Marble worktops in Loughborough

Why choose real marble

Prints and engineered copies come close, but not quite to the depth of genuine marble, or the soft sheen it develops with use. It also stays cool, the reason pastry chefs have always worked on it. A common approach is marble on the island or a baking area, with a harder-wearing stone along the walls.

Etching, honestly explained

Marble is mostly calcium carbonate, which reacts with acid. Citrus, vinegar, wine, tomato sauce and plenty of household descalers leave dull spots called etches, sealed or not. Sealer resists stains; it does nothing against etching. A honed, matt finish disguises etches far better than a polish, and that is usually what we recommend for a working kitchen.

Marble with Loughborough water

Severn Trent supplies the town, and its own scale calls 151 to 200 mg/l moderately hard; independent postcode figures for LE11 sit at about 172 mg/l. So scale gathers slowly, but it gathers. The danger to marble is less the scale than the acidic cleaner bought to shift it. Neutral stone cleaner plus a dry sink edge is all marble asks. More in our cleaning guide.

Care and resealing

We seal marble once it is in. It will want resealing periodically, depending on the stone and how hard the kitchen works. Day to day, warm water with a splash of gentle detergent is plenty. Mop up spills promptly, use boards and coasters, and let it age gracefully.