{"id":947,"date":"2016-05-24T16:07:33","date_gmt":"2016-05-24T16:07:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/intlstoneworks.com\/blog\/?p=947"},"modified":"2016-05-24T16:09:03","modified_gmt":"2016-05-24T16:09:03","slug":"5-ways-to-keep-your-stone-countertops-looking-great","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/intlstoneworks.com\/blog\/2016\/05\/24\/5-ways-to-keep-your-stone-countertops-looking-great\/","title":{"rendered":"5 Ways To Keep Stone Countertops Looking Great"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>1.\u00a0Use Neutral Cleaners<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>When it comes to natural stone countertops, it\u2019s safer to avoid acidic and ammonia based products. Stick with neutral cleaners such as <a href=\"http:\/\/www.intlstoneworks.com\/specialty\/lavenet.htm\">Lavenet<\/a> and <a href=\"http:\/\/www.intlstoneworks.com\/specialty\/lavenet_green.htm\">Lavenet Green<\/a>. If you enjoy cooking (like I do) and want to disinfect your countertops after preparing a meal, use <a href=\"http:\/\/www.intlstoneworks.com\/specialty\/sani-tyze.htm\">Sani-Tyze<\/a>. These cleaners will not harm or etch your marble, limestone and granite countertops.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_883\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-883\" style=\"width: 300px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"http:\/\/intlstoneworks.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/DSC00101.jpg\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-883\"><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-image-883 size-medium\" src=\"http:\/\/intlstoneworks.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/DSC00101-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"DSC00101\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" srcset=\"http:\/\/intlstoneworks.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/DSC00101-300x225.jpg 300w, http:\/\/intlstoneworks.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/DSC00101-768x576.jpg 768w, http:\/\/intlstoneworks.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/DSC00101-1024x768.jpg 1024w, http:\/\/intlstoneworks.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/DSC00101-600x450.jpg 600w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-883\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Granite Kitchen Countertop<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>2. Use Coasters and Trays<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Acid, ammonia and alcohol can etch (remove the shine) from marble, limestone, travertine and certain granites. Place a tray under bottles in your bar or under your perfume collection in your bathroom. Coasters and cutting boards are also a great idea.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/intlstoneworks.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/Super-Bowl-food-marble.jpg\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-949\"><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-949\" src=\"http:\/\/intlstoneworks.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/Super-Bowl-food-marble-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"Super Bowl food marble\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" srcset=\"http:\/\/intlstoneworks.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/Super-Bowl-food-marble-300x225.jpg 300w, http:\/\/intlstoneworks.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/Super-Bowl-food-marble-600x450.jpg 600w, http:\/\/intlstoneworks.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/Super-Bowl-food-marble.jpg 640w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>3. Wipe Up Sitting Water<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Sitting water can create calcium build up and over time, may even etch your countertop. Try to wipe up sitting water after washing up. I also recommend cleaning with <a href=\"http:\/\/www.intlstoneworks.com\/residential\/crystal_clean.htm\">Crystal Clean<\/a>. This neutral cleaner helps diminish light calcium deposits and soap scum.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>4. Seal Annually<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.intlstoneworks.com\/natural_stone_sealing.htm\">Sealing<\/a> annually with a penetrating sealer such as <a href=\"http:\/\/www.intlstoneworks.com\/sealers\/sealnngo_s.htm\">Seal &amp; Go\u00ae S<\/a> and <a href=\"http:\/\/www.intlstoneworks.com\/sealers\/sealnngo_w.htm\">Seal &amp; Go\u00ae W <\/a>helps with daily cleaning and maintenance. Please note that sealers do not stop acid etching, but they do help with oil and grease repellency.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/intlstoneworks.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/Sealed-Carrara.jpg\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-629\"><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-629 aligncenter\" src=\"http:\/\/intlstoneworks.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/Sealed-Carrara-277x300.jpg\" alt=\"Sealed Carrara Marble\" width=\"277\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"http:\/\/intlstoneworks.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/Sealed-Carrara-277x300.jpg 277w, http:\/\/intlstoneworks.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/Sealed-Carrara.jpg 590w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 277px) 100vw, 277px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>5. When Necessary, Restore And Maintain<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Because stones such as marble and limestone react to acids, you may need to re-hone or <a href=\"http:\/\/www.intlstoneworks.com\/natural_stone_polishing.htm\">re-polish<\/a> your countertops to remove etch marks. Etch marks cannot be cleaned off; the surface of the stone needs to be restored. Restoration companies like <a href=\"http:\/\/www.intlstoneworks.com\/services.htm\">International Stoneworks<\/a> can refinish your top on-site to remove etch marks and light scratches with our no-wax system. And while we are there, we can seal your tops too!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&nbsp; 1.\u00a0Use Neutral Cleaners When it comes to natural stone countertops, it\u2019s safer to avoid acidic and ammonia based products. Stick with neutral cleaners such as Lavenet and Lavenet Green. If you enjoy cooking (like I do) and want to disinfect your countertops after preparing a meal, use Sani-Tyze. These cleaners will not harm or [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[63,97,62,98,96],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/intlstoneworks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/947"}],"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=947"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"http:\/\/intlstoneworks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/947\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":954,"href":"http:\/\/intlstoneworks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/947\/revisions\/954"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/intlstoneworks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=947"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/intlstoneworks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=947"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/intlstoneworks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=947"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}