The Basics to Cleaning Your Counter Top

Let's suppose you've just purchased a band new car and you never wash it. Soon enough the paint will fade, the body will rust, and the car will cost you a small fortune to restore. On the other hand, if you make the effort to wash it on a regular basis and throw a coat of wax on it every now and then, it will look as good as new for years. The same is needed for your granite. Keep it clean and protected, and it will last long after the kids have moved out. The following maintenance tips will tell you what you need to know to make this possible.

Cleaning and Protecting your Granite Countertop

Remove all those items in the way from you cleaning your counter.

Rinse the surface with cold water and a small solution of Neutral cleaner (Ph 7). Doing this a few times will ensure you haven't missed any spots.

Dry with a white terry cloth (cotton) or better yet a micro fiber towel. You want some type of a towel that will absorb as much of the content you laid down as possible.

If after drying there are streaks, take a dry terry cloth towel and buff that area until the streaks have vanished.

If your granite happens to look a little darker than normal is areas, wait a few hours and allow your granite to breath. That's right your granite needs to breath; air will move through the granite and evaporate any water that has penetrated the surface of the stone.

That last step is also telling you something. Your granite needs to be sealed; protected from the water and food soils we use in our kitchen. If that happen to be wine instead of water that darkened your stone, allowing it to evaporate would help some but you would be left with a stain. Protecting your stone would be a must in this case.

Once your Granite counter is cleaned, it is highly recommended to seal with a specific type of sealer "impregnator". Impregnator sealers are designed to penetrate below the surface of the stone and deposit solid particles in the pores of the stone or to coat the individual minerals below the surface. Water, oil, and soil are restricted from entering the stone. In addition, although you may be sealing your granite counter, this doesn't protect you from all the organic materials out there. Like for example: wine, pickle juice, lemon, tomatoes, etc. Do you see any similarity between these products? There are all acidic. There is only one sealer out in the market that will protect you granite countertop and that is a topical sealer. A completely different type of sealer and not recommended for granite counters. So in this case, we have to be extra careful around these kinds of foods and if something does happen and your granite becomes stained in some way call your local stone professional for help.

There are many choices of sealers out there to choose from and going down to your local Home Depot isn't always the best solution. Selecting a care professional with great customer service and experience may be the better plan for you. You may find that applying a sealer isn't as easy as pouring the sealer on and wiping it off.

Select a company has been through countless educational courses just on this one topic. Through research it has been found that not all sealers are alike nor are they to be applied in the same way either. Larger areas can be tricky. Hotter days may rush the job and not allowing the sealer to dwell or dwell to long can be problematic and often damaging.

I hope this helps with the care and protecting of your granite countertops. These steps will help in keeping your stone beautiful for years to come. Enjoy!