Maintenance Guidelines for Residential Stone Installations - The Do's & Don'ts of Stone Care

The chemical make-up of rocks can be unpredictable. It is important to use appropriate products for cleaning and maintainance.

• DON'T use home-brewed concoctions (such as water and dish soap, or water and vinegar) to clean your natural stone installations.
  
• DON'T use generic cleaning products (such as glass cleaner, etc.), unless their label specifies that are safe on natural marble (“cultured marble” is man-made plastic material and is NOT marble).
  
• DON'Tlisten to the advice of friends and relatives: they do not know stone! And, amazingly, neither do all too many trade people involved with stone, such as fabricators, contractors, dealers, etc.
  
• DO use cleaning agents that are specifically formulated to deal with the unforeseeable makeup of natural stone. IF your stone needs to be sealed, consider a quality product like *MB STONE CARE MB-4 Impregnator for Stone which comes with a 10-year limited warranty! (No sealing every year!) To enhance the color of tumbled marble and such (wet look), consider a good-quality color enhancer like *MB STONE CARE MB-6.

• DO vacuum or dust-mop daily, and damp-mop when deemed necessary with a solution of water and a pH neutral detergent (i.e. NOT a stone soap), such as *MB STONE CARE MB-1 Marble, Granite and More Floor Cleaner.
  
• DO consider using *MB STONE CARE MB-7 Polished Stone Floor Preserver in conjunction with a residential floor buffing machine, (available for rent or purchase at fine appliance stores) for the preservation of that high-gloss factory-finish.

• DO clean daily using a specialty product for stone, such as *MB STONE CARE MB-5 Marble, Granite and More Spray Cleaner. Use it full strength on the cooking and eating areas. Use it diluted in a proportion of 1:1 with water in lighter duty areas. Convenient stone wipes, like *MB STONE CARE MB-17 are also suitable.
  
• DO use *MB STONE CARE MB-15 Stone Cleaner/Disinfectant for disinfecting purposes (after handling raw poultry, vegetable, etc.). Use it responsibly and thoroughly follow the directions on the bottle.
  
• DO use *MB STONE CARE MB-13 Stone Polish to occasionally “brighten-up” your shiny countertop. All of its components are rated “food-grade.”

• DO clean when necessary using a specialty product for stone, such as *MB STONE CARE MB-5 Marble, Granite and More Spray Cleaner. Diluted in a proportion of 1:2 with water is usually enough. Clean your mirrors with that product, too: you don't want to take chances of over-spraying on your stone a regular glass cleaner! Convenient stone wipes, like our *MB STONE CARE MB-17 are also suitable.
  
• DO consider using *MB STONE CARE MB-13 Stone Polish For some extra-shine. It will brighten-up your top and provide it with some extra protection!

• DO Clean daily using a scrubbing tool like the one used at gas stations to clean your windshield in conjunction with a specialty product for stone, such as *MB STONE CARE MB-5 Marble, Granite & More Spray Cleaner, full strength.
  
• DO treat your shower walls with *MB STONE CARE MB-13 Polished Stone Dressing For extra protection and shine.
  
• DO use a specialty product like *MB STONE CARE MB-3 Soap Film Remover when an accumulation of soap film appears (waxy look and feeling), especially in the lower part of your stall. It also removes possible hard water mineral deposits, without damaging the stone surface.
  
• DO use a specialty product like *MB STONE CARE MB-9 Mildew Stain Remover if you have an occasional growth of mildew in your grout lines. It will not affect the delicate surface of polished marble and other delicate stones.

• DON'T use so called “professional poulticing kits” that no true professional ever uses for stain removal. They are usually very expensive and produce limited results. Follow our guidelines on stain removal available in our Literature (“Pay-per-download) section. The information is much cheaper than a “professional kit” and implies the use of products that are much more effective, are easy to find (you probably have them in your house already!) and inexpensive.
  
• DO consider a product like *MB STONE MB-11, Marble Polishing Powder for “Water marks” or “rings” (acid etching, that is). It's a professional-grade product, yet is user-friendly enough to be used by everybody.

"Mankind Should Master Nature by Understanding; Not by Force"

 

© Maurizio Bertoli – I/04