Maintenance For Your Marble
- Avoid Using vinegar, bleach, and hydrogen peroxide, and other harsh and abbrasive cleaners on your marble. Do not use rough sponges, steel wool, and other abrasive objects on your marble.
- Seal Your Marble: Taking the time to seal your marble helps repel stains but doesn't make your countertop stainproof. If you're not sure if your marble countertop needs to be resealed, pour a little water on it and if the water no longer beads up then it's time to reseal.
- Removing Stains From Your Marble: You may find, even with being cautious, you will eventually stain your marble. If this happens, spread some poultice paste onto the stain and then cover it with plastic wrap and seal the edges of the wrap with painter's tape. Give it 12-24 hours to dry and then scrape off the paste and wipe the area down with a damp cloth. If it's a deep stain, you may have to repeat this process.
Maintenance For Your Granite
- Avoid Using generic cleaners like bleach, glass cleaners, de-greasers, bathroom, tub & tile, grout cleaners, and other common household cleaners on your granite. You should also avoid vinegar, ammonia, lemon and orange cleaners.
- Seal Your Granite: Much like with marble, sealing your granite can help protect against stains by creating an even more moisture-resistant surface. While it is not required to seal granite, it is recommended.
- Removing Oil-Marks From Your Granite: Milk, grease, and other oil-based liquids can leave oil marks on granite. You can get these out by combining water and baking soda to create a paste. Cover the stain with the mixture and let it sit for 4-8 hours.
- Removing Other Stains From Your Granite: Liquids like wine, juice, and coffee may also stain your granite, but they require a slightly different approach to removing. You'll want to create a mixture of baking soda and hydrogen peroxide (just enough to create the paste so don't go heavy on the hydrogen peroxide). You'll then put that mixture on the water-based stains and cover it then let it sit overnight. In the morning, remove the cover, wipe up the mixture, and then clean normally.
- Disenfecting Your Granite: While granite is a natural anti-bacterial substance and can be maintained with just the soap and water, you may find you want to disinfect your granite further after time. In this instance, mix water and 91% isopropyl alcohol (a 50/50 ratio) and spray it on the granite. Let it sit for about three to five minutes and then, using a dray soft dishcloth, rinse with water and dry.
