aside from the answers you'll get to your post, you could read previous threads by typing in the search box

marble counters staining

it brought up quite a few pertinent threads on what you are asking for.

I agree: this is a very frequent topic on this forum and a search will get you tons of information. Here's a recent thread that was useful:

Cleaning marble countertops

The very short answer: Your stone person is either an idiot, or a liar. Obviously he/she does not want to deal with anything but the same old granite and thus is feeding you garbage.

With proper minimal maintenance (sealing), staining is NOT a problem with marble. On the other hand, etching occurs constantly no matter what you do. It's subtle, but don't fool yourself into believing it won't happen. Most of us obsessed over it for a couple weeks, then realized it was what it was, and have relaxed. And, most of the marble owners who post here, like me, love their marble! You just have to know yourself well enough to be able to anticipate how you'd react to the patina.

I didn't have a good experience with my marble.....and I find what you have been told about the etching, etc. is absolutely true~~~ I couldn't wait to get rid of that stuff. I would never use marble in the kitchen again. As a salesperson told me "after" we had it installed...."Any idot knows not to use marble in a kitchen".....well, I was that idot....but I learn quickly.

I think marble is high-maintenance, but if you really love it, you can overlook that. You have to decide how much patina you can live with. I DO NOT have marble, so I am not speaking from first-hand experience. I am putting in marble in several bathrooms in my new house, though.

It stains, yes, but your marble guy (and mine too) makes marble sound like it's white cotton fabric, which it isn't. If you get to spills reasonably fast, they come right up. You will miss some though and then you'll have slight staining. I completely don't care. Depends on your personality I think.

In the beginning I worried about stains on my marble, but I soon relaxed. I don't rush to clean up spills any more. My daughter and husband are ... messy. I've had tomato sauce and coffee sit on my marble overnight and it does not stain because the sealer prevents it from soaking in. If you search previous discussions you will hear from many other people that they have had no stains on their marble. I have etching all over, but it doesn't bother me and in my opinion does not detract from the beauty of the stone. I disagree that it's high maintenance. clingresga used the words "minimal maintenance" and I agree with her. I ended up choosing marble over soapstone for the very reason that it seemed so much easier to maintain (since I would have wanted to oil the soapstone).

Don't choose marble if you like a shiny, perfect surface. It's softer than than granite and can scratch and even chip.

Good luck with your choice!

Erika

I do have marble and I sure don't think of it as high maintenance. Good grief -- with two teen boys who are VERY busy, a messy DH who also cooks, I cook, bake and we do preserving (tomatoes, berries, etc.) and we've got 4 pets in the house.

Some time ago, I posted an analogy comparing marble to linen and denim. I wish I'd kept it handy, but the gist was that if you like linen -- even the way it wrinkles like no other fabric, with body and character, and you like your denim soft and worn, you may be a candidate for marble. If you can't wear linen or look in the mirror with it on and not feel the need to grab an iron and some starch and you take your jeans to the dry cleaners -- don't get marble, and you may not be happy with some granites I tested.

My sealed marble has had most foods known to the average kitchen spilled or dripped on it -- a number of them, including chocolate, chili and tomato sauce, have been found the next morning. I do not have any stains and I have not had to use a poultice or take any extra measures.

I will also tell you that while my house is only 20 years old, it has some of the character of an older home. I didn't want shiny granite in the kitchen. I much preferred the look of an old soda fountain, ice cream parlor or bakery counter. It doesn't look beat up or anything -- just soft, touchable and ready to work with me. Haven't regretted it a single minute. I only regret that it is not as unusual a choice as it was when I picked it. ;-)

trav86: It doesn't stain, if it's been sealed properly. We are relative slobs, and have spilled everything from red wine to coffee to tomato sauce, and have no staining. We use Miracle 511 Porous Plus and have had zero staining issues. It etches, for sure, but that is an entirely different issue.

It's all about proper expectations. If what you want is a uniformly high-gloss, immaculate, totally consistent polished finish, then sure, go for engineered solid surface (yawn) or glittery, speckly granite (busy busy). As much as phoggie apparently hated his/her marble, I dislike the alternatives. I love my marble, etches included.

Oh, and BTW phoggie: neither erikanh, nor oofasis, nor lucypwd, rmkitchen, lascatx, or even myself, are "idiots." Actually, I think that these folks have some of the nicest kitchens I've seen on GW, and all of us did our homework, etched our samples of marble, read all the marble threads, and asked ourselves if we were really going to be good with the marble tops. We all still love our marble, so don't paint us as "idiots" with too broad a brush.

See more links to see what I'm talking about:

marble countertop owners--reality check

Should I avoid marble

PS: at least we don't have to borrow a geiger counter to check out countertops :-)

lascatx, your last line made me giggle, because I was thinking the same thing the other day. When I first started lurking on GW I saw very few people using marble. The good news is that even though my kitchen with white inset cabinets and marble countertops is run-of-the-mill here on GW, where I live this style is very unique.

I had to laugh: erikanh, lascatx, and I all posted our responses within five minutes of each other. Clearly it does not pay to get the attention of the marble police. Still, it says something that all of us are so enamored of our marble (perhaps a commentary on our social lives that we're posting on Friday night about marble?? :-)

PS: erikanh: I'm a him, not a her. Mark

Oh my, so sorry, Mark! Nice to meet you. =)

Social life?? Surely you don't expect me to let a social life interfere with me checking in on GW! Especially when I can use my Blackberry to post while I'm waiting for this movie to start!

I don't think that phoggie meant to paint all of us marble lovers with the idiot brush. I do wonder though if someone should inform all those people in Italy with marble in their kitchens that they need to tear it out and replace it with something more suitable. =)

Thanks for all of your responses. They were informative and some were very funny. I am feeling at home on this site where others focus on detail, like me! I can imagine that I would not be bothered by the etching....or patina. I will probably compare to some engineered stone too. I think granite is out for my kitchen. So many decisions...