Granite Countertops Call for Standard Care

A great addition to any home, granite countertops add some class, regality and luxury to your bathrooms, kitchens and/or outdoor entertainment areas. Granite countertops even add resale value to your home. As installers of granite countertops in Stillwater MN and neighboring towns, we at Imperial Counters would like to drop a few suggestions on how you can maintain and care for your new counters to help ensure that they last a very long time. Perhaps decades, even the rest of your life!

Common sense does indeed apply in the art of making your granite countertops last. Use coasters with beverages, implement pot holders when hot items are to be placed upon them (granite countertops are heat-resistant but not heat proof). Keep the long term storage of liquids on your countertops at a minimum. If spills or general dripping occurs from such, staining is a likely outcome. If you make an effort to stay on top of spills and leaks, your granite countertops will be just fine.  

In the act of preparing food on your granite countertops use a cutting board instead of cutting food on the surface. Granite countertops are stain resistant. If a more powerful than the norm type of liquid does indeed stain them, try removing them with a poultice. For stains involving oil, apply a baking soda and water solution to remove the blemish. If staining occurs as a result of organic stuffs, try an acetone and baking soda mix. Always use a non-abrasive cleaner on your granite countertops.

Most granite countertops will require a sealing every one to two years to keep them at their best. Be mindful, too many sealings to tend to leave behind a cloudy residued surface. To see if you are due for a resealing, carry out a simple absorbency test. Place a drop of water on the granite, letting it stand for 15 minutes. Wipe it up. If you spot a dark stain where the drop was, look into a resealing. This test is indicative of your granite countertops tendency to slowly meander back to its more porous, naturally occurring state.

Do not place too much weight upon your granite countertops, especially consistent placement for too long. Tempting as it may be for family and friends alike, do not let anyone sit or stand on your granite countertops, either. Too much weight in one place for too long can cause damage to the granite.

For more information on granite countertops in Stillwater MN, call Imperial Counters at 651-437-3903 or contact us for a free estimate.