There is nothing like nice, clean, gleaming stone countertops—don’t you just love them? To me, the counters being clean and wiped down has the same effect on the kitchen as making the bed does in a bedroom. Your house looks so much tidier with this one step. However, while cleaning a countertop may sound straightforward, it can be much more confusing when you start to see all the products on the market that claim to be “the best and only cleaner you’ll ever need.” What is a person to do? Are you supposed to use a polish to clean your natural stone countertops? Can you use something abrasive? Will you ever be able to get your countertops to a streak-free finish?
Understanding Your Stone Countertop
Stone countertops are a tough but tender kind of thing—give them some tender loving care and the countertop will shine for you for ages; ignore it and it will be the worst investment you ever made. Stone countertops can be hard to rehab if you let them go too long without proper cleaning so it is best to regularly maintain them right from the start. The best way to do this is with plain old dish soap and water.
For natural stone countertops, you always want to use a pH-neutral cleanser. Dish soap such as Dawn is an example of a neutral cleanser. Never use vinegar (very acidic) and never use any products such as Windex (ammonia-based cleaner) as these chemicals will gradually destroy the finish of the stone. Also, you never want to use any sort of abrasive cleanser such as Soft Scrub, Bar Keepers Friend, or a Magic Eraser on your countertops. Your stone countertop has been carefully polished and then sealed (in most cases) and if you use an abrasive cleanser or a cleanser that isn’t pH neutral, you will gradually destroy the finish on your countertops.
But They’re Stone Right?
You might have the notion that because your countertops are stone they are indestructible; unfortunately, that’s not quite true. While extremely hard and “tough” in that regard, your countertops are also porous by nature. This means that if you disrupt or damage the seal on your countertops and then spill something like, say, red wine or spaghetti sauce, and don’t clean it right away, you will see a permanent stain appear. The only way such a stain could be removed is by having a stone professional come in, sand, re-polish, and re-seal your countertops.
What Happens if You Have Already Used an Abrasive Cleanser on Your Countertop?
If you have already used a not-great cleanser on your stone countertop, the first thing to do is to stop! Using such a product once or twice may not cause damage (or at least not too much damage) but over time it certainly will.
The Safest Way to Clean
The safest way to clean your countertops is to dampen a soft cloth (I love microfiber!), apply a small amount of dish soap to it (a pea size amount), and work into a lather. After doing that, go ahead and use it to clean your countertop. You want to see some suds, but you don’t want your countertop to start looking white with suds—that means you have used too much soap and are going to have a fun time trying to get it properly rinsed! After you feel like you’ve given it a good wipe down, grab a fresh cloth (again I like microfiber), wet it, and wipe it down again. You may have to go over it twice to get all the suds off. Then use another cloth to dry. You may even want to go over it one last time with a microfiber cloth to dry it to a polished sheen.
My other favorite way to clean stone countertops with a Norwex Microfiber Envirocloth! This is even easier than the above method because with this cloth you don’t need soap! All you have to do is wet the cloth with water, wipe your stone countertop, and dry using the cloth of your choice! (I still prefer to use a microfiber cloth to dry the counter.) Using the Envirocloth is definitely the fastest method I have found to clean natural stone countertops!
You can check out the Envirocloth here!
I have talked with many stone professionals over the years and these are the ways they recommend cleaning your countertops—no fancy cleansers needed! With just a few simple products, a little bit of elbow grease, and with regular upkeep your countertops will shine for you for years!
Disclaimer:
All of these cleaning tips have come from my personal experience and that of the clients whom I serve. While the information here should be applicable and safe in most circumstances if you have any doubts be sure to check with the manufacturer for the product which you are cleaning and always test a cleaning product or procedure in an inconspicuous area first!
Disclosure
Please remember that this post contains affiliate links; that means if you click on the link, I will make a small commission at no extra cost to you. It’s a way to support my blog! I will only ever share an affiliate link if I love the product and think that you just might love it too!