Limescale on granite

[Butterbur]

My lovely polished granite worktops are getting marked with limescale round the taps. How do I get rid of this? The stone mason said no citric acid, and Viakal says not for natural stone. These are my two trusty standbys. Stone mason gave us some (probably very expensive) French spray, which looks like water, and might as well be for all the good it does.

I had no idea granite was so temperamental. Apparently no olive oil must ever touch it either.

No olive oil ? what ?

Goodness my granite is a heck of a lot tougher than that...

I use method granite cleaner and its fab.

Presumably you live in a hard water area (I dont) arent you supposed to add distilled vinegar and then rub off ? I also thought a gentle rub with a pumice stone was supposed to remove limescale >

Not sure what's so corrosive about olive oil. He didn't mention other vegetable oils. I didn't think of vinegar. I will try it on the sample I've got somewhere or other. Will also look out for Method.

Hi, I am wondering how limescale might affect granite worktops too. We're thinking of investing in a new kitchen with granite (so expensive!) but I'm also worried about keeping the granite in a nice condition, because we also live in a hard water area, the limescale is terrible and I was going to ask anyone for their recommendation on how to clean it; If you were to just wipe it down with a damp cloth would it leave horrible marks? Wondering if we should get a different type of worktop like Quartz instead for practicality??? Any thoughts?
Thanks...

We had black granite in a hard water area - it was a nightmare to clean the limescale. In the end I got desparate and used a scourer to remove it and then polished it up with a Granite polish from Lakeland - only did this on special occasions as it was a bit more effort than I wished to exert...new kitchen will have a pale coloured Quartz - which is more robust and we are having a water softener fitted!

We have black granite in a hard water area!The kitchen guy said to use a little 'shiny sinks', this now has a recommendation for granite on the front. I have used it and it seems to have done the trick.

I am now worried as your stonemason said no citric acid.

I too hadn't realised about the olive oil, but hey ho I am sure I will more relaxed about it eventually .

I use worktop wonder from lakeland to keep my granite polished.

franimal cleaning can be a pain but I've found that if you wipe it down with a microfibre cloth as opposed to a washing up cloth then it looks better.

I once knocked over a full one litre bottle of olive oil on my granite worktop it promptly smashed and the lake of olive oil spread nicely over the granite, the cupboards, and the floor

After I'd cleaned it up (it seemed like an endless task which took what seemed like an eternity) the worktop was beautifully shiny. wouldn't recommend it though.

I did use an acid cleaner around the sink initially - unfortunately I didn't get any advice from the granite guy - the result was a horrible cloudy look to the stone...that need polishing to bring it up - maybe I had dodgy granite.

The olive oil thing might just be that it soaks in and causes stains, rather than corroding it?

I've got a grey marble table top which has stained quite badly with oil spills and melted candle wax, it's probably more porous than your average kitchen surface though.

Thanks guys it's really useful feedback. Although I've always wanted granite, I'm now thinking Quartz composite might be the better option for cost and maintenance, though we hope to install one of those limescale softeners too; Also considering earthstone though I'm not as keen on the matt look. We have a baby on the way so it needs to be practical! And we do use lemon/olive oil a lot on salads etc, sure to be plenty of accidents. It's a tough decision!

The thing with oil is to mop up spills quickly (doesn't need to be immediate). We had a new kitchen with black granite a few months ago, and the fitters told me that any fat spills should be cleaned as if they are left overnight they can mark the granite. Any fats, not just olive oil!

Can't comment on the limescale, we have a water softener fitted, but we still make sure we wipe down the draining board (grooves in the granite) after washing up, to be on the safe side.

Oh God, I just use Viakal. I don't leave it on, though, just squirt it on and wipe it straight off. Doesn't seem to have had any detrimental effect on my black granite, but hey ho, I'm a lazy slattern.

And I keep my bottle of olive oil out on the counter next to the hob and it doesn't seem to have done any damage.

I will of course be more careful from now on, having read all your stories/advice!

Thats awesome to see, great luxurious way to present your living life.I have got it from one of our local Marbles Directory

Hi there,

method granite cleaner is probably one of the best cleaners around, however, if you're in a very hard water area, then the only way to protect your investment is a block salt water softener. Be prepared to pay around £1000+ fitting but it will remove 100% of your limescale and have so many beenfits for your family's skin, hair and all your domestic appliances too :-). If you're in Bucks call Aquavitae Ltd, they're brill!

Also, someone said they wanted granite but it was too expensive, call Domus in Slough, good quality and great value for money.

Good luck!

I am planning on having granite fitted in a pale colour.The stonemason has said it will need to be sealed with an penetrating stone sealer upon fitting.This will need to be repeated 6-12 monthly.I have already tested it with highly coloured sauces etc. prior to sealing and it was fine.Marble is susceptible to damage from acidic foods,not granite.Likewise the paler granites are less tough than the darker granites apparently as they are more permeable.Quartz is very brittle at the edges and can easily get damaged so with 4 dc's i am going for granite .

I am planning on having granite fitted in a pale colour.The stonemason has said it will need to be sealed with an penetrating stone sealer upon fitting.This will need to be repeated 6-12 monthly.I have already tested it with highly coloured sauces etc. prior to sealing and it was fine.Marble is susceptible to damage from acidic foods,not granite.Likewise the paler granites are less tough than the darker granites apparently as they are more permeable.Quartz is very brittle at the edges and can easily get damaged so with 4 dc's i am going for granite .

I have black granite and the only thing we were warned about getting on it was lemon juice. Any splashes we have get wiped off soon after and weve never had a problem. Never had an issue with fat/oil and use baby oil to polish stainless steel stuff and never had a problem. We live in hard water area and have a water softener but still get a little lime around the tap from our drinking water and the granite guy told us to use fine steel wool to polish it off - takes a bit of elbow grease but works a treat. DH also uses pink cillit bang if he cant be arsed to wire wool it and hasnt damaged it so far!

I have black galaxy star granite worktops and live in a hard water area. The granite was sealed when it was first fitted 4 years ago but not since. Black granite is definitely tougher than lighter coloured granite. I agree with myjeansaretootight that Shiny Sinks works fantastic at keeping the worktop shiny and removing limescale - you can usually pick it up at most supermarkets. After 4 years, my worktop still looks stunning.