We have White Thassos marble shelves in all of the niches in our bathrooms, and WT marble accent and trim tile on the MB tub surround. I have been using 7th Generation disinfecting bathroom cleaner (spray) in the bathrooms from day one (I had called the company and was told the product was safe to use on sealed natural stone; marble, travertine....). 3+ years later, marble looks like new. No etch marks on the polished tile, not even on the shelves that hold soap, shampoo, or metal shaving gel can. We keep a microfiber cloth on the towel bar mounted on the tub surround, and wipe down the walls and where the tile meets the tub after showering. Takes less than a minute, and goes a long way towards keeping the tile, grout, caulk, etc. looking clean between weekly cleanings with the spray. No build-up, water spots, or mineral deposits on our glossy white field tile. I couldn't find a squeegee that I liked, and I think the microfiber does a better job mopping up puddles along the edge of the tub/tile. It dries out completely between uses, so it's ready to use again after the next shower.

marcolo, for what it's worth (probably not much), I've spent the last 17 years in this 60-year-old house with, in the kitchen, a vinyl sheet floor that was ugly even when new (white, pink, and gray) and of course my husband was aghast at the idea of removing "perfectly good" flooring just because it was ugly. It is also poor quality, and every dropped item, from forks and knives and especially the cans of food my kids liked to make towers with when they were little, made horrible brown rents in the vinyl. But each rent and dent tells a story, especially of my children's toddlerhood! Most of the countertop is marble "look" Formica, and doesn't look nearly as nice, and hasn't held up as nicely, as the little piece of butcher block my husband made out of the old school gymnasium floor on one side of our O'Keefe & Merritt, and on the other side the old piece of stone that used to be the newspaper office's back step! So the marble and Ikea butcherblock, and hardwood kitchen floors in the new house will be a huge step up for me, and in the end, I'd rather have dings in the hardwood than on the vinyl flooring, because in the end it's wood rather than vinyl. I have an antique French buffet with marble top, and it came with a water ring on top, but to me it just adds to the history. Any other material just wouldn't look or feel the same to me. It's magnificent. I still remember taking delivery of my first real coffee table a few years out of college. It was mahogany, from Altman's, and I couldn't wait to polish off the dust from the delivery truck. A friend thought she would help and instead of spraying the cloth, as I'd always been taught, she sprayed the table directly. No matter how much we both rubbed with the cloth, the wood looked as if it had been sneezed on, and did for years. I still have that coffee table, and it has never looked as pristine as it did when it was first delivered, but it has lovely patina and personality. Which for a farm family with three kids is fine...

Momto4kids - Hopefully you're still following this thread. I remember way back when you got your counters rehoned on site. A couple of years ago, DD made a batch of "lemonade" on our island, squeezing an entire bottle of lemon juice on it in the process. I have lived with it, but I had a marble restoration company come out to give us a quote - we are replacing the mantle on the fireplace in our DR and need to have the slate refinished - so I figured while we were at it, we'd do the counter. I recall you saying it was fairly inexpensive to do - the first company, who apparently does a lot of work for an Ivy League college, came out and quoted us $2000 for the job (and told us it was a 2 day job). My jaw hit the floor. The next company quoted us $450 for both the fireplace and the counter and said it would take 3 hours or so. Do you mind telling me how much it cost you? I want the job done right, but I don't want to get taken, either. TIA!

Hi looking for some advise. I just moved into a house that has five year old marble in kitchen and bathrooms. It is shiny so I think it is homes but it is wrecked and really needs to be replaced. Beside the chips and scratches that don’t really bother me that much. But there are a ton of dull spots. Estimates for repair were crazy and replacing is not in my budget right now. Could I Sams the whole thing myself? And then shine it up or leave it. When the sun hits it there are hundreds of dull spots. The kitchen is beautiful and this just takes away from it.