Cleaning natural stone is easy. Just use soap, warm water, and a non-abrasive cloth or sponge. Thoroughly scrub the entire surface with soap and water. Rinse the sponge, repeat with a clean, damp sponge to remove soap residue, and then dry with a soft dish or hand towel.
Only treat mildew and mold with bleach.
While bleach is a standard cleaning product for most showers, it can be too harsh if excessively used on stone. However, spraying a one-to-one bleach-to-water mixture directly on mildew/mold will kill the bacteria almost instantly.
Natural stone should be cleaned once a week with a pH-neutral cleaning product like Simple Green All-Purpose Cleaner. The powerful cleaner dissolves tough soils and buildup without damaging your beautiful stone surfaces, and removes soap scum, body oils and greases, bath oils, soap, and shampoo oils.
The simplest answer is no, it is best to avoid bleach when cleaning any type of natural stone. Many home cleaning products, particularly bleach and vinegar, are too harsh or acidic to be on natural stone. These cleaners strip down the stone and leave it in a weak, damaged state.
A one-to-one mixture of bleach and water in a spray bottle will work perfectly. Spray the affected area; scrub it with your gentle brush, and wipe it clean. Using bleach against mold spots is often better than only using your stone cleaner. The bleach will kill spores and help prevent any resurgence of mold.
Dry the Tiles After Showering
Leaving natural stone wet all of the time can lead to mildew and mold growth. Daily, or after each shower, you can use a squeegee or microfiber cloth to dry the tiles thoroughly. A squeegee removes a lot of the moisture, which allows the tiles to dry faster on their own.
Clean stone surfaces with warm water and a mild soap such as a clear Dawn Liquid Soap. Do not use products that contain lemon, vinegar or other acids on marble or limestone. Rinse the surface thoroughly after washing with the soap solution and dry with a soft cloth. Change the rinse water frequently.
When cleaning natural stones like marble, limestone, and onyx, you can't reach for your regular cleaners like white vinegar, lemon juice, bleach, or abrasive cleansers. These cleaners are too acidic for natural stone and can damage or etch the stone (although some can help remove rust from concrete).
You should not use Lysol on your granite countertops, backsplashes or vanity tops. The cleaner contains harsh ingredients that can cause your sealer to lose its effectiveness. In specific, scents such as lemon contain citric acid, so you need to keep away from those.
If you have natural stone tiles anywhere in your house, avoid cleaning them with vinegar, lemon, or ammonia. The acidity in the products etches and dulls the stone, says Elena Ledoux, owner of Superb Maids in Las Vegas, Nevada. To repair, it will require a very expensive re-polishing process.
Baking soda is known as a stain remover. It can help to remove liquid stains such as tea, wine or coffee. It also helps to remove the unpleasant smells. It is quite affective on solid surfaces in general but it is not advised to use baking soda directly on natural stone surfaces.
On light colored stones, clean with bleach or hydrogen peroxide. On dark colored stones, clean with lacquer thinner or acetone. Small amounts can be removed with lacquer thinner or scraped off carefully with a razor blade.
A natural solution made of equal parts distilled white vinegar and hot water works well on soap scum and grime. White vinegar is safe on ceramic tile and fiberglass, but will not work on marble. Using a soft-bristled brush or sponge, scrub the tiles and grout.
Depending on where you live, you may to battle hard water stains on your pebble stone shower floor. If you start noticing white spots on your floors, it's time to take action. Spray your pebbles with white vinegar and let sit for about 10 minutes. Then, simply scrub and rinse.
“Stone can be a good choice for the shower, but it does require special care and maintenance,” says David Bonasera, owner of ESP, a San Jose, California-based distributor of environmentally safe cleaning and sealing products for natural stone. “The most important thing you can do is to be a good steward to the stone.”
DON'T: Use harsh or abrasive cleaners and sponges.
Windex; acidic cleaners, like vinegar, lemon, lime; or anything with ammonia or bleach should be avoided. Frequent use of these chemicals will dull and weaken the sealant over time.
“Vinegar and bleach are harsh,” adds Gregg Laviolette, owner of Stone Restoration Services in Troy, Michigan. “They will etch or burn the surface of your stone.” While some chemicals may not noticeably damage durable stones such as granite, they can break down any sealers that have been applied to the stone.
Clean stone surfaces with a few drops of neutral cleaner, stone soap (specific products from Lithofin for example), or a dishwashing detergent and warm water. Use a clean soft cloth for best results. Too much cleaner or soap may leave a film and cause streaks.
This combined with it's tolerance for water, makes soapstone an excellent choice for kitchen or bath areas. In fact, you can even use natural vinegar based cleansers on your soapstone surface. Soapstone has a beautiful light gray color, which is partly what makes it so sought after by homeowners.
Over time, the water can weaken the stone, which can lead to fissures or cracks in the tile. Eventually, the water can penetrate to the subfloor, and once it does that, it can spread to other parts of your home. Water can trap bacteria in the tile, and it can contribute to the growth of mold and mildew in the subfloor.
Scrub with Bleach and Water
Prepare a 50/50 solution of bleach and clean water to use with a soft nylon brush or pad. Allow the bleach and water solution to sit for about 15 minutes after the first scrubbing session, then finish the job by rinsing with clean water and using natural stone cleaner and sealant.
Naturally-occurring salts found in soil, water, sand, gravel and cement are dissolved by rain and groundwater. This moisture is drawn to the surface of the stone where it evaporates, leaving the salts behind as a white haze. Although unattractive, the process is completely natural and in no way damages the stone.