil, you will find that acetone would be a much better agent to use in conjunction with the poultice.