{"id":1277,"date":"2017-07-10T21:30:09","date_gmt":"2017-07-10T21:30:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/intlstoneworks.com\/blog\/?p=1277"},"modified":"2017-07-10T21:35:01","modified_gmt":"2017-07-10T21:35:01","slug":"soapstone-and-granite-dos-and-donts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/intlstoneworks.com\/blog\/2017\/07\/10\/soapstone-and-granite-dos-and-donts\/","title":{"rendered":"Granite and Soapstone: Stone Care Do’s and Don’ts"},"content":{"rendered":"

Granite<\/strong><\/p>\n

Definition: \u201cA very hard, crystalline, igneous rock, grey to pink in color, composed mostly of feldspar and natural quartz\u201d (Marble Institute of America)<\/p>\n

\"granite-kitchen2\"<\/a>
Kitchen Granite Countertops<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

1.\u00a0Do seal your Granite\u00a0countertops<\/strong><\/p>\n

Even though the porosity ratio of Granites<\/a> varies between .46% and 1.5%, I recommend sealing your Granite with a penetrating\/impregnator sealer such as Seal & Go\u00ae S<\/a>. This sealer does not change the appearance of the stone and it helps protect against oil and grease.<\/p>\n

\"sealed<\/a>
Sealed Granite Countertop<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

2. Do use neutral stone cleaners<\/strong><\/p>\n

Because you\u2019ve invested in a beautiful natural stone surface, make sure that you use the proper stone care products such as neutral cleaners (pH levels of around 7 or 8). We recommend Lavenet<\/a> neutral cleaner.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

3.\u00a0Don\u2019t forget to use cutting boards and trivets<\/strong><\/p>\n

It is true that Granite countertops are durable; however, this stone isn\u2019t impervious to everything. If you\u2019re cutting up veggies or boiling a kettle to make tea, don\u2019t put these items directly on the Granite countertop.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

4.\u00a0Don\u2019t just use Granite on your countertops<\/strong><\/p>\n

Don’t get me wrong, I love a good granite countertop, but granite is a practical stone for many areas, outside and inside. The reason is because most granites do not react to acids. You can also pick your level of shine: Granite can be polished, honed, textured, flamed, etc.<\/p>\n

\"Kashmir<\/a>
Kashmir White Granite Flame-Cut<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

Soapstone<\/strong><\/p>\n

Definition: \u201cA \u2018talc-rich\u2019 known for its heat, chemical and stain resistant properties\u201d (Marble Institute of America)<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

1. Do use mineral oil if you want to darken your Soapstone<\/strong><\/p>\n

Mineral oil is readily available at your local hardware store and is a quick and easy maintenance product for Soapstone countertops.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

2. Do use Soapstone in the kitchen<\/strong><\/p>\n

Because most\u00a0Soapstone<\/a>\u00a0do not react to acids, it can be a good choice for kitchen and even bathroom countertops.<\/p>\n

\"Soapstone<\/a>
Soapstone<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

3. Don\u2019t forget your cutting board<\/strong><\/p>\n

Soapstone is easy to maintain; however, it can scratch. Make sure you have a cutting board when you do your chopping and food prep.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

4. Don\u2019t worry about sealing Soapstone<\/strong><\/p>\n

Soapstone is a non-absorbent stone and is very dense.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Granite Definition: \u201cA very hard, crystalline, igneous rock, grey to pink in color, composed mostly of feldspar and natural quartz\u201d (Marble Institute of America)   1.\u00a0Do seal your Granite\u00a0countertops Even though the porosity ratio of Granites varies between .46% and 1.5%, I recommend sealing your Granite with a penetrating\/impregnator sealer such as Seal & Go\u00ae […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[158,63,236,237],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/intlstoneworks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1277"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/intlstoneworks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/intlstoneworks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/intlstoneworks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/intlstoneworks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1277"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"http:\/\/intlstoneworks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1277\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1287,"href":"http:\/\/intlstoneworks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1277\/revisions\/1287"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/intlstoneworks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1277"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/intlstoneworks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1277"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/intlstoneworks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1277"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}