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10 Tips for Taking Care of Your Granite Countertops
There's a reason that granite countertops are a popular choice for kitchen renovations: they're durable and easy to maintain.
There’s a reason that granite countertops are a popular choice for kitchen renovations: they’re durable and easy to maintain. However, that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t still do everything you can to keep your granite looking like new.
To help establish your granite care routine, here are 10 tips to help make your countertops last a lifetime:
1. Wipe down your countertops daily with a soft cloth, warm water and mild dish soap.
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2. Avoid commercial cleaners when possible—they can leave a film. Instead, stick to soap and water or make your own vinegar solution to remove smudges.
3. If you start noticing too many fingerprints on your dark-toned granite, consider occasionally applying a light layer of furniture polish to your countertops.
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4. While you can set hot or cold pans and dishes on your granite without worrying about causing damage, you should avoid setting hot items on any countertop seams.
5. You may need to reapply a sealant after the first few years of use. Test if your sealant is still effective by dripping a few drops of water on your work surface and watching to see if they absorb.
6. Even if you do need to reseal your countertops, you may not need to tackle the entire surface area. Instead, you can just reseal problem areas.
7. Avoid storing bottles of cooking oil or any items with the potential to rust (pots, pans, cans, etc.) directly on your granite to minimize the opportunity for stains.
8. Granite is very difficult to scratch, but diamonds have the potential to cause damage to your countertops. Because of this, you may want to remove any diamond rings before cleaning your granite surfaces.
9. Though using knives to cut on granite won’t harm the granite, it will cause your knives to dull very quickly, and is therefore not recommended.
10. If you get a stain on your granite countertops, you can make a paste of 90 percent pool filter powder (diatomaceous earth) and 10 percent Hydrogen Peroxide. Cover the stain with the paste and then cover the paste with plastic wrap overnight.
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