Life has changed significantly for most of us over the past year, with Covid meaning nearly all of us are spending more time at home than ever. So with more household members likely to be around far longer during the day than ‘normal’ times (remember those?), your kitchen is likely getting a lot more use and foot traffic than it did.
That can have consequences for the wear and tear of areas like natural stone countertops, if you’re lucky enough to have them. Scratches can be caused by anything from pots and pans to the wrong kind of cleaning, knives or dropped kitchenware.
Clearly, cleaning marble, granite, quartz or other stone worktops regularly will help immeasurably. As will using chopping boards. However, mistakes and scratches still happen.
Here’s what to do if these micro-cuts have popped up in your kitchen. Test the technique on a discreet, small spot before tackling a larger, more ‘public’ area if you can.
Marble
Sprinkle baking soda over the scratch, then dampen the surface and rub in the same direction as the grain with a microfibre cloth. Alternatively, try a mix of warm water and washing up liquid with a damp cloth. Rinse with a separate cloth before buffing.
Quartz
In fact this stone resists scratching well, but if you do see these marks, clean with a paste of a tablespoon of water and up to three of baking soda. Rub this into the damaged area with a circular motion. Try buffing up a very light scratch – it could be enough to remove it. Find a polishing product that’s specifically for use on quartz, and clean the area thoroughly after use.
Granite
The technique described above also works for granite. Make up the baking soda/water paste and rinse and wipe down afterwards. The gentlest type of steel wool could also work – rub in circular motions. It’s also worth reapplying a sealant afterwards to help prevent further scratches.
Talk to Royal Stone Care
You can probably do a lot of basic marble cleaning and the like yourself. But for more advanced marble repair in London on more serious scratches and so on, you need a professional stone restoration service.
Working with a wide range of domestic and commercial clients, Royal Stone Care can help, whether you need granite worktop repair and quartz countertop repair in London.
Give us a call today and we’ll take it from there.
