Marble is one of the most luxurious and attractive decorative materials in the world. It’s also highly durable. Some marble floors, walls, columns, and other pieces have been in use for hundreds of years and look just as amazing as they did the day they were first installed.

But what happens if you don’t maintain your marble? Because marble is a relatively hard stone, wouldn’t it just maintain its attractiveness even without care, maintenance, and repair?

The First Year

If you did nothing whatsoever to take care of your marble, nothing would probably happen for the first year or so. Marble is tough enough and durable enough to endure heavy traffic and continual use with very little wear and tear — at least in the short run.

Depending on the amount of traffic your marble surface endures, it probably will start to show signs of wear after about the first 12 months. Dark spots would likely appear in the heaviest traffic areas as a result of a buildup of grime and dirt.

The Next Decade

After a few years of neglect, the integrity of the marble itself could become threatened. It probably would start small, such as a tiny chip or fissure in the surface of the marble. At first, tiny cracks and flaws would be undetectable. But when the marble surface continues to experience heavy traffic periods, the smallest problems would rapidly become bigger issues.

Eventually, without care, marble surfaces would start to fail. Cracks could become bigger and wider. Stains would get tougher. And chips would deepen and get worse to the point where they could not easily be repaired.

Over time, the value of your marble surface would go down, making your investment in the luxurious decorative material practically worthless.

Allowing marble to go bad is a waste of time and money. If you have marble, it needs to be cared for and maintained by professionals.