Learn Why you Should Avoid Acidic Cleaners on Natural Stone

You install natural stone like granite, marble, quartz, limestone, slate and such others on your flooring and countertops because of the lovely rustic look they impart. Natural stone imparts a wonderful charm to your interiors, but they also come with certain problems. They tend to get moldy and stained often because of their porosity. Cleaning them with acidic cleaners ruins their beauty and integrity forever. Read more to find out why acidic cleaners harm these stones and what should be used instead.

Why do Acidic Cleaners Harm the Natural Stone Surface?

Natural stone is very delicate and is made naturally after millions of years of rock formation under the earth’s crust. Natural stone is also highly porous. The porosity factor enables water, moisture and other liquids to penetrate deep inside the pores, leading to stubborn stain formation. Moreover, mold and mildew love to breed in damp places and hence they breed inside these pores and also multiply rapidly. When you use acidic cleaning products of a PH balance between 1 to 4, the strong concentrated liquids tarnish the outer surface and destroys the natural structure of these stones.

What are the Harmful Effects of Using Acidic Cleaners on Natural Stone?

• The strong and concentrated liquids cause etching on the surface. Etching occurs when the soft outer coating of the stone wears off and a rough patch develops on the surface. This etching easily absorbs any liquids and spills and leads to dense stain formation.
• Acidic cleaners also lead to discoloration of the natural tile color and grout. Due to the strong chemicals used in the acidic cleaners, the natural color composition of the stone is disturbed and you get a bleached or discolored surface, leading to patches on your floorings or countertops.
• Acidic cleaners penetrate the pores of the stone and cause disruption in the bonds inside, making the structure of the stone very weak and brittle.

Natural Acidic Products that Harm Natural Stone

• Even if you refrain from using acidic cleaners, you cannot avoid spills and leaks from acidic food products like citric fruits, vinegar, wine and lemon juice.
• You often cut your citric fruits like pineapple and tomatoes directly on your natural stone countertops leading to etching and discoloration.
• Sometimes, acidic and citric spills cannot be avoided in the kitchens and on floorings.
• While cleaning these spills, it is a natural tendency to spread the liquid to mop it. This spreads the acidic food product all over the space.
• Some people use acidic products like lemon and vinegar to clean their tile and grout, but such products only cause discoloration, roughness and etching on the surface.
• Acidic products rob the surface of its natural sheen.

What is the Solution?

To prevent your natural stone surfaces from getting spoiled due to acidic cleaners and acidic food and beverage spills, it is best to seal them with water-proof sealers that prevent the entry of moisture and other liquids inside the pores. You should only only alkaline cleaning products to clean your natural stone. Such products can prevent your surfaces from getting tarnished or etched, while also cleaning them efficiently.

Why should you use pFOkUS Products to Clean Natural Stone?

pFOkUS products are carefully designed and developed keeping in mind the cleaning and sealing procedure required for floorings and countertops.

• Our Imperia Deep Clean is a deep-penetrating cleaner that is alkaline in nature. It efficiently enters the pores of your natural stone and eliminates all the hidden mold and stains from within, without damaging the integrity of the tile and grout.
• Once your stone and grout have been deep cleaned, we recommend using our Grout Sealer – Caponi, to make your grout water-proof first. This will prevent any moisture absorption and keep your grout intact for years.
• Next, we suggest using our natural stone sealer – Celine, that is a clear topical resin sealer. It imparts a water-proof layer on your natural stone, thereby securing and preserving it for long.
• For weekly maintenance and cleaning, we manufacture Imperia Maintenance Cleaner that is very impactful in removing the superficial stains and dirt accumulated on the surface.

Using pFOkUS products can help you maintain the beauty and integrity of your natural stone surfaces for long.