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 A friend of mine has his own granite importation company. He is a chemical engineer by training. After writing my column, I submitted my article to Pradeep Satyaprakash for review. Pradeep responded:
“My background is chemical engineering, so I know a lot about chemicals. A lot of cleaners have sodium hydroxide (lye), which is a base compound (as opposed to acidic compounds). To neutralize a base, you would use a weak acid solution (think vinegar). To neutralize an acid, you would use a base, like bicarbonate. So you need to check the cleaners' guidelines for how to neutralize it. You don't want to put a basic neutralizer on a base cleaner, as all this will do is aggravate the chemical process.”
“Also, sodium hydroxide cleaners are very caustic and will destroy skin and eyes relatively easily. Emphasizing the safety aspect is good.”
“Also, I've heard of a trick where people run a blow torch on stone to lighten the color if it has been darkened with a stain or a dark imperfection, et cetera. Doing this on colored granite, or any granite for that matter, will destroy the stone. The moisture in the stone will vaporize and cause that portion of the stone face to weaken. This can lead to cracking, chipping, loss of polished surface, and also, sometimes color loss.”
“One should not use kerosene or diesel as a solvent on the stone for any reason, because they will absorb (both are considered heating oils) into the stone surface and stain and discolor the stone, and also leave a smell that will be very difficult to remove.”
“Stains from animal droppings and berries (gooseberry, blackberry, etc.) can be removed by washing with a warm soap and water solution and then letting the sun's UV rays ‘bleach out’ the stain. This works on both gray granite and also on Indian-colored stones.
My advice is to be careful when cleaning any stone, and if you don’t know what your are doing, it is better to hire an expert.
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