GENERAL

The chemical make-up of rocks can be unpredictable. NEVER use home-brewed concoctions (such as water and dish soap, or water and vinegar) to clean your natural stone installations. NEVER 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). NEVER listen 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. ALWAYS 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 our MB-4, Impregnator for Stone. It comes with a 10-year limited warranty! (No sealing every year!). To enhance the color of tumbled marble and such (wet look), consider out MB-6, Stone Color Enhancer.

FLOORS

Vacuum or dust-mop daily, and damp-mop when deemed necessary with a solution of water and a pH neutral detergent (NOT a Stone Soap), such as our MB-1, Marble, Granite and More Floor Cleaner.

For the preservation of that high-gloss factory-finish, consider using our MB-7, Polished Stone Floor Preserver in conjunction with a residential floor buffing machine, available at fine small appliance stores.

KITCHEN COUNTERTOPS

Clean daily using a specialty product for stone, such as our 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. For disinfecting purposes (after handling raw poultry, vegetable, etc.), use our MB-15, Stone Cleaner/Disinfectant. Use it responsibly and thoroughly follow the directions on the bottle. To occasionally “brighten-up” your shiny countertop, use a fine stone polish such as our MB-13, Polished Stone Brightener. All its components are rated “food-grade”.

Mounting evidence of the consequences of the misuse of disinfectant/cleaners prompted us to make the (financially painful) decision to discontinue the bottling of our MB-15 Disinfectant/Cleaner effective January 1, 2007. If you have concerns about disinfecting matters in relation to any of your natural stone installations, please see our free article The Unbiased Truth About Disinfectants/Cleaners

VANITY TOPS

Clean when necessary using a specialty product for stone, such as our 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 by over-spraying on your stone a regular glass cleaner! For some extra-shine, use a fine stone polish such as our MB-13, Polished Stone Brightener. It will brighten-up your top and provide it with some extra protection!

SHOWER STALLS

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 our MB-5, Marble, Granite and More Spray Cleaner, full strength. For extra protection and shine, treat your shower walls with a stone polish like our MB-13, Polished Stone Brightener.

When eventually an accumulation of soap film will appear (waxy look and feeling), especially in the lower part of your stall, use a specialty product like our MB-3, Soap Film Remover. It also removes possible hard water mineral deposits, without damaging the stone surface! Make sure that it has chelates in its formula and that’s rated “for natural stone”.

If you have an occasional growth of mildew in your grout lines, use a specialty product like our MB-9, Mildew Stain Remover. It will not affect the delicate surface of polished marble and other delicate stones!

STAINS AND “WATER MARKS” (ETCHING, THAT IS)

For stain removal NEVER use so called “professional poulticing kits” that no true professional ever uses! They are usually very expensive and produce limited results. Follow our guidelines on stain removal available in the “Pay-per-download” part of the Educational Literature 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!