Natural Stone Care Guide

This natural stone care guide is designed to help you learn some general insights on how to best clean and maintain certain areas of you natural stone surfaces.

Below we address specific tasks or areas that are common culprits for homeowners. Keep in mind that certain types of natural stone (e.g. marble being more sensitive) are unique and different, requiring a different approach to cleaning and care.

General Natural Stone Cleaning

Clean the stone surfaces with the cleaner that is safe for a natural stone. When cleaning floors, use a tidy mob and for the other surfaces use a soft cloth. Do not use more than the suggested quantity of any cleaning agent. If you use excess, it might leave out a spot resulting to streaks. Make sure you change the rinsing water from time to time.

Desist from using products that have vinegar, lemon or other acidic substances on marble limestone or travertine since these can etch the stone’s surface. Also, do not clean using creams or scouring powders as these products have abrasives that may scratch the surface.

Caring for Natural Stone Flooring 

You should regularly dust mop interior floors with a clean non-treated mop. Dirt, sand and grit do a lot of damage to the surfaces of natural stones because of their abrasiveness. Area rags or mats in and out of the entrance will help in minimizing the sand, grit and dirt that may scratch the stone floor.

Make sure the underside of your mat or rag is a surface that does not slip. Also, do not use worn out vacuum cleaners. This is because their plastic or metal attachments may scratch the precious surface.

Cleaning & Caring for Bathrooms

You can minimize soap scum in the bathroom or other wet places by use of a squeegee after every use. To effectively get out soap scum from the shower, do not use acidic cleaners as they may destroy the floor. On the contrary, use professional shower cleaners and let them to do the rest of hard work for you. Finally, you can then utilize the soft scrub brush to eliminate the soap scum from every area of the shower surface.

Professional shower cleaners will be able to dissolve any soap scum hence you will not be required to use other abrasive scrub pads for scrubbing it away. The abrasive scrub pads may destroy the finish of soft stone tiles like marble, limestone and travertine. Therefore, cleaning of any soft stone tiles should be carried out using professional grade cleaners.

Cleaning Stone Vanity and Counter Top Surfaces

Clean natural stone countertops every day day using a paper towel or soft cloth, as well as a residue cleaner that is safe for the natural stone you have. If you encounter minor etch marks on your counter tops, consider restoring the original appearance by investing in some polishing and restoration products  If streaking takes place, use a clean terry cloth to buff the counter top. If you want more luster especially on special occasions, use a good stone polish to clean up the counter top surfaces.

Seal Natural Stone Where Possible

Countertops and flooring may require the application of a penetrating sealer to help protect the natural stone surface. This care measure can go a long way in retaining the quality finish and appearance of your natural stone. If you use a sealer on counters, ensure it is not harmful for use on surfaces that are used for food preparation. For these applications a water based sealer might be the best option. You can also contact professionals to do the sealing process for you.

Remember, get to know what type of natural stone you have. If it's marble care, the processes mentioned above may require a unique approach, for marble is a softer stone that's more prone to scratching and staining.