DIY Granite Cleaner / Spray

17 years ago

Found this on the internet and it works really well. We have darker colored granite counter tops that are worse than a black car when trying to make them shine and look good.

Get a spray bottle and fill with 1 part rubbing alcohol, 20 parts water and about 1 or 2 drops of dish detergent (dawn or the like).

This has a PH of near 7 which is ideal for granite and its sealant.

Also much less expensive than commercial granite sprays. Much more effective in my opinion too!

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Comment (1)

ilene_in_neok
17 years ago
Hey, thank you so much for posting this!

I had granite counter tops installed and I haven't been very happy with them at all. They were sure beautiful when they were installed. I got "moon valley" which is a combination of beiges with shots of iridescent white, veins of blue/black and spots of maroon.

I had no idea granite was so hard to keep looking nice! For one thing, you can't tell by looking that you need to wipe your counter off, or that you've missed a spot. My old butcher-block formica made it easy to see that. Every time you spill a liquid, it makes a dark gray area till it's dry. But the absolute worst thing about it is that if you spill something greasy, it makes a dark spot that doesn't disappear when I clean it.

I called the people who installed it, and the man came and was nice but with a bit of an ugly undertone. While he was all smiling and seemingly concerned, he remarked (a) that he thought the dark spots were just veins of quartzite, which are normally that dark (hinting it had always been there and I was just imagining the whole thing?) (b) he didn't mind stopping by and doing this for us because we're "nice" and lots of their customers aren't (I wonder why), and (c) that he normally charges $125 to strip and re-seal granite tops.

He also informed me that granite tops sometimes have to be stripped and re-sealed every couple of years! Ow!

I watched as he worked. He just used Lysol spray disinfectant to strip the counters. Immediately I thought, if they strip THAT easily, my counters will need resealing every couple of weeks! He used something in a can that had a pleasant smell -- something industrial-looking that was named something obvious, like "Granite Seal" or something, poured that on, and buffed it down with one of those car-wax buffers.

To say the least, I would never get granite counters again. So far, the only advantage I can see is that they make your kitchen look "updated", and that I can knead bread on the counter without using any flour.

I suppose I shouldn't be kneading bread on these counters, because any shortening that's in the dough will discolor the finish, and if that's the case then I'm even more disappointed in them.

I'll try your formula for cleaning the counters. Maybe it will help remove the grease spots. Thanks again!
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As with the alcohol and water, I'd seen "recipes" using varying # of drops of oil--I've been topping off my spray bottles before they are empty, so I add different am'ts. I think I tend to add somewhere around 10-15 give or take? I mostly go by smell--just enough to smell the lavendar, not so much that it's overpowering. I've just started using this concoction, so I've been playing around with proportions and in two very different size spray bottles; one very small and one much taller. I wish I could give a more definitive answer. Yes, regular isopropyl rubbing alcohol. I've been using the 70% strength (which is more commonly on the shelves), but have read a few "recipes" using 90%. I don't know if it matters or not.
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No Soap: no windex: no retail brands: I bought methods for my hands & for the first time: cleaned the little area around my black galaxy desk at same time. OH NO: looks terrible: I know better! Go on Ebay if you are serious: or look up Hard Rock tools on the web: for store in your area. They sell stone pro. they have a website: and sell on ebay. I love their products: I have granite all over my house: so I can say that I use the daily and the polisher and it's the best: from experience: www.stoneproonline.com also: I have heard that simple green is very safe. Retail brands that say safe: NO false advertising. If you want to keep your granite shinny and looking great: use the correct cleaners. Commercial brand vs. retial. My best advise! for example: daily cleaner has ph of 4.5; and if you buy bottle that you dillute: it's states only use distilled water! when mixing. Grout same way: when mixing grout: should use distilled water: Mapei states that too! It's all about chemical reaction. Polisher is awesome. that is all that I can say!
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I use 70% isopropyl alcohol (I think it's the strength rec by that doctor). I add the essential Lavender oil (I've seen it at Fairway, Whole Foods, Mrs. Green's, organic/health food stores....) because it has anti-bacterial properties of its own, and I like the scent. I've read (here) that it may alter the surface tension (of the alcohol and water) favorably as well. You can use as little as 10% alcohol to (90%) water and it will disinfect (again, according to the doctor), however, I use a higher am't of alcohol because it smears less, and cleans better. I started out using ~30% alcohol, but use somewhere around 50%-50% now. It's not exact. I top off my spray bottle when it gets low, or when I don't want to wait for it to become low. I eyeball the amounts, and leave a little room at the top of the bottle to tweak amounts as desired (I go by smell; just enough alcohol, just enough lavender... and by spray/wiping without smearing or streaking). I add maybe 20 drops of lavender oil, plus or minus. You can use other essential oils if you prefer. Tea tree oil is another one with natural anti-bac properties. I don't much care for it's scent, and avoided it because it is harmful to cats (don't know about dogs or other pets). I had resisted "making my own cleaner" for the first few years after our kitchen reno, but I do like this much better than the prepared products I'd been using, and I use it on the black enamel burner pans on our Wolf range, SS appliances, as well as on our granite. It's easy enough to mix up, and cheaper, too. I buy the larger bottles of alcohol, and try to pick up a few bottles when they're on sale. The lavender oil bottle, small as it is, lasts a long time.
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DIY Granite Cleaner / Spray

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ilene_in_neok

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