Care For Granite and Natural Stone Surfaces:
The two most important things that you can do to care for granite countertops, stone flooring, or any natural stone surface are:

1. Remove any dust, grit, and sand from the stone's surface.
   
2. Clean up accidental spills as soon as possible.
   
3. Use soapy warm water with a brush to clean your stone surfaces. We suggest using “Dawn” dishwashing liquid – only the blue stuff!

Care of Marble, Limestone, and Travertine:

• Protect your natural stone floors near entryways with non-slip mats or area rugs. This helps to remove any loose dirt or sand from shoes.
• Frequent dust mopping, vacuuming, and sweeping of your natural stone floors will prevent the accumulation of grit and grime. This will also slow the rate of deterioration caused by foot traffic grinding in dirt, sand, or grit.
• Wet mop using a mild vegetable soap and water solution OR a cleaner made especially for stone.
• Quick daily cleanings should be accompanied by periodic deep cleanings. How often you deep clean your stone will depend on the usage. Having children and pets will require more frequent deep cleanings. A deep cleaning once a year will keep your stone looking its best!
• Daily spot cleaning: This is simply wiping up any accidental spills promptly. If you do get a stain, attend to it as soon as possible with a slightly stronger solution of detergent and then a poultice if the detergent cleaner is unsuccessful. This can be a bit daunting for a homeowner. Be very careful when using any type of polishing compound or product. Your best bet is to call us. We will schedule a walk-thru to measure and advise you on the best tactic to take for your particular problem.

Care For Granite:

• Wipe up any spills as soon as possible. Granite is not an acid sensitive stone.
• Use warm soapy water to wash your granite, rinse, then polish dry with a soft towel. This is very effective on dark stone to get rid of streaks.
• Daily cleanings should be accompanied by periodic deep cleanings and resealing.
• Daily spot cleaning is simply wiping up any accidental spills promptly. If you do get a stain, attend to it as soon as possible with a slightly stronger solution of detergent and then a poultice if the detergent cleaner is unsuccessful. This can be a bit daunting for a homeowner. Be very careful when using any type of polishing compound or product. Your best bet is to call us. We will schedule a walk-thru to measure and advise you on the best tactic to take for your particular problem.

General Cleaning:

Dish soaps and hand soaps that are yellow or orange always have citric acid in them. Citric acid is used as a fragrance in most soap. Lemon or citrus scent? Citric acid too! This is an acid that will eat right through the finish or patina on your counter or bathroom vanity.

Steer clear of cleaning products such as CLR (acid based and very caustic), vinegar, toilet bowl cleaners (they splash on the floor) or other harsh cleaners. They will result in the etching of your stone and the loss of your stone’s luster.

Everyday Cleaning:

Immediately wipe up spills and messes. Use pH balanced cleaners and soap-less detergents for daily cleaning. We recommend Dawn dishwashing soap (the BLUE stuff!). Mild dishwashing liquid works quite well on stone surfaces. Keep a spray bottle of diluted Dawn handy for accidental spills. Again, it is very important to rinse the tile and grout thoroughly to remove any remaining cleaner. Agitate grout joints with a soft bristled brush to loosen debris. Thoroughly rinse, dry, and polish cleaned areas.

Acidic cleaners will etch and remove the polished surfaces from stones like marble, travertine, limestone and sandstone. Acidic cleaners will eventually erode your stone and grout joints over time making cleaning and maintenance more and more problematic.

More Cleaning Information for Natural Stone:

• Most stone, once protected, requires occasional scrubbing to remove surface build-up of dirt and grime. Using a neutral cleaner, mop or scrub-on cleaner as directed, rinse if necessary. Towel drying after rinsing removes streaks.
• On honed or antiqued finished stone, a good scrubbing is required more often, due to the texture of the product holding the dirt to the surface. A good penetrating sealer cuts down on the frequency of this task. The beauty of these finishes is in their texture or matte appearance. Most stone will be easy enough to maintain with a high-quality sealer and regular professional maintenance.
• With all stones, establish a regular maintenance schedule. A regular schedule of cleaning, polishing and resealing is much less expensive than having us come in to resurface your stone, then polishing and sealing.
• For stains on marble or stone, it is important to call a professional. 99.9% of the time our technicians will be able to remove a stain from the surface of your stone. The process used will depend on a couple of variables: the stone and the stain!
• Mopping: When you use a mop, be careful that you are not just pushing around dirty water. Dragging a wet mop over the heavily trafficked area into the less traveled areas will only redistribute the dirt! High traffic areas - kitchens in front of the sink, fridge and stove, and areas in front of exterior doorways are always dirtier. Give us a call! We will come to your home to clean, scrub, and re-seal your floors
• Showers: Water and steam are very hard on stone in your showers – especially travertine. Over time, the tiles will disintegrate slowly. Nick's Marble will give your shower a deep cleaning, fill all the cracks and pits, then polish or hone the stone, and seal your shower.
• Marble Showers: Veins are a weaker part of the stone and will break down first. We can fill those veins with a matching epoxy to prevent or delay stone decay. Like fluoride on your teeth!

Recommended Cleaning Products
to Use in Your Home

For Porcelain or Fiberglass
(sinks, toilets, tubs):

• Bon Ami

For Disinfectant in Toilets:

• Original PineSol (not lemon scented)
• Bleach (not lemon scented)

For Glass and Mirrors:

• Spray Way glass foam cleaner
• For calcium buildup or haze on your shower door use 000 Superfine Steel Wool

For Stainless Steel:

• Sheila Shine – cleaner/polish

For Natural Stone:

• Any product that states “for natural stone, granite, limestone, or marble” (cleaner)
• Dawn soap (the blue stuff)

For Marble and Granite:

• You want to use a sponge that doesn’t scratch (the 3M scotch bright green and blue sponges scratch)
• No acid products on travertine, limestone, or marble.
• No cleaning products yellow or orange, no toilet bowl cleaners- they all have acid in them.
• A lot of your pump soaps have citric acid. Please read ingredients on label prior to purchase.

For Grout Joints:

• Nylon bristle scrub brush
• All joints sanded or not sanded need to be agitated with a brush.
• Travertine, limestone, and marble also need to be agitated with a scrub brush when cleaning.