It’s amazing how one small chip can almost ruin the look of your otherwise perfect granite worktops. Fortunately, if you take the necessary preventive steps, you can keep your natural stone in top condition for many years.
Sealing the surfaces
As soon as your worktops are installed, it’s important to give them a good clean before applying a suitable sealant. Sealing protects from a wide variety of types of damage from chipping to stains. It is important to seal your worktops regularly in order to ensure that they are protected.
The right setup
Next, you will need to place mats and boards on various areas of your worktops. This way, whenever you need to move a hot pot or pan from the stove, you have a safe spot to place them without worrying about damaging your worktops. Similarly, keep chopping boards within reach and never cut directly on the worktops.
Testing the seal
From time to time, you will need to reapply the sealant. If you are not sure when to do so, you can test your worktops. Apply approximate one quarter of a cup of water onto the surface and watch closely. Pay attention to the way the stone reacts. If the water forms beads, this means that the seal is intact. You can leave the water on the worktops for up to 30 minutes. If after this time, you have not seen the stone darken, your worktops are properly sealed. It’s good to test the seal on your worktops once a year to be safe.
When cleaning your worktops, make sure that you always use the appropriate substances or you could end up doing more harm than good. Wipe up spills immediately and, if any damage occurs, you should have it repaired sooner rather than later.