Acne treatments containing salicylic acid.

Anything that is an acid.

Even very mild acids.

Liquid bath soap and shampoo. I bought acrylic dispensers for all of my bath soaps and shampoos, and, the acryclic dispensers leaked on the bottom and etchd the marble. It's not super noticable on crema marfil, but the etching is definitely there.

I didn't know soap would be a problem.

Saline eye contact solution...soap - for sure!

yvette123, was it actual pure saline solution? Or like a multi-purpose contact solution? Thanks.

"shaving cream"

The 'gel' types use a bunch of stuff, but classic shaving cream in a can is mostly stearic acid.

Pricklypear, I ruined my marble vanity with multi-purpose contact lens solution.

For those who are thinking of a marble floor, urine will etch it too. My 3 year old son has proved this. He hasn't written his name yet, but the polished finish is gone around the base of the toilet.

Thanks for the feedback, suellen. Sorry to hear about your marble.

I have used a few different pH neutral liquid hand soaps in my guest bathroom and haven't had any etching (*knock on wood*). No other products have been used on the marble yet, so I've been lucky so far.

Multi-purpose - for eye contacts.

Thanks for responding, yvette.

Does anyone that has marble say I have issues but I love love it.....I am about to embark on a huge investment with marble, I love the look, I am hoping that I won't be too obsessive with it. It has been in all these places for hundreds of years, churches, train stations, etc....Do you think that it is all about honing and then maintenance with every yearor so to help with problems. Perhaps the answer is a urinal in the garage for the boys....

After reading babbs711 and others lists of things that etch marble, I am shocked! All these products are things that you would normally have in a bathroom - and yes, I have a cup of coffee in the bathroom while I am preparing for work. Why does one use marble if soap, water, shaving cream, hairspray and other cosmetics, medicine, etc are going to be harmful to your counter or floor?

I really am not being judgemental - just shocked.

Tuesday, it's because etched marble has a beauty if its own. My MB vanity top is etched, but I I still love it. I don't see it as "damage", I see it as the nature of marble itself. If you look closely at older marble on floors, counters, etc, in commercial spaces, it's all etched, but it's still beautiful.

I'm putting engineered quartz counters in the current bath I'm remodeling, but it's because I'm trying to achieve a more modern look, not because I regret the marble in the other bath.

Our new Calacatta Gold vanity has already been etched by:

toothpaste (fine spray pattern from DH's super-spitting)
mouthwash (same fine spray pattern as above)
hair dye (also left a stain DUH but I wiped it up IMMEDIATELY,and counter was sealed with Miracle 511.)

BOO HOO! I knew this would happen, though, and decided I was okay with it. If I had the Calacatta counters in the kitchen, I would go bezerk guarding them from harm.

Marble is a really amazingly beautiful material. We choose to accept or even embrace the nature of marble and the etching that comes with it. Personally I try to be careful to avoid the etching, but I won't be terribly upset if it does.