Natural stone should be cleaned once a week with a pH-neutral cleaning product like
Spray your pebbles with white vinegar and let sit for about 10 minutes. Then, simply scrub and rinse. Pebble floors can look daunting at first glance, but with relative ease, you can keep yours looking amazing for decades to come.
Keep the Tiles Clean
It is important to avoid products with acid or ammonia, both of which can damage the natural stone. With Rock Doctor's Granite and Quartz Cleaner, you can safely clean all of your natural stone surfaces—even the pesky shower tiles.
Fill a bucket with a gallon of warm water and use just the water or mix in a small amount of Neutral All-Purpose-Cleaner, Dish Soap or the manufacturers recommended cleaning solution. Change the solution when it gets cloudy or dirty.
Sulfamic and phosphoric acids are the safest and most used acids used in solving tile and grout cleaning problems. These two acids have very specific mixing and application recommendations that must be followed to the letter. Regardless, thoroughly rinse the cleaned area, dry, and polish.
Maintenance and Cleaning of Natural Stone Surfaces
Never use abrasive cleansers, “soft scrub” products, or harsh/acidic chemicals on any stone as these can scratch or dull the polished finish. This includes substances like ammonia or many common liquid cleaners, such as Windex.
Stone floor tiles
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.
Can you clean stone floors with vinegar? Although cleaning with vinegar can work on other floor types, it's acidic and will eat away at the surface of your stone flooring. It should be avoided at all costs along with any other acidic solutions containing white vinegar, lemon or ammonia.
Cleaning your stone shower once a week can help reduce grime, water deposits, and mildew build-up. Use stone-safe products, rather than vinegar or ammonia. Such products are too harsh on stone; their acids break down sealants and discolor surfaces.
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.
Stone should be sealed when used in bathrooms that receive daily use. “We recommend a penetrating sealer once a year,” says Tabbah. “It helps repel water so it beads up instead of soaking in and turning the stone darker.”
Keeping a pebble-stone shower floor clean is somewhat easy, but many people don't want to invest the time to do it. You need to scrub the floor at least once a week to get rid of body oil, soap and shampoo residue, and plain old dirt. These things are food for mold and mildew.
First, you need to mix two cups of baking soda and one cup of water, then apply this solution to the grout with a cloth. Wait 8 hours and now take a soft bristle brush and start cleaning the stones thoroughly. In the end, wash the floor and use a sponge to absorb moisture.
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.
Acidic commercial cleaners and those containing harsh chemicals, like bleach, can damage and dull natural stone surfaces.
Equally, make sure the stuff doesn't remain on the surface for more than a few seconds. If you use it too often, your marble could end up looking rather dull. Even light abrasives like baking soda can still damage stone surfaces.
We've said it before (and we'll say it again) DO NOT use Murphy's Oil Soap on any natural stone surface. Following our 20 years experience and the Marble Institute of America's Maintenance Guidelines, we recommend a neutral PH rinseless stone soap, used with an unbleached clean nylon pad to clean stone.
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.
If you see a white, powdery residue on your stone, it may be a sign of efflorescence. It's a clear indication of water damage. The sooner you catch it, the fewer repairs you'll have to do.
Stone must be sealed regularly, and it can be difficult to clean if it's highly textured or has wide grout lines. You can certainly use natural stone in a shower, but stick to stone tile or slabs and small grout joints, and choose a slip-resistant surface for shower floors.
Most cleaning experts recommend using a pH-neutral, stone safe cleaner. Spray the product onto the surface and allow some time for it to break down the compounds of the residue. Use a soft cloth or a non-scratch pad to rub and scour the area as it helps to even the surface.