With the holiday season in full swing, and the new year just around the corner, many are already looking ahead to all of the exciting life events that 2014 will bring—especially those who are preparing to buy a new home sometime next year.
Home ownership is a wonderful thing. Nothing beats the feeling you get from coming home at the end of the workday to a place that’s all your own. Want to crank up the volume on the sound system and dance around? Go for it. Feel like shouting for joy during a sports program on the TV? Do what you like; it’s your house. But, if you’ve never owned a home before, there certainly are a number of new skills to be developed. It’s unfortunate that there isn’t a week-long seminar you can take on home ownership, and it’s too bad the house doesn’t come with an owner’s manual, but the skills you need to keep your house in good order will be easily picked up over a little time. And considering that you’re sure to be spending a lot of quality time with the family in the kitchen, you’ll likely need a few tips on keeping everything sparkling and clean in there— especially the work surfaces or countertops if they’re granite.
In many parts of the country, granite countertops have been a popular kitchen building material and design element for over a decade. Granite is popular because it’s an incredibly durable and long-lasting building material. Granite also comes in a variety of colors—from Antique Brown to Black Pearl and Imperial Red to Kashmir White. In all, there are probably more granite colors to be found than the average home interior designer could ever want. And, due to the fact that granite is a natural product, there are only a few tips the homeowner needs to know in order to take care of it.
As a dense and durable igneous rock that mainly consists of quartz and mica, granite is fairly easy to clean and polish and seal. Many who have granite countertops in their home enjoy using the hard, smooth surface as a work surface during food preparation. Granite is a great surface for rolling out pie crust or dough for baked goods. Its naturally-cool nature also makes it a great surface of tempering home-made chocolate. And clean-up is a cinch.
In order to clean a granite countertop surface, you can start by simply wiping the surface down with a wet washcloth. You can also use a granite cleaner, such as the non-acidic, non-abrasive formula by Rock Doctor. Just spray on and wipe off. That’s it! Obviously, as with any cleaner, you’ll want to test a small area before putting on a full application of any cleaner. You’ll also need to pick up a rock sealer to protect your granite surfaces. Rock sealer penetrates deeply to bond with natural stone. Keep in mind that your granite surfaces should be sealed every 12 to 18 months. The granite and rock sealer from Rock Doctor is a water-based sealer that provides a gentle, but long-lasting, barrier against moisture and other elements.
This article was brought to you by Rock Doctor, which offers a line of specially-formulated stone cleaner, stone polish, and rock sealer products. Rock Doctor stone care products can be purchased through a number of fine retail stores, including Wal-Mart, Lowe’s Home Improvement, Bed Bath & Beyond, Ace Hardware, Do it Best Hardware, Hy-Vee, and Wegmans.
