Sealing Your Granite Countertop – A D.I.Y. Project

Granite is among the most popular materials for kitchen countertops and its popularity is mainly due to its natural resilience and hardness. But even if this material seems to be quite impregnable, it also has a natural absorbent quality. This is the main reason why sealing is so important in the case of a granite kitchen countertop.

Granite countertops need sealing in order to keep chemicals and other possibly damaging substances away from their inner structure. Once chemicals are inside a granite countertop, they can make this material more prone to discoloration and staining. The general rule concerning the sealing of a granite countertop is to have your countertop sealed twice a year in order to maintain all its initial qualities. However, the actual sealing frequency is going to depend on the location of your granite countertop and on how much you are using it.

For instance, a more frequently used granite countertop needs sealing as often as every 3 or 4 months. But if you do not use your granite countertop very often, you may seal it just once a year. You can do this task by yourself or you can hire a professional to do the job. Some homeowners are keen on using special granite sealants while others who are on a very tight budget prefer to use some car wax in order to take proper care of the problem.

Once you have your granite countertop sealed, you will have to practice a daily clearance in order to promote the achieved durability of this material.  Also, you should know that acidic solutions are likely to damage the granite sealant thus making the whole countertop more prone to possible discoloration and staining. Because of this, non-acidic cleaners are to be used in order to take proper acre of your sealed granite countertop.

Here are the main steps to be followed when you want to seal your granite countertop all by yourself – just make sure that you have a pretty reliable granite sealer, a brush, towel, sponge and cleaning products.

• First, you will have to clear the granite countertop and use the cleaning products in order to wipe away any possible stains. Dirt is o be removed by using the sponge and drying the whole granite surface with the towel.

• Next, you will have to apply the granite sealer by using the brush or the towel. Make sure that you allow the first coat to dry for at least 4 or 5 minutes. Next, you will have to apply the second coat on the granite countertop.

• Thirdly, you will have to allow the granite sealer to dry – you will have to do this according to the instructions provided by its manufacturer. You can return your kitchen items on the granite countertop only when you are sure that the granite sealer has dried completely.