You clean your counters regularly. You wipe down the kitchen after a particularly messy dinner, or craft session and make sure you’ve gotten all of the dirt and grime off… or have you?
With new stories about the Coronavirus coming out every day, and since we’re still in the height of the flu season in general, more people may be wondering “how can I be sure I’ve properly disinfected my natural stone surfaces?” and we can help!
As you may know, marble is a porous surface, allowing lots of dirt and grime to hide in it’s pores. If your counters are coated with a product such as MORE Anti-Etch, that coating creates a barrier between the stone and anything that comes into contact with it, preventing germs and bacteria from absorbing into the marble.
If you’re worried more about your floors, Adsil Coating is another anti-microbial coating that is appropriate for use on ceramic tile floors in restrooms or other high traffic areas that see a myriad of people passing through each day.
Not sure if your natural stone surface is coated? You can check! To check if your natural stone surface is sealed or coated, leave a few drops of water on the surface. If the water beads up, your stone is protected. If the water has soaked into the counter after being left for a few minutes, it’s time to call our team at Boston Stone Restoration and get that surface re-sealed or , even better, coated with something such as MORE Anti-Etch Coating. If you don’t have a coating on your natural stone surfaces but are still worried about disinfecting, regular Clorox Wipes can be used to give your counters a wipe down in a pinch, but don’t let them sit directly on the stone! Gently wipe down your desired surface and, once finished, remove the Clorox Wipe from the counter and discard.
Whether your surface is coated or not, you should never use a harsh or abrasive cleaner directly on the stone. Frequent use of harsh chemicals such as straight bleach, ammonia, or vinegar will dull the stone and can start to break down the sealant that’s working very hard to keep your stone protected.
Still not sure? Here’s a simple solution you can use to keep your natural stone clean and protected from your everyday, and flu inducing, dirt and bacteria.
What You Need
- Warm water
- Any mild or gentle dish soap
- A soft dish towel
- A clean microfiber cloth or terry cloth towel
- Isopropyl alcohol (if desired)
- Spray bottle (if desired)
How to Do It
- Mix warm water and the mild dish soap of your choice together until suds form
- Place your soft dish towel into the water and soap mixture and ring out, keeping the towel slightly damp
- Wipe down the granite countertops. There’s no particular way to do this step! Just wipe away any spills or gunk left on your counters, however you normally do it.
- Wipe down the counters with the microfiber cloth to dry and prevent streaking
- To bring your disinfectant game to the next level, mix together a 50:50 solution of water and 91% isopropyl alcohol.
- Spray the solution onto the natural stone surface, allow it to sit for 3-5 minutes, then rinse with water and dry with a clean microfiber cloth as stated above
- Please note that the water and isopropyl alcohol solution should only be used periodically to disinfect and remove residue.
- Finally, enjoy! Your natural stone surfaces are now clean and disinfected!
STILL stressed out? Give our team at Boston Stone Restoration a call and schedule your next stone restoration appointment. Our team of trained professionals will come into your home and leave your natural stone surfaces sparkling like new!