Granite Kitchen Worktop Stained with Limescale Renovated in Folkestone Kent

Although expensive Granite makes the most beautiful and practical stone worktop you can install in your kitchen. It gives real wow factor to a room and this kitchen in Folkestone was no different. Normally granite needs little maintenance however Folkestone has very hard water (often referred to as limescale) containing high levels of calcium and over time the calcium in the water gets deposited on nearby surfaces. According to the Affinity Water website the water in Folkestone contains 287.5 mg of calcium per litre which is classed as hard.

The owner of the property contacted us explaining that due to this problem the build-up of calcium deposits had overtaken her sink and countertop to a degree that she couldn`t deal with it through normal cleaning and a restoration was required. There are several household products on the market that can remove limescale however you need to be very careful when using these on natural stone as they use acids to break down the calcium and this can etch stone making the problem worse (always read the label). I went and had a look at the problem and gave her a quote for resolving the problem, which she was happy to accept.

Removing Limescale from a Granite Worktop and Sink

Before starting the renovation, I protected the floor with dust sheets and the walls with a blue film that is easy to remove. Then to tackle the limescale I carefully went over each part of the Granite counter using a set of six-inch Tile Doctor Burnishing pads applying them in sequence from coarse to extra fine. To give extra cleaning power the coarser pads were applied with Tile Doctor Oxy-Gel which is an alkaline cleaning gel. The pads were fitted to a hand buffer and the soil generated by the abrasive pads was rinsed off between pads with water. For the finer detail such as the groves in the granite draining board, I used diamond encrusted handheld burnishing blocks of various grits. With the combination of diamond tooling and lots of elbow grease the job took around five hours to complete and the granite now has the polished look it deserves.

Granite Kitchen Worktop Aftercare

The granite worksurface does not require an actual sealer to be applied. However, maintenance is the key to keeping the stone in great condition so for aftercare I left the owner with a bottle of Tile Doctor Stone Patina Spray. This product is designed for cleaning stone worktops and contains a special ingredient that maintains the lustre. This should ensure the Limescale becomes manageable and can be cleaned more easily.

I made a striking difference to the appearance of the Granite Worktop and the owner was over the moon with the result.

 

Source: Granite Polishing and Renovation Service in Folkestone, Kent