Stone Care FAQ
General
StonePro has Authorized Distributors nationwide and that sell online. The easiest way to find a location near you is to use our Distributor Locator and search by area code. The advanced search option will help you narrow down a location by area code, company name, address and city. If you are unable to find a distributor near you, call our toll-free Customer Support at: (866) 786-6310.
General purpose cleaning products can damage natural stone or the sealer applied. Improperly formulated cleaners or those with acids (such as porcelain or tile cleaners) may etch the surface of the stone. StonePro’s Crystal Clean is specially formulated for natural stone. It is important to use a cleaner just for Natural Stone. Crystal Clean is perfect for daily use, is safe on surfaces used for food preparation and meets or exceeds all federal environmental regulations. Crystal Clean is completely evaporative and leaves no water mark’s or streaks. Crystal Clean also has an added 1% of sealant properties’ which means you will increase your sealant protection every time you clean.
To preserve the longevity of a natural stone installation it is very important to protect it with a proper sealer and clean with products designed especially for natural stone. All natural stone surfaces are porous. As long as there is an absorption factor, stone will stain and deteriorate over time. When your stone is properly sealed, the absorbion factor is eliminated.
Granite is like any other natural stone; it can be dense or porous depending on the type of granite and is absorbent to some degree. Stones that have more swirls or veins tend to be more porous and absorbent. These swirls and veins show the movement of the stones active molten history. Generally, stone with smaller crystals are more absorbent than granites that have larger crystals. Spills tend to migrate into the capillaries of the stone and show themselves as discoloration. Because of this porous quality, granite has a tendency to stain.
Cleaning Stone
You can use the Crystal Clean Spray everyday…several times a day. This light duty cleaner is safe to use on all Natural Stone surfaces. On a weekly basis, use Finishing Touch Polish and Revitalizer. This will give you the shine you love and also works great on glass, and stainless steel appliances. To get the most out of your Finishing Touch Spray by using a micro-fiber cloth to do the job.
Yes, it can be used daily, weekly, or as often as you would like to clean your stone surfaces. Crystal Clean is safe for food preparation areas and is environmentally friendly.
All granite counter tops need to be cleaned with cleaner meant specifically for Natural Stone – Crystal Clean Daily Stone Cleaner. It is easy to use and you won’t have to worry about short term OR long term damage to your stone. Crystal Clean also had added sealant properties to enhance your stone with every use. This daily cleaner will not leave streaks or water marks.
Sealing Stone
A sealer is an impregnator and works by penetrating and chemically interacting through the pores of the stone surface. This penetration then forms an invisible resistant barrier on and into the stone decreasing the surface tension of the stone. When the surface tension is reduced smaller than the molecule size of water and oils, then water and oil stains can not penetrate this smaller and dense surface thus, not allowing penetration. StonePro offers sealers for every kind of natural stone surface – Ultimate Pro for granite, Pro Sealer for marble and Porous Pro for porous materials such as travertines, limestones, concretes, brick and slates.
Maintenance
Yes! If you want to protect your investment and prolong the life of the material. Although we normally think of these surfaces as “hard as rock” but this can be misleading. They all have varying degrees of porosity and if left unsealed can easily be stained by everyday spills (juices, coffee, wine, oil…etc.). Acidic substances can even etch these surfaces and potentially ruin an expensive material. Although sealing does not make the material bullet-proof, it will reduce the chance of permanent staining, etching and/or discoloration. StonePro offers sealers for every surface.
Problem Solving
Use the Wet Poultice Stain remover. It is in a paste form and applied on surfaces will remove stains such as wine, coffee, tea, urine, smoke, soot and others. This is a two day process and will withdraw stains from below the surface of the stone.
A stain is due to material that penetrates into the stone to cause a color change. For example, coffee may produce a brown stain on light colored marble or granite. These stains can be removed by using the StonePro Wet Poultice Stain Remover. Etch marks are caused by acidic materials or hard water deposits that marks the stone white or dulls the stone surface. This is caused by fruit juice, soda, vinegar, acidic cleaners, and urine on marble, limestone and travertine. These etch marks and dullness can be removed and the polish restored using the StonePro Restoration Floor Machine or light etching may be removed using the StonePro Natural Touch Etch Remover.
