11

Dec

Tips to Keep Your Kitchen Granite Countertop Sparkling Clean

When every homeowner installs granite countertops, they want them to look clean and sparkling all the time. The good news is that this is possible. How do you do it? Here are tips to keep your kitchen granite countertop sparkling clean:

Clean the countertops properly

It goes without saying that if you want to keep your countertops sparkling, you have to clean them properly. To help you out, here are the cleaning steps to follow:

Begin with clearing any items from your kitchen countertops. These include cooking appliances such as crockery and blenders. You should then follow it up by getting rid of dust and debris using a sponge or microfiber.

Granite surfaces are sensitive to abrasive scrubbing techniques, so use soft brushes when cleaning. You should also avoid acidic chemicals, including vinegar, as they are known to destroy the sealants, weakening the countertops’ stain-resistant qualities.

Use warm water, soap, and a cleaning cloth for the best outcome.

After getting rid of the dust, dampen your microfiber cloth with warm water, then wipe your countertops gently. To prevent a lot of grime from accumulating on the countertop, rinse your cloth in fresh water periodically.

You should thoroughly wipe down your countertops from one end to the other until you cover the entire area.

For maximum cleaning effect, do the cleaning in an “S” pattern. If there are stubborn stains on the surfaces, you may have to intensify your scrubbing to remove the stubborn stains.

Once you are done with the cleaning, disinfect the countertop surfaces using a mixture of alcohol and water. A cup of each of these ingredients is enough, but add a few drops of cooking oil for better results.

Spray the mixture evenly on the surface, then after five minutes, wipe the surfaces gently with a dry cloth.

Get rid of tough stains.

Although daily cleaning with warm water and soap is enough to keep your countertops clean, sometimes you will have tough-to-remove stains. As you can tell, you can’t have clean, shiny countertops when there are ugly stains on the surfaces, can you?

To get rid of these stains, you should use baking soda, known to have excellent stain removal capabilities. To do the cleaning, you need to mix baking soda, hydrogen peroxide, and warm water in a bowl until they form a thick paste.

Although it’s commonly used as a wound disinfectant, hydrogen peroxide is highly effective at getting rid of stains without bleaching or discoloring the countertops.

Carefully spread the thick paste over the countertops, then cover them with plastic wrap, ensuring you reach over the edges. Let the mixture do its magic overnight, then the following morning, rinse it thoroughly with water and wipe it down to reveal a stain-free kitchen top.

Prevent stains from forming

Instead of struggling to remove stains, you should prevent them from coming about in the first place. How do you do this?

The first thing to do is ensure that spills don’t stay on the countertops for a long time. As soon as spills happen, get rid of them. If you aren’t in the house when the spills happen, get rid of them as soon as you notice them.

When cleaning the countertops, don’t use abrasive chemicals to get rid of the spills. A simple piece of cloth is enough.

The other thing you should do is seal the countertops. Granite countertops are porous, so when you don’t seal them, there is the risk of the spills seeping deeper into the countertops resulting in tough to remove stains.

Seal the countertops the first time you install them, then once a year thereafter.

For the best outcome, use the highest quality sealer. You also should ensure that the sealing is done by experienced granite contractors Montgomery County MD.

The final thing you should do to stay away from stains is to avoid placing hot items directly on the countertops. Even if granite is tough and can take a lot of abuse, placing hot items on the counters is bound to cause burn stains that are often difficult to remove.

To ensure this doesn’t happen, always have trivets and hot pads on your counters at all times.

12

Dec

5 Ways To Keep Granite Countertops Looking New

When you install granite countertops, you want them to keep the fresh look for as long as possible, and you have every right to as you have spent a lot of money installing them. The good news is that it’s possible to do it. To help you out, here are tips on how to keep granite looking new:

Watch out for the heat.

As a natural stone, granite looks tough and indestructible. While it’s one of the most durable countertop materials on the market, it’s not indestructible. The countertop is also heat resistant, but unfortunately, it’s not heatproof.

This means when you expose it to high temperatures, such as placing hot pans directly on it, it will get damaged. While the hot pan might not leave an ugly burn mark on the countertop, it can cause scratching, forcing you to replace the countertop.

To keep your countertops looking new, protect the surfaces from the hot pots and pans. Thankfully, it’s easy to do it.

When cooking, always have hot pads and trivets in place. Place the hot pans and pots here instead of placing them directly on the countertop surface.

Don’t sit on the countertops.

Granite is strong and durable, but the edges are prone to damage when you place a lot of weight and pressure on it. Due to this, sitting on the countertop edges is harmful as you risk cracking the surfaces, and you are left with an ugly piece that you have to replace to restore the look of your countertops.

To ensure this doesn’t happen, don’t stand on the countertops. Also, don’t sit on the counters as you are cooking or spending time with your better half.

For the kids, let them know they can’t sit or play on the counters.

Have a cutting board in place all the time

Most people make the mistake of treating their countertops as their cutting boards. This is understandable as the countertops appear tough, so many people have the impression they can’t get damaged. How wrong are they?

While you can get away with chopping a few onions for a party dip, making it a habit is counterproductive.

For one, the countertops have plenty of bacteria, so when you chop your meat and other foods on the countertops, you expose them to the many bacteria on the counters. The meat can also get into the stone’s natural pores, making it hard to disinfect them once you are done.

Most foods contain acids that can etch or even stain the countertops. This means you shouldn’t cut grapefruits, lemons, or limes directly on the countertops as they will cause damage.

The tough nature of the countertops can damage the knives and dull them. To protect your precious knives and keep off the food from your countertops, always have a cutting board in place.

Clean your countertops

This is the first thing that comes to most homeowners’ minds when they think about maintaining their countertops looking new. While it’s true cleaning the countertops comes in handy at maintaining them looking new, you have to do it right.

Clean your countertops daily to keep stains, bacteria, and spills from penetrating the countertop seal and seeping into the natural pores of the stone.

You don’t have to be fancy when cleaning the counters. Using water and a few drops of dish soap is enough. An easy way to do it is to mix the two, put them in a spray bottle, and then spray directly on the countertops. Follow up by wiping the surfaces with a clean cloth, rinse with clean water then dry with another clean cloth.

Regular cleaning of the countertops prevents them from getting foggy and grimy with stains.

Avoid harsh cleaning products such as steel wool as they will scratch the surfaces, leaving you with ugly countertop surfaces.

You only need to maintain your granite.

The key to keeping your granite looking new is to take good care of it. Besides the above tips, also reseal the countertops at least once a year. You can do the sealing or hire granite contractors Rockville to help you out.