Many people believe that all marble and natural stone needs to be sealed. However this is completely false. The reason for this assumption is because people understand that natural stone such as marble, travertine, limestone, granite, slate and other natural stones need special care and they assume this simply means it has to be sealed periodically. The truth is a number of things are necessary to care properly for natural stone and sealing it is sometimes very helpful, sometimes unnecessary and sometimes harmful. Other factors like cleaning methods, environment and occasional professional refinishing & polishing all come in to play in maintaining marble and natural stone surfaces like floors, countertops, showers and vanities. The reason to seal marble or limestone is to prevent staining. Staining is when something of color spills on a surface and it penetrates the surface with an indelible color. A seal acts to fill the pores of porous stone so it will not stain in the event of a spill. Some stones do absorb however many typical polished marbles do not absorb and do not need to be sealed to prevent staining. Many limestones on the other hand are extremely porous and will stain easily without a few coats of a good penetrating sealer. The best way of knowing whether your marble, travertine, limestone or slate needs to be sealed is by testing it. Leave some water on the surface for a while. Does it get absorbed in or does it stay on top of the stone ? In the coming articles we will discuss proper natural stone & marble cleaning as well as other tips on how to keep your marble looking good for longer without the need for professional marble honing and polishing.
For more on professional marble and stone care services check out our natural stone care page at https://groutworksnj.com/marble-stone-care/
