7 Basic Tips and Tricks for Beautiful Stone
Natural stones—especially calcite-based stones such as marble, travertine, limestone and many slates—may have a delicate chemical composition that could potentially interact in “strange” (damaging) ways with cleaning solutions that were not specifically formulated for the task. In fact, one of the most common reasons stone restoration services are required for both residential and commercial applications is that the wrong cleaning products were used. We frequently get calls from frantic customers telling us they followed the advice of someone who is not a professional and used vinegar and water to clean their marble, and now they have rough white spots where they cleaned. Or, they used some bathroom cleaner that etched their stone.
Once you know WHAT to use, all you have to do is follow some basic guidelines and your natural stone installation will give you years and years of beautiful service. Find our handy guide below for the do's and don'ts of routine cleaning and cleaning up spills.
DO’S & DON’TS - ROUTINE PREVENTIVE MEASURES
DO'S
- Use coasters under drinking glasses—particularly those containing alcohol or citrus juices—to avoid etching.
- Use place mats under china, silver or other objects that can scratch the surface.
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Avoid cleaning products unless the label specifies it is safe for natural stone. This includes glass cleaners to clean mirrors over a marble vanity top, or a liquid toilet bowl cleaner when the toilet is on a marble floor.
DONT'S
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Place hot items directly on the stone surface. Use trivets or mats under hot dishes.
DO’S & DON’TS - TREATING SPILLS
Some spills will turn out to be detrimental to stone if unattended. Orange juice, lemonade, wine, vinegar, liquors, tomato sauce, yogurt, salad dressing, perfume, after shave, the wrong cleaning products and so on—through a long list—most likely won’t damage “granite” and “green marble” surfaces (at least in the short run), but will ETCH marble, travertine, limestone, onyx, alabaster and many slates. Therefore:
DO'S
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Pick up any spills as quickly as possible.
DONT'S
- Rub the spill; only blot it.
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Use cleaning products on or near your natural stone unless the label specifies that it is safe on natural marble. (Cultured marble is man-made and is basically a plastic material.) This includes glass cleaner to clean the mirror over a marble vanity top, or a liquid toilet bowl cleaner when the toilet is on a marble floor.
Thanks for looking at our guide, if you have any questions feel free to contact us.