We were strongly advised by our Marble/Granite supplier not to use marble as the vanity top in our master bath because it is soft and stains so easily. Powder room or guest bath- fine, heavily used master bath- not a good choice. The question they asked me that convinced me was "Does your husband ever leave the cap off the toothpaste? If your answer is yes, select granite for the master bath, not marble." I'm sure others may disagree, but I heard this advice in several places. Granite is easy to clean and doesn't stain with normal use.

We selected granite for the master and will be using beautiful marble in our downstairs powder room. Use a little granite cleaner and/or Non-Ammonia Windex.

I use hot water and neutral pH dish soap on my honed marble kitchen counters. I use a tile cleaner that specifically states it is "safe for natural stone" in my master shower (polished marble mosaic floor) and either soap/water or a neutral pH all-purpose cleaner on the polished quartzite vanity in my daughter's bath.

You want to avoid anything with citric acid or vinegar, which will etch. That eliminates a LOT of household cleaners.

Also, on a vanity top, make sure to seal it well with Porous Plus and keep resealing it periodically.

Oh, for all our tiled floors (porcelain and travertine), we use Marbalex from SCI. We mix a cap-full or so in a bucket of hot water, and wash the floors with a sponge--no need to rinse.

our master bath is a mix of limestone, onyx & marble. The countertop and tub deck are polished marble slab. Honestly, we aren't very careful with them now (initally, when it was new, i was careful). wet washcloths sit there daily, we have 3 young kids that routinely use our bathroom, makeup is spilled, etc. ... and we use a dow scrubbing bubbles in the shower & on the countertop with no issues.

Thank you all for weighing in...and cat mom, thanks for the detailed product info. It will come in handy should we decide to opt for natural stone.

I was surprised to read on another thread that bleach was okay for marble.

I'm not sure what materials we will use, but I don't want to rule out something based on my assumptions.
I can see that we will have to be careful about grout choice in addition to tile choice.
Such helpful information!

I have travertine floors only in a small powder room and wipe them down with my homemade granite cleaner. I doubt that I'll use it in my bathroom remodels since I want a surface that I can easily disinfect.

catmom - I make my granite cleaner the same way, except I'm goingt to try a few drops of the essential oil. After buying my first spray bottle of expensive granite cleaner and reading the ingredients (alcohol and water) I started making my own for pennies.

Several years later I'm still refilling the same expensive bottle so everyone knows it's for the granite counters (not that anyone else is really wiping them down!).

Can someone tell me, what is the ratio of alcohol to water in the granite cleaner? And where do you buy the essential oils? Thank you.

I use anywhere from 30-50% alcohol to water (proportion ends up changing as I refill or top-off the spray bottle), but a Dr at the EPA I'd spoken with said as little as 10% alcohol will kill germs. I pretty much go by smell (too much alcohol can be a bit harsh on the breathing, but I like it to have a "presence" as far as alcohol smell goes), and evaporation--too slowly or too quickly with regards to cleaning ability and/or streaking. Same goes for the lavender oil, has to "smell" right to me.

I get lavender essential oil (regular, not the organic which is even pricier) at Mrs. Green's near us; you can check a health food store, or other places like that, that might carry essential oils. A very small bottle still costs ~$10+ but lasts quite awhile. Depending on the size of your spray bottle, add anywhere from 10-20 drops of the oil. I like a noticeable, but subtle lavender scent--too strong and I'd gag. Let your nose be your guide. :-)

FWIW, as I'd mentioned, I use Mrs. Meyer's Shower Cleaner as an after-shower spray, and that level of scent is around the level of (to slightly stronger than) my mixture.

(I like to use the empty Mrs. Meyers bottles as spray bottles--nice sprayer and they retain their lavender scent, too!)

Thank you Cat Mom!

You're welcome!!! :-)

I have marble tile flooring in my master bath. I must have accidentally dripped the toilet bowl brush,now there's a water spot on the floor that doesn't come off.....buuuuuuuuuuuuuut......I LOVE it! I used porcelain tile that looks like travertine for the counter.....because I'd also heard not to use it for counters.......but if I could do it again....I'd use it on the counters.....go for it!

We have marble tiles on our countertop and shower, travertine on the bathroom floor. I wipe the countertop and floor down w/a damp microfiber cloth, Softscrub in the shower. The marble has been a good choice for us. I've spilled hair color on it w/out staining.

nicole__ someone over in kitchens had posted awhile back re: a method to remove etches utilizing a green scrub sponge and marble (or other stone) cleaner. I tried it on some of the etch marks on our travertine tile in our guest bathroom (using the scrubbie with and without any cleaner) and I am happy to report that I was able to remove or at least diminish most of the marks. Oh happy day!

cat_mom....I'm worried I'll scratch the "very" shiny surface....? But I guess I have nothing to lose....right..? :0) Thx!

My travertine is honed. Also, there was nothing to lose--there were large etch marks from TB cleaner bottle, and from a bucket that had bathroom cleaner on the underside. The marks looked pretty bad.

The OP might have recommended this for honed marble/stone. I don't know if this "trick" would scratch your marble or not. You probably would want to try it on a sample piece of your marble or in an out of the way spot as a test first.

I keep wondering why no one else has answered, "on my hands and knees" because that's how I clean mine.

I curse my marble floor every cleaning day - although it is beautiful - because it basically has to be cleaned with purified angel's tears and I can't find them in my local cleaning section.

I may just have to have some Mrs. Meyer's daily shower cleaner shipped in to cut down on the shower scrubbing...on the floor I use Simple Green stone cleaner.

:-)

do not use bleach to clean marble... my understanding is it's not ok!!!

Thanks for the laugh about "purified angel's tears"!
I'm really leaning towards marble in the shower area...I did some internet research and read that a diluted bleach solution is okay. I'm not sure what think!

I printed out catmom's reply (THANK YOU!)with all the product names in case we decide to go with natural stone.

Went tile looking again today and saw some pretty porcelains, which I know are much less maintenance. Nothing is "set in stone" LOL:)

I am very glad to have helped! :-)

Oh, I thought I had written what we use on the tile floors, but can't seem to find where I wrote it, so maybe I'm imagining I wrote it after all! On all our tile floors (travertine and porcelain), I use Marbalex (from SCI). I pour about 1-2 capfuls in a bucket, and then add hot water (about 1/3-1/2-way full). I use a sponge mop--no rinsing necessary.

Let us know what you choose (and show pics!).

I haven't seen a solution for my travertine shower. The walls are honed travertine and the floor is rounded, smooth stones. Where the wall meets the stone floor, mold (black) is forming. I do sqeege the walls and floors but of course there's plenty of water that just needs to dissapate. I use the two bath ceiling fans but moisture still remains. HELP!!! What can I safely use to rid the mold?

I have in my head those pitted "tuscan look" tiles that are supposed to look like they were cut from huge boulders. Mold,soap scum, filth build up; OH MY. So I was waiting for the suggestions of a soft bristled brush.