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How to Polish Limestone

The Easy Way to Polish Limestone

A limestone finish is an attractive choice for kitchens, outdoor paths, counters, and other parts of a home. Choosing limestone as the decor requires a lot of upkeep, however. Limestone scratches and stains easily, and breaks down with the use of chemically harsh substances. If left unchecked, your beautiful floors or counters can quickly become unpleasant to the eye. Fortunately, polishing limestone is easier than you think, and as long as you make it a periodic task, you can keep your limestone looking as good as new. To give you a hint, it involves a lot of scrubbing.

Polishing Your Limestone

Stage 1; The Initial Rinse: Sweep the floor real well, just like your mother taught you, and rinse the surface off with water to get away the first layer of any dirt and grime there might be. An easy way to do this would be to use a mop with only water and no soap, but you can use a soft washcloth if you prefer.

Stage 2; Dish Detergent: Wash your stained limestone off with soap and hot water. We recommend dish detergent because it isn’t too harsh of a substance and gets oil stains off that the water might not have done – oil and water don’t mix, after all. Using a mop for this is helpful too. Never use harsh chemicals or standard cleaning products for polishing limestone, as limestone is a sensitive substance. Using cleaning products with chemicals will only make the limestone look worse.

Stage 3; Poultice: You can buy poultice at the store or make it at home. To make the poultice, mix 1 cup of flour with 2-3 tablespoons of hydrogen peroxide. Use this to scrub out any remaining stains on your limestone finish. You can also go to the store and buy a cleaner that’s limestone friendly, but home-making your poultice is free. Rinse well after finishing.

Additional Care:

  • Scratches: After you finish your cleaning is, you might find that you have scratches on your limestone that maybe you hadn’t noticed before, or perhaps that you didn’t want to conquer until your polishing. For scratches, you can buy polish made to take scratches off of car doors and use a small amount of it. You can also sand the scratched part of the limestone down and then clean that spot afterward.
  • Sealing: Limestone typically comes sealed upon installation, but you can take good care of your limestone by using limestone-friendly cleaning products that contain sealing properties. This straightforward task is recommended to be a once-a-week or once-a-month ordeal. Water-based sealants are the easiest on limestone.

With these tips, you should be able to keep your limestone neat and tidy – and remember, a clean house is a happy house.