Pet urine on your expensive marble floor or countertop doesn't exactly improve the look of one's home. While marble isn't as absorbing as bedding and carpet, it's a porous substance and absorbs more than glass, steel, wood or linoleum, meaning it stains more quickly than those materials. Pet urine does stain and the smells are persistent; however, you will get them out using the best cleaning technique and right cleaning solution.
Hopefully the spot is still new. The fresher the stain, the easier it is to get rid of it. Let's begin:
Soak up any remaining urine with a white towel or cloth. Don't apply pressure or else you'll press
- the urine further in to the marble.
- Use the right cleaning solution for marble. Since incorrect cleansing can damage marble, it's important to clean the stone with items appropriate for use on marble. To eliminate the urine stain, you may need to mix a marble poultice, which will be produced from 'powdered whiting' or talc and 20 or 30% hydrogen peroxide. Some marble poultice recipes involve ammonia, but if you've got cats you should avoid ammonia. Ammonia smells enough like cat urine to attract the cat back to re-offend about the place you just finished cleaned. Hydrogen peroxide does not have any odor and, unlike ammonia, it will help break down the difficult cat urine deposits that store odor.
- Dampen the stained spot with pure water. Pre-dampening helps the poultice work. Apply a 1/4-inch heavy marble poultice to the soiled area only. Cover the area with plastic food wrap and tape the ends down, leaving one side open (blue masking tape is best as it will not leave a glue deposit).
- Let the poultice dry completely. This might take 48-hours.
- Wipe off the poultice with a sponge dampened in clean water when the poultice has dried.
If one treatment doesn't remove the urine spot, you can use an additional fresh poultice application. Avoid repeating the treatment again though, as it can eventually etch the marble. If two treatments don't eliminate the stain, consult a marble care professional.
