Care

Stone outlives the people who choose it, but only if it is treated
as stone rather than as a worktop.

THE ONE RULE

Marble, onyx, travertine and limestone are calcium carbonate, and acid
dissolves them. Lemon, vinegar, wine, tomato, cola, descaler and most
bathroom cleaners will etch a dull mark into a polished surface in seconds.
That mark is not a stain sitting on top; it is the surface itself, changed.
Wipe spills as they happen and the problem never begins.

Granite and quartzite are far harder and far less troubled by acid. If you
are not certain which you have, treat it as marble.

EVERY DAY

Warm water, a soft cloth, and a pH-neutral cleaner made for natural stone.
Nothing abrasive, no scouring pad, no bleach, no all-purpose spray.

SEALING

A penetrating sealer does not make stone waterproof or acid-proof. It buys
you time to wipe a spill before it soaks in, which on a light marble is
worth a great deal. Reseal when water stops beading on the surface — every
one to three years for most interiors, sooner on a kitchen counter.

WHAT MARKS AND WHAT DOES NOT

An etch is a dull patch caused by acid and is repaired by repolishing.
A stain is something that soaked in, is usually darker, and often lifts with
a poultice. Honed and leathered finishes hide both far better than a polish
does; a polished dark stone shows everything.

BACKLIT AND THIN PANELS

Translucent stone lit from behind shows every fixing, every adhesive line and
every internal fissure. Keep the lighting even, keep adhesives clear and
neutral, and never clean a lit panel with anything that could seep into a
joint.

IN SHORT

Coasters under glasses. Boards under knives. Wipe spills at once. Do not let
a builder clean it with acid at the end of a job — more good stone is ruined
in the last week of a project than in the ten years after it.

If something has already happened to a piece of ours, write to
concierge@stonaria.com before you try to fix it.