“How often does my granite need to be sealed?”
I can’t tell you how often I get asked that question. The short answer is “It depends.” As with most natural products, stone properties such as density, porosity and hardness vary widely.
At the end of every installation process, we perform a final application of a high quality impregnating sealer to your stone. This sealer should be good for 2-4 years. Impregnators protect against staining by making the stone surface repel water and oil. By keeping water and oils out of the stone surface, these sealers prevent most staining or simplify stain removal. After treatment, natural stone surfaces including granite, marble, slate and other stones are easier to maintain and will retain their beautiful appearance for many years.
The simplest way to test the sealer on your countertops is to drop a little water on them. If it beads up on the surface and doesn’t soak in – you’re good to go. This indicates the sealer is still effective and working properly. If it completely soaks in within a few minutes, you’re due for another application of sealer. Please contact us and we’ll get you further instructions for resealing.
Sealing is not a case where a little is good so more must be better. We’ve been called out to homes where the counters were sealed monthly. At some point, the stone cannot absorb any more sealer and it begins to dry on the surface, leaving behind a sticky mess. Cleaning up that mess requires solvent and lot of elbow grease.
