How to Remove Colored Oil Stains from Marble

A marble floor.
  • 1 hours
  • Beginner
  • 0-15
What You'll Need
Corn starch
Brush
Dustpan
Soap
Water
Cloth
Ammonia
Acetone
What You'll Need
Corn starch
Brush
Dustpan
Soap
Water
Cloth
Ammonia
Acetone

Oil stains on marble can be difficult to remove. They’ll come from spilling something on the surface, and even wiping it up immediately can still leave oil stains. The oil stains look ugly and mar the lovely finish of the marble. Whether you have natural or cultured marble, knowing the right steps to take to eliminate the oil stains will keep your house looking a great deal better.

Step 1 - Mopping Up

If you can catch the spill as soon as it happens, use a dry cloth or paper towels to mop up as much of the oil stains as possible. You won’t prevent the stains, but you will stop it spreading and make the final removal easier. Don’t wipe the oil. Instead you should pat the oil stains and allow the cloth to soak up the oil.

Step 2 - Corn Starch

When you’ve cleaned up as much of the oil stains as possible with the cloth, you should pour corn starch on the stains. Spread it thinly. Leave it for 30 minutes and then brush away with a small broom and dustpan.

After doing this, put more of the corn starch on the oil stains. This time you should leave it to sit overnight to draw out the oil. After this, brush away and dispose of the corn starch.

Step 3 - Removing Deep Stains

To take out the deeper stains you should scrub the affected areas of the marble with detergent and warm water. The other option is to put ammonia on a cloth and wipe the areas of the marble with oil stains. This uses alkaline to try and take out the oil stains and will often work.

If you use ammonia make sure that you have the room properly ventilated so the smell doesn’t overwhelm you. When you used the soap or the ammonia, you should rinse the area with cold water and then carefully wipe the marble dry.

Step 4 - Solvent

Although alkaline can often remove the oil stains from marble, that won’t always be the case. When that happens you need to use a solvent on the marble to draw out the rest of the marble.

Take a cloth and soak it with acetone (also known as nail polish remover). When you do this, it’s vital to keep the windows open and make sure you don’t smoke or have any naked flames in the same room.

You should only leave the poultice of acetone on the oil stains for a few minutes; leaving it on too long can actually damage the surface of the marble. After you remove it, wash the marble with clean cold water and then wipe the marble dry. This should remove the oil stains.

Step 5 - Sealing

To prevent another incident of oil stains on the marble, you should use a marble sealer to protect the stone. This will give an impermeable layer so that liquids can’t penetrate and stain the marble.