06

Jan

How To Repair Your Granite Countertop?

Everyone loves granite countertops. They are the most popular types of natural stones and have many unique characteristics and benefits. However, repairing and maintaining them is not easy. But if you follow this guide, you’ll learn easy ways to repair granite countertops and keep them shiny for long.

What To Do About Chips?

Cracks are the worst and when they happen near a very obvious part, it’s very difficult to deal with it. But don’t worry! There is a solution.

Chips are small and thin cracks that can later turn into bigger ones if you don’t take care of them soon. So, you better keep an eye out for these thin hairline cracks, otherwise your granite countertop will become ugly in a few years.

There are some things you can do to take care of these cracks and they don’t involve professionals. First, you can try using sandpaper and sanding down the crack ever so lightly until the debris fills the crack up by itself. That is going to make the crack disappear like it was never even there.

The second thing that you can try, and this is great for deeper cracks too, is using a similar colored epoxy resin for your countertops. You will want to fill the crack up with the epoxy glue, scrape off the excess, and let it dry for 24 hours. After that, you’re done.

What If The Edge Of The Countertop Breaks?

Countertop edges are the most frustrating to fix, especially if you bump into them too much. The edges are also the most fragile, so you have to be more careful. Well, there is a quick fix for this problem and it works super well.

Be warned though because it only works for edges that haven’t completely shattered, rather there is a huge chunk of it broken. You’re going to need some strong clear glue and you’ll want to stick the broken edge piece back in perfect symmetry. This is going to hold the edge together and you will be good to go. However, it can break again if enough force is applied so be careful.

Pesky Food Stains

Ugh! These things are the worst and if you haven’t sealed your granite countertops, then these stains can turn into permanent reminders as to why you should seal your countertop in the first place.

So, how to remove stains? First things first, you need to clean up any spilled food, drinks, or liquid, before it has a chance to seep into the surface of granite. Since granite is porous, it’s essentially a sponge and it will drink up any fluid present on the surface. If there is a light stain on the surface of the granite, then use a lot of detergent and a sponge to get it clean.

Repeat the process twice or thrice until the granite surface is clean and gets rid of the colored stain. And make sure to reseal your granite countertop every few years.

Dried Food Crumbs – How To Remove Them?

Some people are not the best at cleaning their granite countertops. The biggest evidence of this fact will be the presence of dried-up food on the surface of the countertops. You can use a food scraper or a damp toothbrush to get rid of the food crumbs. When doing so, just be careful not to scratch the countertop surface otherwise you’ll be in for another problem.

After the crumb has been loosened, wipe the surface of the countertop down with a damp washcloth and you’re good to go.

Heat Stains – The Solution

Heat stains don’t usually occur on granite countertops but that doesn’t mean that they won’t be a possibility. Heat stains are caused when you put something really hot on top of the surface of granite countertops and the stone gets blistered. The result is black and patchy stains that look just as hideous as they’re to remove.

Removing heat stains can be a problem, but recent ones can be removed if you’re quick in action. Take a sandpaper and sand down the murky black spots on the surface of the countertop. This is going to remove any surface-level stains that might be present. Then, you will need to scrub down the countertop with a soapy detergent and sponge or a washcloth and that’s how a heat stain can be removed.

Call In The Pros

Sometimes, some things can be out of your hands and no matter what you try, you just can’t seem to repair your countertop. This is the time when you may have to call in the big guys. Yes, this isn’t what you were expecting, but this has to happen if you want your granite countertop to stay in pristine condition. It’s better to hand the job over to the pros who are more experienced and can repair and fix various granite countertop problems more quickly and efficiently.

How To Prevent Frequent Repairs?

No one wants to repair their countertops regularly, so here are some things that will increase the longevity of your flawless granite countertops.

What To Use & What Not To Use

Granite is a very reactive material and acids don’t sit well with this rock at all. So, you need to be mindful of the things that you’re using in your day-to-day countertop cleaning. You can use regular dishwashing detergent and soap with a wet and soft microfiber cloth. This combination will be enough and there’s no need to go out and buy specialty cleaners.

What you can’t use on granite countertops, however, is things with bleach, acids, and harsh chemicals because they’re going to damage the stone more than cleaning it.

Can You Use Any Cleaner?

Yes, you can, but that doesn’t mean that you need to spend money and buy them. Cleaners are very hit or miss with granite countertops because things can react with the stone and they can take an ugly turn before you know it. Try to stick to simple cleaning solutions that don’t have a lot of fancy ingredients in them. You will see that they get the job done quickly, and efficiently and they won’t cost you a fortune either.

You can also go for things around the house like diluted vinegar, baking soda, lemon juice, and dish washing sponges to get rid of any pesky stains or crumbs that might be making your countertops look less appealing. But if you do buy a cleaner, only get cleaners made for cleaning granite countertops.

Maintenance Of Granite

If you want to prevent damage to your granite countertops and, ultimately, prevent frequent repairs, then you need to maintain the countertops perfectly. This means that getting the countertops sealed, cleaning them every single day, cleaning up the spills, and all that is crucial.

Granite is already quite a hefty material when it comes to maintenance, so you need to commit to this because the last thing you need is to waste more money on repairs when you could’ve easily prevented it in the first place. A lot of people ignore maintenance until it’s too late.

Conclusion

Granite countertops might be expensive, but who said you can’t repair them at home when you get into a bit of a problem? However, if your countertop is beyond repair, you can also find granite installers Potomac for a replacement.