I redid my kitchen in Sept. 2006 and have Juperana Arandis countertops. The installer said I could use any kitchen counter cleaner on it. I have been using Hertel or Lysol antibacterial. It was sealed. It now has a large area where it has lost its shine in one area of the island, which I can't get rid of, and a contractor who was resealing it could not get rid of. What do you think caused it?What should I do about it and what should I use to clean it from now on? Thank you very much. I learned a lot from your site. Rosemary

 

Dear Rosemary:

Typically that stone, which is classified as “Exotic granite” (whatever that means…), is heavily resined by the factory, which would make the sealing pretty much redundant. In other words, it can't be sealed any more than it was sealed by the factory through the resining process.

That said, what did the installer say when you confronted him with your issues that clearly prove that one can't use just any kitchen cleaner on natural stone – especially when one doesn't know what it is in reality? (It is certainly not granite.)

 

Don't tell me, let me guess…

 

That's what I thought!... L J   

 

“ and a contractor who was resealing it could not get rid of. ”

 

No kidding…! What a shocker! Was is perhaps actually hoping to repair the damage made of the surface of your stone by applying an impregnator (what you call sealer), which is a strictly below-the-surface (of the stone) product to it (and uselessly under the circumstances, I must add)?!?...

 

“ What should I do about it ”

 

It is quite simple: get a true stone professional (for a change) into the picture and have him re-polish the surface of your stone. Look in the yellow pages under “Marble and Terrazzo Cleaning” (I hate that classification) and shop around, hoping that you can find one that can tackle that job in your neck of the woods. Stone is polished mechanically, by abrasion and friction, not by applying a sealer onto it. Face-polishing granite is one of the most difficult project that you can think of.

 

“ what should I use to clean it from now on? ”

 

A good-quality spray cleaner rated “for natural stone” like MB-5. It's that simple!

 

May I ask you now to please read and e-sign our Statement of Purpose at: http://www.marblecleaning.org/purpose.htm?

Ciao and good luck,

Mauri zio Bertoli

 

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