I know very little about marble so I don't know if all brands/colours/grades, etc. have this issue but my aunt had white marble kitchen and bathroom countertops (and they are snobby so don't cheap out on quality) and they regret getting them. They have to wipe everything immediately and they send you to the kitchen table if you want to eat strawberries at the island. Her daughter spilled some gentle face cleanser in the bathroom and didn't realize it and it stained the countertop.

I know they do follow any procedures that need to be done (the proper cleaning, if sealing needs to be done, etc.)

Most marbles stain, etch, and are easily scratched. I'm not sure that I would put it in the laundry room unless it was incredibly inexpensive and I was willing to live with the "patina" of stains, etches and scratches. If you had any concern about staining, etching, and scratching, you should get a sample, bring it home and abuse it. Drag the plastic laundry basket over it (or the belt buckle that somebody accidentally left in their pants), leave a wet cloth on it overnight, dump some detergent on it (break open a pod if need be), dump some fabric softener on it, etc. you know that you don't live like a slob, however "things" still happen and it would be better to know what the results of such events would be. If other cleaning supplies are going to be left in this room, then I would consider putting them on your sample (but not at the same time- as mixing cleaners can cause chlorine gas).

Every time I pull wash out of my washing machine that has to be hung dry, I first stack it on the countertop and then from there I hang it to dry. I am thankful my countertop is Corian and can take the moisture.

I looked up your marble or is it really limestone? Anyway, it looks like soapstone. I'd get soapstone. Though soapstone scratches it does not react to spills. It will not absorb oils. I love the stuff and have done 4 diy projects. 3 of these using remnants, counter in office, counter in bathroom, & built a small farmhouse/laundry sink for one of my bathrooms. The softer stuff is easy to work and if finished to a rough finish, like <100 grit sandpaper, scratches don't show. This stone is particularly light because I didn't oil it.

@enduring.. that is simply beautiful!. To the original poster, I would post this question over on the Kitchen board, you'll find great advice there.

Thank you All! I was actually debating soap stone. I need a stone for the top of my bathtub as well, so Im hoping i could buy one slab and get what i need for both surfaces. Thank you for your input!

Here is some soapstone plain and oiled in my DH office. This is setting on a 15" IKEA Sektion, base cabinet (not the typical 24" base cabinet). Click the pics open to get a bigger view:

The thing with oiling though, is that it could get on your clothing. It is a very thin layer. There is a wax that does the same thing and might not be as likely to transfer. I have not noticed this as an issue. I love the unoiled look. An enhancing stone sealer might work too. The stone does not need sealing though to function, where as other stones do.

enduring always has great ideas and experience to share. Always a pleasure to see her pics.

Thank you Rococo, your sweet for saying this :)

that stone is beautiful unoiled, but it looked terrible with the paint. I was in a panic about having to repainted the room, cause I hate to paint. But once I oiled the stone the color became a non issue for me.