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Don’t Take It For Granite

        

Granite is one of the world’s hardest and most beautiful countertop materials… when maintained and cared for properly. Acid resistant, it is an ideal kitchen counter top material, able to resist interactions with acidic foods and spills far better than its more sensitive cousin, marble, which is easily etched. Despite its rugged good looks and strong exterior, it is not impervious to damage or neglect. Whether by misguidance or ignorance, employ an inappropriate cleaner, or failure to properly seal your surface periodically can result in the need for an expensive yet avoidable stone restoration at best, and a permanent eyesore stained surface at worst.

GRANITE CLEANER – BEWARE THE MARKETING

In today’s marketing rich world, it’s easy to fall prey to claims and promises of a well-known brand seeking to expand its sales and profits by convincing you their cleaner can handle granite. Fun fact: Did you know that the American consumer equates glossy with clean? That is not the case, in Europe, where they perceive the absence of dirt as clean. Having discovered this curious fact, cleaner manufacturers have loaded their products with ever more increasing quantities of waxes and oils in an effort to provide a shiny surface, versus to improve cleaning. The net result is that 20% of MARBLELIFE countertop restoration services are not removal of damage, but rather the removal of foreign waxes and oils which have built up over time until the stone surface appears dull and dirty. As these deposits are designed to survive the cleaning process, they are not easy to remove. The net result is 20% of MARBLELIFE’s work is actually to remove the residuals left from prior “cleaning” products… so that the undamaged shine of the original granite countertop can once again be seen.

MARBLELIFE GRANITE KIT – EVERYTHING YOU REALLY NEED

This is why the MARBLELIFE GRANITE COUNTERTOP KIT (with and without a buffer) were assembled, with products formulated to care for your granite without damaging it or requiring special services downstream.

The Marblelife Granite Countertop Kit comes with the specially formulated

  • Granite Countertop Cleaner Spray,
  • Granite Countertop Sealer Spray,
  • Granite Countertop Gloss Conditioner,
  • and optional buffer.

The cleaner, MARBLELIFE GRANITE & QUARTZ CLEANER is designed to emulsify and lift oils, acids, dirts and residues left behind from greasy fingers, food, adhesives, grease, oils, and other – yes other – cleaners. MARBLELIFE’s magic is the use of our proprietary surfactant formulation which penetrates the stone’s crevices and pores, surround the oil and dirt, and literally lift it off the surface and into the water. This makes cleaning easy. It also dramatically reduces streaking. When all is done, all we want is the natural granite surface.

Unlike many advertised granite cleaners, which contain unnecessary acids, waxes, oils, bleach or ammonia, our granite cleaners do not. Our cleaner is formulated to clean…just clean. We believe the natural granite surface is beautiful in its own right. If we need a higher shine, we can polish it to provide a chemical-free permanent shine, without depositing oils and waxes where our food may come in contact with them.

EXTEND THE LIFE OF YOUR COUNTER AND COUNTER FINISH – SEAL

Unlike marble, granite is acid resistant making it an excellent countertop choice within the working environment of our kitchen, where a variety of oils and ingredients can bombard a counter. However, granite is susceptible to staining if left unsealed. Think of all the colorful liquids we encounter in the kitchen ranging from black coffee to red wine. Yet it is the cooking oils that are the most frequent stainers, whether splatter from the pan, or part of a salad, oils can quickly penetrate, darken and stain unsealed granite, making MARBLELIFE GRANITE COUNTERTOP SEALER SPRAY the easiest prevention against costly stain removal.

Sprayed on from its convenient spray bottle, one simply wipes on, waits 5 minutes and wipes off the remaining unabsorbed excess. Quick and easy. This highly concentrated formula may seem small, but it’s powerful, able to coat 100 sq/ft of granite counter. Penetrating sealers will typically last 2 years, before acid attacks slowly wear them away, making an annual to bi-annual application sufficient to protect your beautiful granite investment. (The alternative is multiple applications of smelly poultices applied on a daily basis over several days in an effort to draw out and remove the stain, with no guarantees of success, but a guarantee of a sizeable expense and loss of your kitchen for days). The seal really is an easy, inexpensive insurance policy.

POPPING A SHINE

When you hear MARBLELIFE GRANITE COUNTERTOP GLOSS CONDITIONER, you may scratch your head and liken it to some sort of stone polish—but you’d be mistaken. There are distinct differences between polishers and conditioners. Polishing employs abrasives to remove high points until you have a smooth light reflecting surface – as was done to your granite counters during their fabrication. Once manufactured, unless you walk on the counter, it is unlikely to ever need to be repolished. It is more likely it needs a professional cleaning to remove the residue from inappropriately designed cleaners.

A conditioner, on the other hand, applies a light oil to the surface designed to fill in low areas and provide a temporary light reflective surface. This is temporary, because the oil will eventually evaporate, or be absorbed by the stone (if not sealed). A conditioner need only be applied if one does not have the time for the surface to be professionally cleaned or restored before guests arrive, and you seek to enhance the counter gloss. That said, generally, the need for a conditioner exists because a topical deposit of waxes is already present blocking out the natural granite appearance. While the use of a conditioner can provide an inexpensive short-term solution, it pales in comparison to the ease of maintaining a truly clean surface with MARBLELFIE GRANITE & QUARTZ CLEANER.

Bring your granite back to life with our Marblelife Granite Countertop Kit.

 

Call MARBLELIFE at (888) 524-3372 or visit us online to secure your FREE ESTIMATE at www.MARBLELIFE.com or to www.MARBLELIFEPRODUCTS.com to secure the care products appropriate to your surface, and your desire for an easy effective cleaning solution.

 

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FLOOR CLEANER FRUSTRATION?
PERHAPS IT’S DAMAGED, NOT DIRTY
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