08 / Care Guide
Stone care,
done right.
How to keep quartz, granite, and marble looking the way they did on installation day — what to do daily, what to do yearly, and what to never reach for.
Understanding
your surface
Every surface we fabricate asks for something slightly different, but the logic underneath is the same: keep it clean, keep liquids from sitting, and keep the right products in the cupboard. Quartz is engineered with resin, so it is non-porous and never needs sealing. Granite and marble are quarried stone — porous by nature — and depend on a penetrating sealer applied at least once a year to stay stain resistant. Marble is the softer of the two and reacts to acid, which is why it etches in places where quartz and granite simply wipe clean.
None of this is difficult. Day-to-day care takes less than a minute, and the annual maintenance that natural stone needs is a fifteen-minute job you can do yourself. What matters most is consistency: a spill wiped in the moment never becomes a stain, and a sealer refreshed on schedule keeps water beading on the surface instead of soaking into it. If you would rather not think about it at all, quartz removes the guesswork entirely.
At a Glance
The numbers
behind each stone.
Hardness is measured on the Mohs scale, where talc is 1 and diamond is 10. Quartz comes in around 7, granite between 6 and 7, and marble between 3 and 5.
Quartz
- Sealing
- Never
- Hardness
- Mohs 7
- Etching
- Resists acid
- Heat
- Moderate
Granite
- Sealing
- Every 12 months
- Hardness
- Mohs 6–7
- Etching
- Resists acid
- Heat
- Excellent
Marble
- Sealing
- Every 12 months
- Hardness
- Mohs 3–5
- Etching
- Etches on acid
- Heat
- Good
The Routine
A care schedule
that fits real life.
Work down the list. The daily habits matter most on quartz and marble; the yearly task is what keeps natural stone stain resistant.
Every day
Wipe down after use
All stone · Essential
A soft microfiber cloth and warm water after cooking or a bathroom routine is all it takes. Do it while the surface is still cool, then dry the edge so water doesn't pool at the seam.
You'll need: Soft microfiber cloth, warm water
Keep trivets by the cooktop
Quartz · Essential
Quartz needs no sealing, but its resin can discolor under a hot skillet. A trivet and mild dish soap are the only two things quartz really asks for.
You'll need: Trivet, mild dish soap
Use a cutting board
All stone · Essential
Stone is hard on knife edges, and knives leave fine marks on a polished surface. Keep a board within reach and put it down out of habit.
You'll need: Wood or plastic cutting board
Wipe spills as they happen
All stone · Essential
Wine, coffee, citrus, oil, and tomato are the five that stain fastest. Blot rather than wipe so you lift the liquid instead of spreading it across a wider area.
You'll need: Cloth or paper towel
Every week
Deep clean with a pH-neutral cleaner
All stone
Once a week, clean the whole surface with a stone-specific pH-neutral cleaner rather than an all-purpose spray. Most household sprays are too alkaline or too acidic for stone.
You'll need: pH-neutral stone cleaner
Every month
Feel for dull or chalky patches
Granite
Run a hand across the surface. Chalky or dull patches on granite and marble usually mean the sealer is wearing thin and the stone is starting to drink water again.
You'll need: Nothing
Once a year
Run the water bead test
Granite
Drop a few tablespoons of water on the surface. If it beads, the sealer is still working. If it darkens the stone within a few minutes, it is time to re-seal.
You'll need: Water, soft cloth
Re-seal granite
Granite · Essential
Apply a penetrating sealer, let it sit for the time on the label, then buff off the excess with a clean cloth. This single task is what keeps granite stain resistant for the year ahead.
You'll need: Penetrating stone sealer, clean cloth
Re-seal marble
Marble · Essential
Marble is more porous than granite and benefits from annual sealing, especially in kitchens and bathrooms where citrus, soap, and oil are constant.
You'll need: Penetrating stone sealer, clean cloth
As needed
Call us for etching or chips
All stone
Etching on marble and chips along an edge are refinishing jobs, not cleaning jobs. Send a photo of the area and we will tell you whether it can be polished out on site.
You'll need: Phone
Lift a set stain with a poultice
Granite
For oil or organic stains on natural stone, apply a poultice paste over the mark, cover it with plastic overnight, and lift it away. Never scrub a stain deeper into the stone.
You'll need: Stone poultice powder, plastic wrap
Four Things
What to keep
away from stone.
Almost every damaged countertop we are called out to inspect traces back to one of these four. Avoiding them is the whole maintenance strategy.
Acids
Vinegar, lemon, bleach, and bathroom cleaners etch marble and dull granite. Reach for a pH-neutral stone cleaner instead.
Direct heat
Set hot pans on a trivet. Quartz resin and polished stone can discolor under sustained heat from a hot skillet.
Standing liquid
Wipe wine, coffee, oil, and citrus as they happen. The longer a spill sits, the deeper it reaches into porous stone.
Abrasives
Steel wool, scouring powder, and generic cream cleansers scratch the polish. Soft cloth and mild soap are enough.
Still unsure?
Send us a photo of your surface and we'll tell you exactly what it needs.
Talk to our team→