Care and Maintenance

Q. How do I treat an oily stain on my granite or marble?A. For oily stains our favorite is acetone, which is available at any hardware or paint store. Forget your nail polish remover. Some of them contain other chemicals, and others contain no... Read More

Q. I just had my floors refinished, how do I maintain them?   A. There are several things you want to avoid when maintaining your floors, as well as some of the best practices for floor maintenance:    Don't use stone soap. Don't damp... Read More

Q. How do I care for my newly installed floors?   A. The best thing to have done to a brand-new polished stone floor is a detailing job by a properly trained janitor, or a professional stone refinisher. Detailing means deep-cleaning every square... Read More

Q. I know that I can use mineral oil on my soapstone to age or give a nice patina to my soapstone, but how do I remove the excess mineral oil from the surface of the stone? A. To remove excess mineral oil from soapstone, you could use denatured... Read More

Q. When will I know if it is time to re-seal my granite?A. To find out if your granite or other natural stone is still adequately sealed, spill some water on it and wait for approximately half an hour, then wipe it dry. If the surface of the stone... Read More

Q. I understand that some stones are more porous than others and one application of sealer/impregnator may not be enough. But how will I know?A. On granites, at least two applications of sealer are recommended, with at least two hours in between... Read More

Q.  Hi. I just had a question about being able to remove some water stains on a granite countertop. I worked in August on two tables, which are granite and the white, somewhat sparkly you know, on it. It seems like they were retaining the water... Read More

Q: I had my ceramic tiles acid washed with a mix of 2 parts muriatic acid and 2 parts water. It cleaned up heavy  clacification but tiles remain  smokey  and cloudy. Do I have options to improve the finish other than polishing? Would a... Read More

Q. I have a granite top on our bar with several "ring stains." Can I use a marble polishing product for polishing them out? A. A marble polishing powder or compound can sometimes be used and shouldn't do any harm. However, you may need to use a... Read More

Q. I have hard water stains on my soapstone countertops. It is an extremely hard and dense green soapstone, not the softer black and white. The rings and cloudy sponge marks are driving me crazy. My fabricator oiled the countertops and said that they... Read More