Many people love granite counters in their kitchen or bathroom because they are a beautiful natural material and will normally never need to be replaced. 

Even though granite counters are durable, they still need proper care and maintenance to keep looking their best. 

Day-to-day care on granite counters is simple, but periodic professional restoration will keep them looking great for years to come.

Our granite counter restoration service includes maintenance and repairs such as:

• Removal of built-up mineral deposits around sinks and faucets

• Resurfacing and polishing the stone where it has become dull from heavy use

• Repairing pits in the surface and chips in the edges of the counters

• Repairing seams in your counter if they have come loose or the adhesive has failed

• Replacing caulking around the sink(s) and between the counter and the backsplash

• Sealing the stone with a quality impregnating sealer to prevent staining

Taking care of these items periodically with a granite counter restoration service not only will make your countertop look new again, but will also protect it from further damage, such as staining, or pits and

chips possibly developing further. The caulk repair will also prevent bacteria growth from water and other contaminants in between the sink and the granite or between the counter and the backsplash.

With simple regular cleaning and periodic professional restoration, you will be able to enjoy the natural beauty of your granite counters for many years!

After we gather some basic information from you, we will set up a free evaluation appointment.  After we are able to look at your project, we strive to have your quote to you by the next business day.

Request your evaluation by filling out the Request Form on our website, or you can call or text us to get started.

Our scheduling fluctuates througout the year. In the winter months, we can typically get started on your project within 2 weeks after you have approved our quote.  Spring through Fall we will generally be able to schedule your project between 3-6 weeks from quote approval.

After we restore your countertops to look new again, there are a couple things to be mindful of for the first few days. 

The impregnating sealer we use to protect your stone counters from staining will be fully cured within 24 hours. Although it is not wet on the surface of your counters because it works from within the stone, you would want to keep your counters dry for those 24 hours to ensure proper cure time.  Feel free to put things back on your counters by the same night after we finish our work.

The other item to be mindful of is any caulking that we replaced around your sink or between the counter and the backsplash. Our sink caulking has a 24 hour cure time, but is safe to have light water contact 30 minutes after it is applied.  The caulking we use in the backsplash joint has a 72 hour cure time.  Although it appears to be "dry" very soon after application, we ask that you take precautions to not touch it or allow it to get wet for 3 days after we have applied it to allow it to properly cure.

Some natural stone counters are more porous than others, but most stone counters should be treated with an impregnating sealer to prevent stains.

Over time, though, even the best impregnating sealers loose their effectiveness, causing the stone to be more prone to stains.

Sometimes staining can happen from one undetected spill, but most oil staining that we see in granite counters is the result of a gradual absorption of small amounts of oily/greasy contaminates that may not be obvious until it gets progressively darker as time goes on.  This often happens along the edges of the counter and on the most used areas of the counter.

Ironically, granite counters can develop this gradual staining from improper cleaning methods.  Do not use a dish rag or dish sponge to clean your counters. No matter how much you rinse it out, it may still contain some oils in it that you would now be spreading onto the granite counter. This is even worse if the counters are wiped down and left wet until they air dry, since this would give the contaminates more time to soak into the stone.

We often see the edges of granite counters darker where they are touched or leaned on frequently. This is caused by the oils from our skin transferring to the granite and soaking in little by little.

How to prevent oil staining:

• Wipe down the counters often with a quality stone cleaner and a clean towel. 
• Make sure to seal your granite every 1-3 years (depending on the type of stone) in order to keep your stone the most resistant to staining agents.

Even with quality impregnating stone sealers, they do not make your stone completely stain proof. They are effective at repelling oil and liquids, but they really are just giving you time to clean the contaminates off the counters before a stain can occur.  So even with properly sealed counters, it is important to keep them clean and dry.

What if I have oil stains on my granite counter?

Please check out our other topic, "How to remove stains from granite counters"

Stain treatment on stone counters is a simple process, but often requires patience.  

There is waiting time to let the stain treatment work, and often, multiple treatments are needed.

Stains are removed by applying a poultice to the counter where the stain is.  

The poultice is made of two key elements: (1) An absorbant medium such as diatomaceous earth (powder) or even layered paper towels and (2) a liquid designed to breakup the staining agent.

Oil based stains:

For oil/grease based stains, we use a degreasing cleaner that is readily available called Greased Lightning. We prefer this product because it is a clear liquid, so doen't have any dyes in it that could potentially discolor the stone.

Organic stains:

For colored stains from fruits, berries, coffee, potted plants, etc we suggest using hydrogen peroxide to remove the stains.

Process: (Paper Towel Method)

• Take a picture of the stained area.
• Layer at least 3 paper towels on top of each other over the stained area, extending the boundries of the stain by about an inch at least.
• Soak the paper towels with the degreaser liquid (for oil stains) or hydrogen peroxide (for organic/berry stains).
• Cover the immediate area with plastic wrap and tape down the edges to keep the poultice wet so the stain removing liquid doesn't dry out before it can soak into the stone.
• Leave covered for 24 hours
• After 24 hours, cut slits in plastic wrap, or remove the plastic/tape to allow the poutice to start drying out naturally
• Allow the paper towels to naturally dry out completely before removing or disturbing in any way.  This dry time is when the stain is actually being pulled out of the stone, so if the paper towels are removed before they are completely dry, the effectiveness of the treatment is compromised.
• After removing the dried out paper towels, clean the area with water and a clean towel. Allow to dry.
• Determine if there is an improvement in the stain or if it was removed.  
• Compare area with your "before" picture
• Repeat process if necessary.

Alternate Poultice Material

If preferred, diatomaceous earth powder can be used as the poultice medium instead of paper towels. The only difference is you would mix your liquid degreaser or hydrogen peroxide with the powder to make a peanut butter like consistency. This can be applied to the stained area at a thickness of about 1/8"-1/4", overlapping it by about an inch.  This would be covered with plastic and the rest of the process as outlined above.

This is a very simple process for homeowners to do, but please let us know if you have any questions about it.

After you have removed the stain in your countertop, we would be happy to take care of any polishing, repairs and sealing that you would like done to make your counters look new and protected again.