Care and Maintenance

Q. How do I treat a metal stain?A. For metal stains, our favorite is a white powder (to be melted in water), which is available at fine hardware stores all over the country under the trade name of "Iron-out." Read More

Q. My marble coffee table has white stains that I cannot get rid of. Is there a cleaner to remove them? A. Unfortunately, what you are describing are not stains, they are acid etches. The stone has been chemically etched by the neutralization process... Read More

Q. A cup of lemonade was left on my marble vanity and leaked. It completely etched the spot - the sealer did nothing to prevent this. How can this be repaired?  A. Unfortunately, no sealer in the world would have done anything to prevent this from... Read More

Q. Is granite sensitive to acids? A. Unlike marble, granite is not a calcite based stone and is not generally vulnerable to acids. However, some stones, even though they are marketed as granite, may in fact have calcium in their makeup. Furthermore,... Read More

Q. Will the cold cause my stone to crack, or is there some way to treat it to prevent this? A. Being natural, no two stones are going to have the exact same characteristics. That being said, freezing temperatures alone do not affect stone. What... Read More

Q. How do I preserve my stone floor’s finish?   A. The number one thing you can do to preserve the finish of your natural stone is to keep dust, dirt, and grit from accumulating on your floor. These abrasive substances create small scratches... Read More

Q. How should I care for my natural stone floors? A. First, invest in quality cleaning tools. A cleaning chore—any cleaning chore—is never a matter of a cleaning product only. The implements—cleaning rag, paper towel, scrubbing... Read More

Q. Hi, we have a penny marble tile backsplash in our new house. In the splash back there is quite a noticeable variation where four lighter sheets of penny marble have been installed. We are aware that best solution would be to remove the tiles and... Read More

Q: We are preparing our house for sale and have installed beautiful granite counters in the kitchen, and what our installer tells us is Travertine in the bathroom on a ready-made cabinet. The granite was professionally sealed and is a wonderful... Read More

Q: My 6 month old shower has a travertine shower pan and a combination of ceramic and travertine tile on the walls. There are hard water marks all over the tile and on the fixtures and I need to get them off. I have already tried some of the... Read More