How to Remove Hard Water Stains from Marble

Over the years hard water rings have appeared around my faucet and soap dispenser at my kitchen sink.  I’ve always been leery of using harsh products or vinegar to remove these spots since my countertops are dolomite.  For Christmas my inlaws got me a handheld steamer and I was so excited to try it on these spots.  I think you’ve reached full on adult when you not only ask for a steamer for Christmas but it’s actually your favorite gift.  Well, it worked!  The hard water rings have disappeared and there is no damage at all to my beautiful dolomite countertops.  I used the same method on my faucets in my bathroom.  Those countertops are marble and it worked perfectly there too.  So you want to know how to remove hard water stains from marble?

Before we get into what you need and how to get rid of these spots, let me show you a few before pictures so that you can fully understand what I was dealing with.  This picture below is of the soap dispenser.  Do you see that yellowish calcium ring around the base from the hard water?

There was a similar ring around the faucet.

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I’ve had my dolomite countertops for five years and aside from these hard water stains they look brand new.  I was determined to get rid of these rings and luckily it was way easier than I had imagined it would be.  Below is a list of the items that I used to remove the hard water stains.  The Bissel Steam Shot is so great.  It’s inexpensive and has so many uses.  So far I’ve cleaned the grout in my bathroom, baseboards around my home and used it for this project.

Tools/Materials

Handheld Steam Cleaner

Razor blade

Towel

Directions

Step 1. Use the steam to loosen the stain

I used the hose attachment to direct the steam at the base of my faucet and soap dispenser.  I focused on one area for 10-15 seconds and then used a towel to wipe up the loosened hard water spot.

Step 2. Carefully scrape with a razor blade

As I got through more layers of the hard water stain it became very difficult to just wipe it away with a towel.  I used the steam to loosen the hard water spot and then carefully ran a razor blade across the spot to remove any remaining material.

Step 3.  Dry with a towel

Lastly, I used a clean towel to dry the area.  That’s it!  The whole process probably took me 25-30 minutes.  Here are the satisfying after photos!

It’s so much better!  Next on my list of things to do is replace the silicone seal on the sink.  Maybe I’ll get to that next month.

If you have natural stone countertops that are marble, dolomite or quartzite you may be interested in these other posts.

How to Remove Etch Marks on Marble

Natural Stone Countertop maintenance 

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