Do’s and Don’ts for Marble/Granite

While natural stone floors and countertops are beautiful, keeping them that way requires a little bit of care on your part. Marble and granite have unique properties that require specific cleaning procedures in order to maintain these surfaces. To clear up any misconceptions about caring for your natural stone surfaces, we have a few “do’s and don’ts” for caring for your marble and granite surfaces:

• DO: Clean up spills immediately – Marble and granite are both porous in nature. This means that they are prone to absorbing liquids if not properly protected. If spills on your counters or floors are not cleaned up immediately, they can be prone to staining. In order to better protect your natural stone surfaces, make sure that they are properly sealed. It is best to seal your countertops, vanities and showers once every 2-5 years, depending on the porosity of the stone.

• DON’T: Use acidic cleaners – Never use regular household cleaners on natural stone. Many of these cleaners contain ammonia, citrus ingredients, vinegar and other highly acidic or caustic ingredients that can damage your natural stone. Granite, marble and other types of natural stone require specific pH-balanced cleaners. GK’s Custom Polishing, Inc. is a master distributor for DuPont StoneTech Professional cleaning and sealing products for natural stone. Visit our website to place an order.

• DO: Use a soft cloth or sponge – To prevent scratches or etching, clean your natural stone with a non-abrasive sponge or soft cloth. Never use steel wool or other rough cleaning tools. Marble especially is a very soft material and can be easily scratched.

• DON’T: Place hot pans on marble or granite – We have seen hot pans scratch, burn, spall and crack natural stone countertops – even granite!  Depending on the hardness of the natural stone and the temperature of the stone at the time the hot pan is placed on the surface, we have seen damage created instantly and over the long-term.  The natural stone can sometimes be repaired to fix this type of damage, but a lot of times it cannot. A good option for hot pans in the future would be to set the pan on an oven mitt or something else heat resistant.

• DO: Use floor mats and coasters – Using floor mats around your doorways is especially important in the winter months. Not only will your stone absorb the moisture left by snow but road salt that is typically used as a deicer can erode your floors if not cleaned promptly. Coasters or table mats can protect your stone countertops as well. This will stop any moisture from being absorbed by your marble or granite countertops and will help better protect them.  We have even had customers have glass custom made for their marble countertops or vanities to protect against etching.

• DON’T: Use tub, tile or grout cleaners – Never use cleaning powders or other types of bathroom or grout cleaners. These contain abrasive particles that can cause etching and scratching. As stated above, only use stone cleaners specific to the type of material you are cleaning.

• DO: Dust mop floors regularly – Little tiny pieces of grit and dirt on your natural stone floors is what causes most of the scratches on the surface.  Make sure you use a broom or dust mop to clean off the surfaces on a regular basis.

• DON’T: Use vacuum cleaners – Many people try to use vacuums to extract the loose dirt particles from their natural stone floors.  Unfortunately, the rubber wheels and plastic attachments to the vacuum can easily scratch a natural stone surface.

GK’s Custom Polishing, Inc. is your headquarters for all natural stone cleaning, sealing and refinishing. We service almost all types of hard surfaces for Northern Ohio and beyond including concrete, tile/grout, marble, granite, travertine, terrazzo, limestone, slate, sandstone, onyx, ceramic, porcelain, brass, stainless and more. Visit our website to learn more about the types of services we offer. We offer free estimates on all projects so give us a call at (440) 937-4457 to schedule an appointment. For more on natural stone maintenance, be sure to follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Google+.