How To Go About Cleaning Granite Countertops

Cleaning granite countertops, is it difficult? Is a question more and more of us are asking in recent times due to surge in popularity of this material for kitchen work surfaces. The favorability which granite has gained is down to it’s ruggedness, durability and the ease it can be maintained. These surfaces are able to withstand extremely high temperatures and therefore have no problems with coping with heat given out by boiling hot kitchenware. However, due to their reputation of formidability people often neglect them by principally not cleaning them properly. The good news for owners of granite worktops is that cleaning them needn’t be a too much of a problem. Follow my tips on how to clean granite countertops and you won’t go far wrong.

Although polished granite work surfaces are the easiest to maintain a number of procedures and guidelines need to be followed to ensure that it remains this way. First of all it’s imperative – as with all work surfaces – that you don’t directly chop up food on them, but use the traditionally chopping board for this operation. If you fail to use a chopping board on a regular basis you’ll be left with scratches and scuff marks on your precious granite countertop.

In addition to the above guideline care must be taken not to leave the remnants of acidic foods such as citrus fruit, fizzy drinks, wine, vinegar etc on theses surfaces for long period of times as this will be absorbed into the pores of granite, which if is allowed to happen on a regular basis will eventually start to corrode the stone itself.

N.B.At this point I must send you a word of caution in your attempt to clean granite countertops and that is to ensure you don’t use abrasive cleaning products or materials on the surfaces as this will severely scratch the face of it.

Other things which you should avoid when working around these polished work surfaces is not to drag things across them, such as plates, pans and other kitchen utensils. If you do this on a regular basis out of habit may I suggest you try and put a stop to it because eventually you will end up damaging the surface with a huge scratch which might not be so easy to repair.

If you want to protect the stone itself you should use something called a stone penetrating sealer as suggested by the manufacturer of your kitchen. These sealants contain special polymers and resins which get deep inside the stone to form an oil and water resistant barrier while allowing the stone to release moisture and breathe naturally. This replant should be applied at least once a year for the best results, you’ll then be afforded the piece of mind knowing that you can clean granite countertops and protect them against stain-causing dirt, liquid, mold, mildew, and bacteria growth.

If you have failed to follow some of the procedures outlined above and have found that minor damage to the surface has been made then, then as long as the damage isn’t too severe you should be able to make amends.

If the problem are black marks caused by heavy pots and pans then the marks can generally by rubbed out by using fine steel wool, please ensure that the wool is definitely ‘fine’ before trying to make amends otherwise you could make things worse than they already are.

If the scratches are deep or you have found that the granite surface to be chipped you’ll have to call for specialist help.

Although the granite is able to withstand the greatest of temperatures care must be taken not place hot items such as pots, pans, plates, dishes and hot drinks directly on the surface, try to place them on a heat resistant mat first.

As I documented earlier citrus juice and alcohol can corrode the granite countertops if left to seep in, therefore ensure that coasters are used for all drinks especially for ones containing the aforementioned liquids.

Leading on from the comment ensure that cleaning products which contain acidic ingredients such as citric acid, vinegar, strong or corrosive liquids.

In general when cleaning away food remnants from this surface warm water, a mild liquid detergent and a soft cloth should be used.

If you follow the above steps to clean granite countertops then you’ll have a kitchen work surfaces which will look beautiful and serve you will for many years to come.

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