Clean stone surfaces with a neutral cleaner, stone soap, or a mild liquid dishwashing detergent and warm water. Similar to any item cleaned in your home, an excessive concentration of cleaner or soap may leave a film and cause streaks. Follow manufacturer recommendations.
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.
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.
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. Unfortunately, whenever natural stone is damaged it cannot always be repaired back to its original condition.
Cleaning large stones, boulders & feature stones
Cover the stones in a combination of water and washing up liquid or vinegar and use a scrubbing brush to clean the surface, removing any dirt and algae. Once done, you can rinse with a hosepipe to reveal the natural stone colour below.
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.
When using Dawn Powerwash, you should avoid cleaning porous surfaces such as marble and other soft natural stones or untreated wood. It is also best to keep Dawn Powerwash away from painted surfaces, too.
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.
'Avoid over-cleaning it as this will destroy the patina of age which gives the floor its character. If necessary, work gently using a non-acidic cleaner, such as washing soda, a soft scrubbing brush or mop and clean water, but never soak the floor.
In most instances, using a basic mixture of soap and water will be enough to clean any dirt and debris off your natural stone. To do so you, mix a bucket of warm water with an acid-free washing-up liquid to avoid any staining or discoloration.
Rubbing alcohol is a natural bactericide and can also kill fungus and viruses. It has no ill effects on your granite or the seal on your granite so it's an ideal way to keep countertops clean. The list of disinfectants that are harmful for granite countertops is very long.
Use pH balanced cleaners and soap less detergents for daily cleaning. Mild dishwashing liquid sometimes works quite well on stone surfaces. Again, it is very important to rinse the tile and grout thoroughly to remove any remaining cleaner. Agitate grout joints with a soft bristled brush to loosen debris.
Keep It Simple to Clean Natural Stone
“I always recommend starting slow, and if you need something a little more aggressive, going up from there,” Alicandro says. You can use any type of mild soap detergent, such as dish or hand soap, and mix it with a little water.
When you learn how to make Dawn Powerwash, you'll be shocked that it only has three ingredients! It's just blue Dawn dish soap, water, and rubbing alcohol.
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.
White vinegar spritzed onto the tile will do a great job if you let it work for about 30 minutes and then scrub and rinse. Yes, there may be a slight odor, but your pebble-stone shower floor will look good for years.
Mechanical- Hydrogen peroxide bubbles can dislodge dust, clay, and other remnants left behind from digging the stone out. It works better than just soap and water in many cases, especially when you've got a lot of small cracks and crevices to deal with.