Cleaning

From St. Peter’s Basilica to the Roman Colosseum and even the lobby walls of Willis Tower (formerly Sears Tower), travertine has been used as a building material all over the world throughout history. Travertine is a sedimentary form of limestone that mostly forms in hot springs and caves in large deposits of calcium carbonate. In…

With the widespread popularity of granite and marble countertops, we’ve seen more and more people choose slate as stone countertop alternative. Not only does slate offer a unique look over other options, but there are practical benefits as well. Not only is slate usually less expensive than granite or marble, but it’s a tough material…

Some great ideas have come out of this trend of lifehack sites and brought with them a resurgence in DIY ingenuity that we love to see. Sites like Lifehacker share great guides and tips, but some other sites or blogs have fallen into the trap of quantity over quality as of late. With that has…

Having been used throughout history as a famously high end and luxurious building material, adorning everything from the Taj Mahal, to the ancient Egyptian pyramids and ubiquitous carved columns in Greece. To this day marble is prized for its high-class appearance, structural rigidity and unparalleled timelessness. However, all that beauty requires some rather specific maintenance…

Slate has been a staple building material for hundreds of years, from historical buildings in Pennsylvania sporting slate features, to now where it’s seeing a bit of a resurgence. With modern rustic design becoming huge over the last decade that seems to have risen hand-in-hand with the craft brewery boom. For a local example to…

In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, many of us are reconsidering how we go about our cleaning routines. This and other recent health scares shed light on how paramount it is to maintain clean and safe food-prep surfaces especially. With that being said, there are special considerations to keep in mind when it comes to…

Stone paved floors, walkways and roads have been an architectural staple for hundreds of years for good reason: they last. Now in an age of man-made concrete and pavement replacing stone for most of these tasks, a well done natural-stone patio has become quite the luxury for homeowners. A great place to cook, spend time…

In this continually changing landscape of health concerns, it’s more important than ever to stay informed on best health practices — especially when dealing with food-prep surfaces such as your countertops. When it comes to natural-stone surfaces in particular, there are more considerations in terms of cleaning, disinfecting and caring for than with other materials….

If it was good enough to make up the majority of the Colosseum’s structure, we think it’s a safe bet travertine is up to the task in your home. That’s not to say this tough stone is maintenance free, though. While it has mostly stood the test of time structurally in Rome, keeping this natural…

If there is one thing that we’ve learned from MTV Cribs, it’s that the bedroom is where all the magic happens (seriously, they all say that). If there are two things we’ve learned, the second would be that natural-stone showers are a staple feature of just about every celebrity mansion since at least the year…

The sodium bicarbonate powdered compound more commonly known as baking soda was first produced in the year 1791 by a French chemist, and one of its first applications outside of the laboratory was mentioned by the British author Rudyard Kipling in the early 1800s as a product used by fishermen to prevent early spoilage of…

Travertine is one of those natural stones that happen to be more popular than most people realize. In fact, some people think marble and limestone are synonymous with travertine, and this isn’t completely inaccurate. Both marble and travertine can be considered limestone because of the high concentration of calcite minerals, but their geological formation processes…

Granite flooring and countertops look great, particularly if the stone has been honed and polished to a glossy finish, but when a cloudy film forms on the surface, you get the opposite effect. With haziness and cloudiness on granite surfaces, there are various levels of causes and severity. In most situations, this is something you…

When it comes to proper maintenance of natural-stone or engineered flooring and countertops, selection of cleaning products is crucial. Unlike solid surface, laminate, and ceramic construction materials, quartz and natural stone are more sensitive to the chemicals found in common household cleaners. For this reason, Granite Gold® offers cleaning products specifically formulated for natural stone…

In a memorable episode of the reality television series Keeping Up with the Kardashians, Kylie Jenner mentioned that her office featured a marble shower, which wasn’t actually shown until she posted a photograph of it on Instagram. While a marble shower in an office may seem to be over the top, light-colored natural-stone surfaces are…

After choosing natural stone for your kitchen floors and countertops, it’s only natural that you’d consider extending this choice to your backsplash sections. The rationale behind backsplashes is more than aesthetic. You want to protect the walls from everything that can splash onto them during meal preparation, but you also don’t want to compromise the…

Not all types of natural stone are created equal. For example, igneous rocks are formed by plutonic and volcanic processes that start out as magma before numerous minerals solidify and crystallize by means of pressure or cooling down. Sedimentary rocks such as sandstone are formed by detritus, precipitation, and chemical reactions. Metamorphic rocks such as…

Natural stone on outdoor spaces such as courtyards, garden paths, and entryways will always add a touch of elegance to a home. However, this kind of upgrade requires a certain level of maintenance to protect your investment from being damaged by the elements. Environmental stains caused by dust and acid rain are major concerns in…

Proper maintenance of natural-stone flooring boils down to realizing that Mother Nature created and nurtured the beautiful surfaces of your home, and now it’s up to you to care for them. The finishing process stone tiles go through prior to installation isn’t natural. The polished limestone floors that adorn your foyer didn’t look like that…

The beauty of natural stone makes it one of the most popular materials for bathroom countertops, but it’s still susceptible to surface stains, particularly from makeup and personal hygiene products. Even the least porous natural stones such as slate, granite, and soapstone can be stained by lipstick, mascara, and other types of makeup if not…

Soap and water is one of the most common household cleaning mixtures, but it cannot be recommended for natural-stone surfaces. Despite having gone through millions of years and heavy geological processes of formation, natural stone such as marble, granite, and travertine won’t react well to many of the substances that make up common household cleaning…