At home
Four tests you can do at home.
Ten minutes and a glass of water tells you most of what a quote needs to know. One popular test is on this list because you should not do it.
The water bead test
Put a few drops of water on the stone and leave them ten minutes. If they sit up as beads, the sealer is working. If they flatten and the stone darkens underneath, the sealer has worn and the stone is taking on water. This is the single most useful thing you can tell us.
The absorption test
Same drops, but time how long the dark patch takes to disappear after you wipe them off. Under a minute: dense stone or a good sealer. Several minutes: porous stone or no sealer. This tells us how it will take a stain and how much sealing it needs.
The scratch check
Run a fingernail across a mark. If the nail catches, it is a scratch or a chip, and it is filled or honed out. If it glides over the mark, the mark is etching or a stain, which are handled differently. Do not use anything harder than a fingernail.
The lemon test, which you should not do
The internet will tell you to put lemon juice on an unseen spot to check whether it is real marble. It works, because lemon etches marble in minutes. It also leaves a permanent etch mark that you then have to pay to have removed. If you want to know what stone you have, send us a photo instead.
Done the water test and it soaked in? Sealing, explained. Found a mark you cannot name? What is wrong.
Send a photo. Get a price.
Two or three photos, your suburb, and what is bothering you. Most benchtop, vanity and table quotes come back the same day.
