Care and Cleaning Articles
What to wipe up fast, what to avoid, and how often to reseal, broken out by material so you are not guessing. These articles cover the everyday habits that keep a counter looking good and the fixes for the spots and stains that show up anyway. Find the one for your stone.
Hard water spots on dark polished stone
Faint pale spots near the faucet on a new black granite island often look like etching. Within weeks of install, Houston's moderately hard tap water can leave…
Read the article →Seam care and when to re-caulk the backsplash
The thin dark line where a granite counter meets the tile backsplash behind the sink is usually not a failed seam. It is the caulk joint between the stone and…
Read the article →Quartzite care through the first year
Most of what keeps a quartzite counter looking new is settled in its first year: how it is cleaned, when it is resealed, and whether the slab is true quartzite…
Read the article →Hot pans and countertops: what each material tolerates
A cast iron skillet pulled off a gas burner can sit well above 400 degrees, and the countertop beside a Houston stove is usually where it lands while the cook…
Read the article →Marble etching: what it is and how to live with it
Tomato sauce, lemon and vinegar are everyday ingredients in a Houston kitchen, and any of them left on polished marble for a few minutes will leave a faint dul…
Read the article →Cleaning quartz without damaging the resin
Most damage to a quartz top comes from the cleaning cabinet, not the stove. High pH cleaners attack the resin that binds the stone, and the dull patch they lea…
Read the article →Getting a stain out of granite
Granite is porous enough to take a stain and dense enough to give it back. A stain sitting on top of sealed granite is rarely permanent, since the sealer is do…
Read the article →How to seal granite countertops in five steps
A few drops of water left on a five-year-old granite counter will often darken the stone in under a minute. That is the plainest sign the original seal has wor…
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